Are tomatoes ok to give Chinese hamsters?

[starog]

Charlie my Syrian loves tomatoes. I haven't tried Ronnie (what do you think of that name? I'm trying it out) on them. With chinese hams being susceptible to diabetes, I was wondering if tomatoes are ok for them? I'm not really sure how much sugar they have in?

[Mikayla]

I personally would not feed them tomatoes as at as they are quite acid-y and wouldn't be too good for them.

[starog]

Ah ok thanks!

Charlie would eat a tub if I let him, he only gets half a cherry tom every so often but I think they're his favourite. I'll keep them in the exclusive syrian food club then

[SnickersTheFirst]

I feed tomato every few weeks, but be sure to remove the seedy part so you're just left with skin and flesh.

[racinghamster]

A little piece of tomato (no seeds) once in a while won`t hurt, but definately not as a daily treat. I`m not big on feeding too many veggies to hamsters incase it upsets their gut.

[starog]

Thanks! I think I'll keep my chinese tomato free and give my syrian them as the occasional treat

[racinghamster]

Probably best starog. How are you finding your chinese? I adore them as a species.

[starog]

He's adorable
Taming is coming along really well. He's a little nippy, just little exploratory nips though. I can see chinese becoming my favourite species

[racinghamster]

Yes, I found that too with my little female, but she never nips now. Chinese don`t actually bite, they only `nip` slightly I feel because they are a little unsure. I place a few seeds of hemp or millet in my open hand and my chinese happily takes treats that way. She will readily hop into a little fleece pocket that I use to transport her from her cage to my bed in the evenings to play and rummage about in old bed clothes! It`s little and often with them. Respecting their natural shyness.

A friend of mine on another forum has a male who she adopted from Pets At Home adoption area and he just doesn`t like contact and has nipped quite a lot, but my friend respects that and lets him decide whether he wants handled or not. Sometimes it can take a while and a lot of patience to get them to trust and settle, but it`s worth it.

[SnickersTheFirst]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Chinese don`t actually bite, they only `nip` slightly I feel because they are a little unsure.

You haven't met Bailey! haha Although, he's been through more than most hammies so I don't blame him.