I’ll have to agree with Herbi, Velma, and Cypher on this one.
You’re right, hamsters aren’t made of glass, but they are a lot smaller than us humans, or dogs or cats, so their bodies can’t handle as much as bigger mammals can. Herbi gave an excellent analogy. Since pet hamsters have been domesticated and a lot of their natural behavioral traits have been removed, they act and handle things a lot differently than wild hamster do.
And also, a very important thing to keep in mind is that when you become a pet owner, you’re taking on the responsibility of keeping your little ham healthy and taking them to the vet when they get sick or hurt. So if given a safer option, why not take it?
Mealworms are nutritious for hams, so it’s fine to give fresh mealworms, as long as the heads are crushed. Mealworms have a really strong jaw and can seriously hurt your hammy by biting their cheek pouches, which can lead to infection. And that, in turn, is very painful for the hamster considering they stuff their cheeks full of food all the time. So it’s better to play it safe on this
