Hamster Central - View Single Post

AmityvilleHams · 03-31-2020, 10:37 AM

For Ollie Ollie's questions:
1. Yes, you just scatter the food. It doesn't only have to be on/in substrate - it can be on any sort of platform your cage setup provides too, such as the roofs of houses. I personally love Kaytee Terracotta Tunnels for this and feel that it has been one of the extreme few products they've made well(Kaytee typically is known for having very low quality products often with questionable at best safety). You can also scatter on the nooks and crannies safe woods(such as grape vine) provide, but there are many other great foraging examples - just be mindful of safety of materials and such, which can be advised on with any toy(DIY or storebought) if you ask on the forum!

2. There's no perfect method. Some people bury food in substrate, others scatter it on elevated surfaces, some combine, etc - there are an endless variety of choices which the individual hamster owner can choose from based on their personal preference, their hamster, and other factors.

3. I would just feed daily. Worst case scenario you give your hamster more ability to express another important natural behavior which we should always encourage - hoarding!

4. I don't think it really matters what the substrate is, provided you're using a safe and species appropriate substrate.

Now onto others as there are some very good things being said:
1. Corbeens mentions millet sprays(and hints at similar foods) - this is a good beginner foraging choice as it requires minimal effort on part of both the hamster and owner.

2. Vierville mentions not wanting to confuse hamsters that are used to eating from bowls. While this could be a concern for some hamsters, it isn't always a problem. Switching over 100% immediately isn't a good idea in a lot of cases, but most hamsters take to scatter feeding very fast and quite well. For Vierville(and others in similar situations), scattering a small portion of their daily diet would even be a step in the right direction. It doesn't have to be the most difficult or complicated method - these are equally beginner hamsters and in particular if any such hamsters have mobility issues etc then special consideration must be taken in regards to placement and foraging/scatter feeding strategy in general.

At the end of the day, foraging is an important natural behavior for any animal - captive or wild, common or "exotic". Some forage more, some forage less, sometimes it gets called different things. It's a great source of mental stimulation, overall enrichment, it reduces boredom, and many other wonderful things. While our captive hamsters may not have as extreme negative impacts of not foraging as other captive animals such as the wide variety of parrot species, it is still important to consider the mental and physical health benefits that foraging does offer for our hamsters!

03-31-2020, 10:37 AM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Forage Feeding For Ollie Ollie's questions: 1. Yes, you just scatter the food. It doesn't only have to be on/in substrate - it can be on any sort of platform your cage setup provides too, such as the roofs of houses. I personally love Kaytee Terracotta Tunnels for this and feel that it has been one of the extreme few products they've made well(Kaytee typically is known for having very low quality products often with questionable at best safety). You can also scatter on the nooks and crannies safe woods(such as grape vine) provide, but there are many other great foraging examples - just be mindful of safety of materials and such, which can be advised on with any toy(DIY or storebought) if you ask on the forum! 2. There's no perfect method. Some people bury food in substrate, others scatter it on elevated surfaces, some combine, etc - there are an endless variety of choices which the individual hamster owner can choose from based on their personal preference, their hamster, and other factors. 3. I would just feed daily. Worst case scenario you give your hamster more ability to express another important natural behavior which we should always encourage - hoarding! 4. I don't think it really matters what the substrate is, provided you're using a safe and species appropriate substrate. Now onto others as there are some very good things being said: 1. Corbeens mentions millet sprays(and hints at similar foods) - this is a good beginner foraging choice as it requires minimal effort on part of both the hamster and owner. 2. Vierville mentions not wanting to confuse hamsters that are used to eating from bowls. While this could be a concern for some hamsters, it isn't always a problem. Switching over 100% immediately isn't a good idea in a lot of cases, but most hamsters take to scatter feeding very fast and quite well. For Vierville(and others in similar situations), scattering a small portion of their daily diet would even be a step in the right direction. It doesn't have to be the most difficult or complicated method - these are equally beginner hamsters and in particular if any such hamsters have mobility issues etc then special consideration must be taken in regards to placement and foraging/scatter feeding strategy in general. At the end of the day, foraging is an important natural behavior for any animal - captive or wild, common or "exotic". Some forage more, some forage less, sometimes it gets called different things. It's a great source of mental stimulation, overall enrichment, it reduces boredom, and many other wonderful things. While our captive hamsters may not have as extreme negative impacts of not foraging as other captive animals such as the wide variety of parrot species, it is still important to consider the mental and physical health benefits that foraging does offer for our hamsters!