What quanity of food does everyone give their Syrian hamster

[sarah]

Hi,

When I first got Maisie I was keen to encourage her to eat most of the food I give her and not just pick and choose the best (naughty) bits. I've read that they only need about a teaspoon of food a day but that seems awfully stingy so each day I always seem to put 2 - 3 teaspoons in.

What does everyone else do. With my previous hamsters I used to just provide a large bowl of food for the week but I was thinking if I provided a little fresh food every day it will encourage Maisie to forage around her cage more.

What does everyone think!

[Catherine Spark]

To update...in his latter 'years' Oakie ate a 1:1 combination of 'Supreme Science Selective' hamster (a monocomponent diet), and Cow & Gate 'My First Muesli' (contains apple, raisins, apricot, banana, prunes, oats, wheat, rice, millet, barley, maize, rye, coconut, hazelnut, multivitamins and calcium), with a tiny little bit of fish oil to keep his joints supple (at age 2+ his coat was vibrant and soft, and he was climbing up the bars of his cage and pulling himself up the tiers without the need for a ladder). He usually got about 1 plastic scoop (20g or so) every other day. Because he loved that muesli so much I always waited until most of the heart-shaped biscuits had gone, as I knew he needed to eat them, because they had everything he needed and were tailored to a hamster's dietary requirements. He had a crafty habit of storing the hearts and eating the muesli on the spot to try and get more muesli sooner, but I would check his bed, and he did eat them - I could see the nibble marks!

P.S. Just to clarify - I always DID provide a ladder! Just in case anyone panics

[Elliriyanna]

I feed what the hamster will eat in 24 hours ... usually with mine this has ranged from 1-2 tablespoons. IMO they should always have food in their dish even if its just the little bits they dont like.

[Catherine Spark]

That seems sensible. You never know when they'll get the munchies and eat through their stores

[kyrilliondaemon]

1 tablespoon for Scamp

[Gamina]

I don't really have a select amount ... they have half a bowl full in the cage and then I scatter feed a small handful throughout the cage. Hamsters are very good at knowing what to eat and what they do not need at the time. What can look like selective eating is just that but its not necessarily a bad thing unlike with say a gerbil that will chew through anything fatty and end up like a ball!
Also while mixes are marketed as complete they can be full of fillers like the little brown alfalfa tubes that I have never seen a rodent eat! or hunks and hunks of corn. If I waited for the alfalfa to disappear I think Greyjoy would starve to death or wilt alway from the lack of nutrition those things give
Mine are loving Silvers mixes now and polish pretty much everything off.