Refrigerator food?

[Cinnamon Bear]

Was wondering if it would be a good idea to keep all my hammie food, seed mixes & lab bocks & treats & store it all in plastic snap-lock containers in the fridge instead of the cupboards over the summer to keep any chance of bug contamination away?

That would mean the hammies food would be cool unless I put it in their dishes a a bit before they wake up around 9pm. I know air tight glass dishes would work too instead of the fridge but I have many plastic containers for flax seeds, millet seeds, various seed mixes, a couple different lab blocks, etc. So I thought the fridge would be a good spot for all this food vs the cupboard.

I have 5 lbs of sunflower seeds in 8 or 9 feeder bags in the freezer right now. I don't want the food to go bad (sunflower seeds) plus as much food that I can reasonably store in there leaving room for my food too

Mostly want to know if storing everything that's in my cupboard should go in fridge to keep bugs away.

I live in a humid apartment in the summer. Never stored food in the fridge in the past but their daily food might be a little cool for them this summer. A campaign against bugs!

[cypher]

I keep all my hamster food in boxes in the fridge all the time, even when it's not hot keeping it at a steady cool temp is best.
Dried food soon warms up to room temperature when you take it out so it won't be too cold, maybe in winter take it out a little while before you feed it if they tend to go straight for the food when you put it in the cage.
The fridge won't do anything about bugs but the plastic boxes should keep them out & if you've frozen the food when you get it you shouldn't have any problems there.

[oddlyoblivious]

I have more hammy food than people food in my freezer at the moment. Mason jars work
Well too , I've got a bunch half gallon ones I use for food.

[cypher]

I have no room for human anything in my freezer!

[flowerfairy]

I keep my hamster food in air tight containers inside storage boxes in my bedroom (aka the hamster room).

Any reason you keep yours in the fridge Cypher?

[Pebbles82]

I've found recently that things like pumpkin seeds - straight from the freezer - get to room temperature fairly quickly - say half an hour. So I'd expect that would be the same from the fridge. (No we don't want our hammies getting brain freeze!)

I can see where you're coming from keeping storage boxes in the fridge - a fridge is airtight, unlike a cupboard.

It would take a bit more thinking about getting things out of the fridge early enough for them not to be too cold (as in planning what you're going to give that day rather than spontaneously deciding on one thing or another), but that's probably the way to go - ie just take out what you're going to give an hour before you put the food in the cage. If you put the food out an hour early, chances are hammies will smell food and come out to get it an hour earlier!

What I've done is - freeze everything. Then when it's been frozen, put it in the lock and lock boxes in the cupboard. This means there are no eggs to hatch. Bugs could still get into the cupboard and lay eggs on the outside of boxes or round rims I guess, but I'm banking on that not happening with no sign of them. Any hammy food I put out I chuck after a day if it's still in the bowl and wash the bowl out and replace the food. So I'm going through a bit more food! I used to leave it two days.

As you leave in a warmer climate than me, I'd go with keeping storage boxes in the fridge, getting the food out an hour or more earlier and putting it in the cage at the usual time.

[Abi5sos1d]

I have been keeping my hammie treats and food under Peanut's cage in a storage box in air tight containers, I made some mealworm, raisin, peanutbutter and banana cookies. (it was one of Erin's receipes just adapted it a bit) They have been there for a week I don't know when they go out of date but she has eaten two of them so far.

[hamtarokid]

My freezer is so small, I don't think it could even fit a bag of substrate.

[Pebbles82]

Mine is quite small too I don't normally freeze substrate but had to recently, so I put it in smaller bags and did them one at a time Once they'd been in the freezer they're ok - and can just go in a bigger bag ready for using.

[cypher]

Abi5sos1d I would definitely put home made cookies in the fridge if not the freezer, they probably won't keep long at room temp.

I don't freeze substrate either, I only have a small freezer compartment on my fridge & it's full of ham food, herbs, flowers & one or two wooden toys!

One reason for keeping food in the fridge other than being air tight & away from bugs is that a lot of ham ingredients or treats have fairly high levels of essential fats which just don't keep long in a warm room.
Nuts & seeds are certainly worth putting in the fridge even if you don't put anything else in there.