Oats and which are safe?

[chesca_27]

Ok so recently my dad bought oats in preparation for my hamster but I don't know if they're safe. I have heard of certain oats poking a hamster's pouches but I don't know which ones. It would be great if someone could check out the link to the oats and tell me if they're ok to feed and portion sizes. Thanks

Link: Sainsbury's - Please enable cookies or JavaScript

[shawniyatwain]

Plain rolled porridge oats are fine
I would say if your adding them to food a small pinch, or if your making hamster porridge a tea spoon of oats with some hot water (I give this on occasion as a treat, always a hit, great for older or poorly hammies that aren't earthing museli)

[Munchalot]

Yes rolled oats are absolutely fine.
The kind to be avoided are the unclipped whole oats, which can be sharp and potentially damage the pouch lining.

Clipped oats, or rolled/porridge oats are fine. If you're giving porridge you can also use fine ground/powdered oat such as Readibrek, but if you have a messy ham make sure you feed it where it's easy to clean up, as the powered stuff makes for very gloopy, sticky porridge!
You can use warm water as already said, or you can use kitten milk. Cows milk contains a lot of lactose and this can cause tummy upset if fed in excess, as most mammals become lactose intolerant once past the weaning stage. Some hammies are fine with it and don't experience upset, but to stay cautious and avoid any potential issues, you might as well use whats preferable. Kitten milk has reduced lactose, which makes it more digestible.

You needn't feed any more than a teaspoon of porridge in a sitting, but some hammies won't eat that much. If they leave any, remove it straight after they finish so it doesn't spoil.

[Pebbles82]

Porridge oats are fine, as the others say. I think you are maybe thinking of 'green oats' which are like spiky grass. I don't actually know what green oats are really.

[chesca_27]

Thanks so much for the reassurance ��. My dad is a little annoyed with the amount of things I deem necessary (a lot of toys, bedding and food ��) so it's great I don't need to buy specific oats.

Munchalot - are there any specific brands of kitten milk you recommend? I don't know anything about cats as have never really liked them much apart from my best friend's cat. Also is kitten milk expensive? Where can I buy it? Also, do oats have to be made into porridge to feed, or can they be fed alone?

Anyway thank you everyone for your help. I really appreciate it! ��

[CMB]

Kitten milk is available in the pet food isle in most super markets and also some pet shops.

You can give the porridge oats dry or mixed with water (I haven't given them with any kind of milk).

[cypher]

Actually green oats are fine, you may be thinking of oat groats which is basically the dried grain with the husk intact & they are a bit pokey!

If you want to buy milk specially to use for your ham you can buy lactofree milk in any supermarket, probably a lot cheaper than buying kitten milk, I use it myself & it tasted no different to normal milk so maybe you could convert the family so they don't have to buy milk specially!

[chesca_27]

Originally Posted by cypher

Actually green oats are fine, you may be thinking of oat groats which is basically the dried grain with the husk intact & they are a bit pokey!

If you want to buy milk specially to use for your ham you can buy lactofree milk in any supermarket, probably a lot cheaper than buying kitten milk, I use it myself & it tasted no different to normal milk so maybe you could convert the family so they don't have to buy milk specially!

Would Alpro unsweetened almond milk be ok? I'm curious about this specific one because my brother already has it instead of dairy milk so no need to convert.

Alpro | Almond Drink | Unsweetened Fresh

Alpro | Almond Drink | Unsweetened

Thanks everyone so far as well

[cypher]

I wouldn't go with any of those milk alternative tbh, I know it's only a small percentage of the whole but they do have quite a lot of additives in them, a tiny bit would probably be ok, your ham shouldn't be having more than a tiny bit once in a while anyway but I certainly wouldn't use it frequently.

[CMB]

Cypher

Why lacto free milk? Wouldn't the mum hamsters milk have lactose in?