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Old 08-22-2022, 07:17 AM  
sushi_78
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Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: London
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Default Re: Suggestions for website

With regard to avocado, this is what I wrote for a safe foods list on a gerbil forum:

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Quote:
Avocado contains a toxin called persin. It is present in the stone and skin, and also in the leaves and bark of the avocado tree. Persin is present in low concentrations in the flesh of the fruit, although as it leaches from the stone, nearby flesh will have higher concentrations.

In various animals, persin has been found to cause mastitis, decreased milk production and damage to the mammary glands, heart problems and gastrointestinal issues.(17)

There are safer choices of fruit for your gerbils than avocado, but if you do decide to feed it, feed only the flesh without the skin, and avoid the flesh directly next to the stone. Don’t feed underripe avocado. It’s probably also a good idea to not risk feeding it to pregnant or nursing animals due to persin’s effects on lactation.

Persin - Wikipedia
Everything above applies to hamsters too.

I dislike categorising everything into black and white categories of safe and unsafe. There are very few foods that are absolutely toxic to hamsters but many that are not ideal to feed for various reasons. Online lists that just say safe or unsafe without any explanation have led to many misconceptions, such as that iceberg lettuce is toxic (it isn't, it's just nutritionally empty). I like to just present the evidence and let people make up their own minds whether they want to feed something, in most cases.

The reason for cooking cauliflower is probably because it can be difficult to digest raw. Hamsters probably have more robust digestive systems than we do, but again, it's something for each person to decide.
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