Hamster lockdown thread

[Pebbles82]

Gordon is definitely gorgeous Interesting human wheel - that is new to me! Norman with his mealworm is great.

Pickle was out last night being spiderham up the sofa

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[Vierville]

Pickle is lovely! Haha 'spiderham'...that is brilliant.

[Coco61]

More views of the handsome Pickle. Gorgeous coat.
Gordon is cute too.

[Petite]

Originally Posted by cypher

If you don't like handling things like worms then stick with dried as you have to feed & care for the worms too, if that's not done properly then the nutrient value of the worms will decrease & you're better off with dried. For. people who enjoy that sort of thing then great but if not don't bother!
None of my hams have ever been particularly fussed over live mealworms & are quite happy with dried.

I might need tweezers even for the dried ones! I would no more handle a dead mealworm than I would a dead spider. But apart from hamsters being partial to them, is there really any benefit to feeding them mealworms over other treats?

[Vierville]

It's just the protein content of mealworms that is beneficial and I've found that offering mealworms is a very effective way of getting a hamster to bond with me and become less shy or nervous of interaction, purely because their fondness for the worms overrides their fear or shyness.

Dried mealworms are included as an ingredient in some hamster mixes too, like the "Veresele Laga Mini Hamster Nature" which I use.

I'm sure that giving them a bit of boiled or scrambled egg or plain boiled chicken would provide just as much protein and other nutritional content as worms.

[AmityvilleHams]

Mealworms are technically more "natural" in the sense that wild hamsters would be more likely to consume insects than things like chicken, beef, duck, etc. Some alternative protein boosts have more nutrition benefits though - freeze dried shrimp for example is lower in fat and shrimp as a bonus is extremely nutritious in general if that's better for you!

ETA boiled chicken and scrambled egg would provide more nutritional value including higher moisture content. Egg in particularly is widely regarded as the perfect protein! There's debate elsewhere on whether or not dried mealworms even have nutritional value at all for other species.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by Petite

I might need tweezers even for the dried ones! I would no more handle a dead mealworm than I would a dead spider. But apart from hamsters being partial to them, is there really any benefit to feeding them mealworms over other treats?

I believe that mealworms are a good source of protein which is important for a growing hamster. Dwarfs especially love them and they are an ideal treat and reward when taming as well. If you want to bribe a dwarf get a mealworm.

Simply get someone else to offer Freya a dried mealworm at first but i wouldn't "deprive" her of a mealworm just because you don't like the look of them. The more you expose yourself to a mealworm the more you come to accept them as a hamster delicacy.

[Pebbles82]

Depends if the hamster will eat mealworms as well! Some Syrians will ignore them.

[Maker]

Polo says mealworms NOOO! Give me rice

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[Pebbles82]

Ha ha. Mine prefer nuts - also good for protein. Half a walnut or pecan nut.