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[Ria P]

Ugh! One of those lists states gammon and ham as a safe meat. Not something i'd ever eat as full of salt and preservatives so can't be good for a hamster's delicate digestive system.

As you say Luna, they are quite old so don't believe everything you read cloudy.

[cloudy]

Thank you for that Ria. I also saw avocado was listed as safe and unsafe. Very confusing!

[Ria P]

Yes i noticed the avocado as well.

I read yesterday that cauliflower should be cooked but i've always given it raw. My reasoning is that hamsters don't cook so can only eat what they find in the wilds.

All very very confusing and full of contradiction. I'm going to stick to my own common sense in future.

[cloudy]

Thank you for this Ria. I am puzzled why there is not much research into this but there is for other animals.

[sushi_78]

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

[

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.

[cloudy]

Originally Posted by sushi_78

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

[

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.

Thank you for explaining this. I agree that your idea to explain the reason why food may be fed in moderation etc is far more helpful.

I used the food list you created for gerbils when it came to making Orko's food. It was so helpful.