How often to feed hamsters treats?

[CookieBlossomBella]

Hey guys, it is me again!
So i was just wondering, am i giving my hamsters to little or too many treats. Below I am going to describe their "treat routine" and i would appreciate some feedback on it

Bella (syrian i obtained as a baby on 13 april): gets a furry friends treat (a small stick that tastes of vegetables) in her food dish every 2 days. If she is awake in the mornings when I leave for school, she gets a small portion of plain brown bread (part of my breakfast). Is this too often or not and should i be giving her her furry friends treat more often or not as often?

Flan and Maduros (hybridised dwarfs who i got a couple of weeks after Bella. They also live together): Like Bella, they get some brown bread if they are awake (this is often only Maduros though as Flan likes her beauty sleep). Every 3 days, they each get 3 yoghurt drops. I know they dont get treats very often I am just really paranoid they will get diabetes.

So, please post below what i should do to improve their diet, whether it is increasing or decreasing treat intake

[cypher]

The amount & frequency isn't a problem but you could be giving healthier alternatives.
I don't have experience with syrians but I'm sure plenty of syrian owners can give you suggestions.
For your Russians I would cut out the yogurt drops entirely, probably one of the least healthy treats available tbh, brown bread doesn't really do them much good either.
You can give healthy seeds in moderation, sunflower of pumpkin (preferably in the shell) one or two when you would normally give the yogurt drops would be fine or a pinch of hemp or flax seeds, depending on whether they have a high millet content in their mix or not you could leave a millet spray in the cage for them to enjoy.
Mealworms are also a great treat for Russians, they love them & they are good for a protein boost too, one or two a day is ok.
Do they have veg as well?

[CookieBlossomBella]

Originally Posted by cypher

The amount & frequency isn't a problem but you could be giving healthier alternatives.
I don't have experience with syrians but I'm sure plenty of syrian owners can give you suggestions.
For your Russians I would cut out the yogurt drops entirely, probably one of the least healthy treats available tbh, brown bread doesn't really do them much good either.
You can give healthy seeds in moderation, sunflower of pumpkin (preferably in the shell) one or two when you would normally give the yogurt drops would be fine or a pinch of hemp or flax seeds, depending on whether they have a high millet content in their mix or not you could leave a millet spray in the cage for them to enjoy.
Mealworms are also a great treat for Russians, they love them & they are good for a protein boost too, one or two a day is ok.
Do they have veg as well?

Yes, i completely forgot about that. They got either broccoli, cucumber, carrot, peas or sweetcorn a couple of times a week. Also, thank you so much for the advice!

[cypher]

You could increase veg to daily, not too much of the peas, carrots or sweetcorn (if you give sweetcorn baby corn has less sugar) for your Russians try & give a good variety.
If you're unsure about what's safe to give this is my list.

Safe veg, those marked * are relatively high in sugar so only feed to diabetes prone species as an occasional treat if at all.
Asparagus
Basil
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Common or red clover
Cabbage, green or red
Carrot*
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Coriander
Courgette
Cress (not mustard & cress as commonly sold together)
Cucumber
Dandelion leaves & flowers
Endive/chicory
Green beans/runner beans
Kale
Lettuce (not iceberg)
Pak choi/Bok choi
Parsley
Peas/mange tout/sugar snap/snow*
Peppers, any colour
Potato/sweet potato cooked only*
Radicchio
Spinach
Squash/pumpkin*
Swede
Sweet corn/baby corn*
Turnip

[CookieBlossomBella]

Thank you so much cypher You have been a real help today!

[dreamtree1234]

Cypher gave you a great list. If you are searching for other options as well, there are two very comprehensive lists in the Wiki portion of the Navigation section of HC. They are Safe and Unsafe Food and Plants and Common Fresh Foods For Your Hamster. I have found these two lists extremely useful to me so I hope that they are helpful to you as well. Of course, you will have to modify these lists slightly for your dwarfs.

[dreamtree1234]

The key is to always give a variety of healthy options and everything in moderation. Sometimes, your hamsters may not accept these new options immediately, but I have found with Eros that offering them several times is the trick to making her absolutely love all of her new options. The perfect example is mealworms. She wouldn't take them the first few times, but now she is a HUGE fan and will do almost anything to get her share, lol.

[CookieBlossomBella]

Thank you dreamtree! I will be sure to check out this list.