Not All Fruits Are Created Equal!

[AmityvilleHams]

I do think it would be good to know the values even if you're only feeding them as a treat.Then,it makes it easier to determine what fruits would be the healthiest out of safe ones and it really does make it much easier to eliminate safe fruits which are particularly high in sugar.

RCalabraro does bring an interesting point as well!Some "vegetables" are indeed fruits,but something to keep in mind is that some of the false vegetables are on the acidic side.A lot of them are perfectly safe in moderation though,and their nutrient values are just as important!

Regardless of fruit or not,I think paying more attention to specific nutrients of an item can be useful for knowing just how much is able to be given safely.This website also gives information on other nutrient values,so I think the entire concept can be used for other nutrients and we can actually put values out there and understand these plants more than we do now!

I of course would never feed fruit on a daily basis regardless of species,as most fruits are relatively watery.I do think they're great as a treat in moderation,certainly better than a lot of storebought treats!

[Pebbles82]

It's a very useful chart Amityville, I'll bookmark it Fresh fruit certainly is a better treat than some of the sugary treats and so on. Charlie goes crazy for a bit of fresh banana or apple.

[WinnieTheHam]

I think it's best to let people do what they think is right. Many people do actually feed fruits, a lot of hamsters get cucumber and that is a fruit. The only fruits people tend to avoid are the ones that contain most sugars. Hamsters are very small creatures and their stomachs aren't that big - everything about them is tiny compared to our body. It's impossible for everyone to know how much of a food is correct for the hamster, especially when you think about all the nutrients that are in it. So how much of an apple is too much? Rodents stomach acidity is generally around 3-4 PH, lower than humans at 1.5-2.5 PH. Their stomachs won't be able to cope well with acidity and it's highly likely it'll cause stomach upsets. Even I struggle with certain acidic fruits, so I wonder how the hamster would feel. You're right that there are fruits that don't contain much sugars, but people already feed them, things like cucumber, beans, peas, grains, nuts, pumpkin, squash, celery, cauliflower and broccoli buds are all technically fruits. This is due to the 'mother plant' forming these foods, like the broccoli stem produces the buds.

Just a side note, hamsters can't eat tomatoes, they're too acidic.

[cypher]

I think when talking about ham food it's easier to stick to the usual definitions of fruit & veg, although not botanically true it's a lot less confusing, generally easier (although not entirely) to define the sweeter more acidic things that way & really all most people will need to know.