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Old 02-07-2021, 12:29 AM   #1
Ria P
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Default Hamsters and human junk food

When i recently enquired about a baby hamster for sale i was told by his young owner that he was feeding him crisps and chocolate raisins.

The hamster has in the meantime been collected by a lovely lady who runs a rescue.

I'm sure that this little Syrian hamster is perfectly fine but i wonder if this type of food would make a hamster ill if given long term on a regular base?
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Old 02-07-2021, 01:22 AM   #2
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hamsters and human junk food

I imagine it wouldn't be healthy to say the least. Chocolate really isn't an appropriate thing for the overwhelming majority of species - even the one species I know of where chocolate has been considered remotely acceptable it was for very specific circumstances and absolutely not an everyday thing(and even then it's still controversial)!

Even if the crisps were plain or at least free from harmful herbs & spices, that's still unhealthy pure junk food. Crisps are a source of unneeded excess salt and excessive oils - while they are potentially available with reduced sodium and unsalted varieties it still isn't a healthy treat by any means let alone something that should ever be given on such a frequent basis.

As far as raisins themselves go, it does depend on some factors but in and of themselves without any additives they are not harmful for hamsters. The idea that they could be would come from dogs though where they are, of course, strictly forbidden for serious health concerns that grapes & raisins have been linked to. However, there's the issue of added sugars and things like sulfur dioxide which really aren't good especially on a daily basis - obviously in this case the chocolate part makes them a very bad idea regardless.

Ultimately if this continued it could certainly lead to adding on to potential long term health effects, so yes it is a very big problem however as long as it doesn't continue the hamster in question should be fine.
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Old 02-07-2021, 03:57 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamsters and human junk food

Yes it is unhealthy- especially if that is the sole diet. High salt (perhaps more serious for a hamster than a human), chocolate (which can be poisonous if it is actual chocolate but chocolate raisins may be coated in a kind of fake chocolate).

If the hamster was getting a hamster mix daily and just being given treats it might be fine- depending on how often it’s given the unhealthy treats.

With a dying hamster people often say give them anything they like, even cake etc but for an old hamster who isn’t dying it could cause ill health.
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