Tomato?

[Honey Pot]

Sorry - it's probably been asked before, but the search isn't showing any results!

I got my little boy an Usborne Hamster book - nice clear and simple reading for him. However, it shows tomato as something to give hamsters, but I didn't think they should have them? Just wanted to clarify before A) I give Frodo a little, or B) I write an angry letter to Usborne!

[xbuttons94]

I don't give mine tomatoes because I heard they are too acidic so I avoid them. Someone else on here might know whether they are okay for them or not.

[cypher]

Tomatoes are acidic & so difficult for their digestive system to cope with, although it's probably better to avoid them you will find different ideas in different places, in the UK most sites say no in Germany they generally say a little flesh is ok once in a while but definitely no seeds or skin.

[Honey Pot]

Thanks all. Plenty of other good foods, so will ignore the toms

[Lozz]

As far as I know tomato isn't great for them because of the acidity so I would never feed it to mine, personally, and I believe that the green parts of a tomato and the leaves/ stems are highly toxic to hamsters (also, the seeds and skin are suppposedly bad, as Cypher said!) However, it is an ingredient in Grandpa's Sunday Lunch baby food which is a really popular choice for hamsters, so does that mean it isn't necessarily awful in small, infrequent amounts? X

[cypher]

The ripe flesh without seeds or skin is fine in small amounts & I'm sure the amount in a ham size portion of baby food would be minuscule!