enrichment items:hay, bunny herbs, nuts in shells etc

[Philosophyfox]

I'm so sorry for all the questions. Part of the joy of having rats is enriching their environment. I use things like hay, bunny herbs (dried dandelion leaves, mint leaves etc) millet sprays, and nuts in shells (pine, almond, hazel and pecan, I know hams can't have almond shells).

I was wondering if anyone used these things for their hamsters and if they are safe. There's a lovely German forum I am looking at (I neither speak nor read German so I cannot ask there!) and they use pots of herbs, dried hay and grasses and so I'd like to add that to my hamster's cage if I can.

Thank you

[mangoandmimi]

lol hay is okay but i dont know what you mean by dried - well i do but i cant picture it...
i like getting little pots and growing grass in there to give to the hammies its adorable monkey nutss (peanuts in shells you mean?) are fine for them . okay lol i dont know what bunny herbs are, but dandelion leaves are good. milkthistle i dont know,... our rabbit has it. mint leaves i dont know either lol, sorry

[Philosophyfox]

Thank you I'll start growing some grasses, better have a look to see what grains are safe to grow as grass.

[mangoandmimi]

lol goodluck - mine keep dying its really annoying! maybe i need to water it more often :L

[wofunny]

just be careful with the hay, as it can damage their pouches.

[Philosophyfox]

I think I will have a good look later and just choose the softer bits if I decide to go with it.

[jeny]

There are many plants etc that you can give, fresh and dried, I usually check the packets of dried to see the ingredients and they most likely can have them fresh too.

My hams love plain popped corn, monkey nuts, sunflower seeds etc,

I'm growing herbs and flowers in my yard for my rabbit but my hamster gets a little bit too.

Excel Natural Country Garden Herbs 120g Packet
Dandelion, Plantain, Chicory, Mint, Milk Thistle, Marigold, Cornflower, Jerusalem artichoke.

Excel Natural Mountain Meadow Herbs 120g packet.
Dandelion, Milk Thistle, Coltsfoot Leaf, Chamomile, Parsley, Sage, Hibiscus, Fennel Seeds, Rose Petals, Sunflower Petals.

Naturals Carrot & Fennel Sticks 120g

Naturals Cheese Snack 50g
Ingredients: Extruded grains, edamer cheese 10%, popped corn, banana.

Naturals Fruit Salad Healthy Treats for Small Animals 125g
Ingredients: Apples, bananas, carrots, rowen berries, leek, parsnips, rosehips, potatoes

[suga]

There are lots of safe foods listed on the wiki section.

[Caisu]

Hull Pets and Gardens sells a dry meadow mix I use for Vicky and Ginger and they love it; first time I put some in Vicky stuffed he head right in it for a few seconds then went bounding round the cage, then went back and did it again! Ginger sat entirely in the little bowl I'd given it to her in and dug and snuffled for ages before pouching some up and running off with it!

It's Quiko's Sunny Greens, Rose meadow flavour and has parsley, alfalfa, rose blossoms and Wegerich in it. It looks a little pricey for how much you get, but it's really packed down in the bag so there's actually quite a lot!

As for the almonds in the shell, I'm not sure you should actually be giving those to your rats either! I just checked, it is almond shells that are dangerous as they contain traces of cyanide! Monkey nuts or walnuts in the shell should make fun treats for Dawk though! I'm going to try Vicky with a macadamia in the shell a see what she makes of that!

[starrylight99]

I thought every part of the almond was toxic? Or is it just the shell? I would just avoid them all together honestly. Almonds have cyanic acid in them which is deadly in high amounts. I wouldn't let your rats have them either.