Enough food

Owner of 3 · 10-21-2014, 02:20 PM

Hi all

I was wondering if there is a adequate amount of food to feed my hamsters, they all eat a good mix of hamster mix and i often fill their food dish each day. Is this enough 1 food dish full per day ? They often eat most of the food i am just a little concerned i am over feeding them.

dave123791 · 10-21-2014, 03:15 PM

1 food dish every day? Are you serious?

It would be helpful if you said what species of hamsters you have?

NiceCrocs · 10-21-2014, 03:20 PM

The general rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of food per hamster, per day. Most of us don't recommend filling the bowl, as it encourages overeating and over-hoarding.

Start with 1 tablespoon and observe your hamsters eating habits: you want them to be able to eat their fill, and still store away a little somewhere in their cage (hiding food is instinctive for hamsters and they can get pretty stressed if they can't hoard at least part of their food.)

So if your hamster eats all the food and you can't find any hidden around the cage, feed a little more. If your hamster hoards lots and lots of food away, feed less.

I find that my syrian has stored about a tablespoon and a half of food away over a week or so. Generally I skip a feeding once a week to encourage her to clean out her hoard a bit.

Of course these are all just general rules, do experiment to find out what works best for you and your hamster

Owner of 3 · 10-21-2014, 03:25 PM

I have 1 Syrian hamster and 2 Dwarf Campbells Russian hamsters, they are not massive dishes, the Syrian hamster has a slightly larger dish and the dishes get topped up and every few days fresh food is put in.

Just checked how much they hold and the dwarf hamster dishes hold just alittle over a tablespoon and syrian dish holds about 1 and a half

So thanks for the info been a great help just when u see it in the dish it looked alot more lol

dave123791 · 10-21-2014, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Owner of 3

I have 1 Syrian hamster named Smokey and 2 Dwarf Campbells Russian hamsters, they are not massive dishes, and the dishes get topped up and every few days fresh food is put in.

I would use the method recommended by NiceCrocs. But be careful as Campbells are prone to diabetes.

You might find this guide by Vectis helpful: Diabetes in Hamsters - Vectis Hamstery and Exotics

It has loads of details and it helped me

Teddy001 · 10-21-2014, 04:35 PM

For my dwarf, her food portion has been reduced to 1 tablespoon. For my Syrian, I tablespoon and a half. I scatter the 1/2 table spoons, for forging, as that's how they obtain food in the wild. I also, put a little piece of fresh veg in different places in her cage, so she can forage for them, which is an hamsters Natural instinct.
I'd say, if the look healthy, not underweight or over weight, you are fine. Keeping track of their weight, by weighing your hamsters, is another way of checking if they are gaining or losing, or maintaining weight, which is good to know.

Owner of 3 · 11-06-2014, 05:27 PM

Thanks everyone for the great advice

Dax · 11-06-2014, 06:39 PM

I thought my hammy was looking pretty chubby recently, and hes started to get lazy on his wheel. Realized id probably been over feeding him and cut him right down. Ive been aiming for about a tablespoon now.

DanniDorrito · 11-06-2014, 07:12 PM

I have a smallish Syrian. Lately I've been adding 1 tablespoon to his bowl and also scattering 1 table spoon around his cage so he has something to forage for, it keeps him entertained. I do that around every 4 days since online it says they only eat about half a tablespoon a day.

He also gets treats and also sometimes a bit of whatever we're eating for dinner, so some meat or veg or something. Not always, just when I know its been cooked without anything which could be harmful to a hamster.

Seems to be more than enough for him, at the end of each month his house will have a small mountain of food stashed so it doesn't look like he's going without. I'm currently slowly moving him over from mixed food to oxbow pellets so he currently gets a variety, once he's totally on pellets I'll have more peace of mind knowing he'll be getting all the nutrients he needs. Mixed food is bad for picky eaters as they will just pick out and eat their favorites, and leave the rest leading to an unbalanced diet.

I weigh my little guy weekly to check his progress, he's 115g currently, 5g gained in the last week. He's 6 months old now so still growing

Hopefullygettingahamster · 11-06-2014, 08:26 PM

I just realized something... I've been over feeding Toothless! XP I fill his bowl up, and though its not very big it's probably too much! Duh! I might have a chubby hamster now.... :P