Click to Skip Ahead
We were all taught as kids to eat vegetables like green beans so we’ll grow big and strong. Can green beans be appropriate snacks for hamsters too? After all, there are things that humans eat that we can’t share with our beloved pets.
If you’re wondering if these rodents can eat green beans, the answer is yes, hamsters can occasionally eat green beans. A piece here and there can even benefit your pet. But too many green beans too often can be a bit of a problem. Read on to find out why!
Hamster Diet 101
Hamsters are considered to be opportunistic omnivores. They tend to forage for seeds, legumes, vegetables, fruit, and meat sources and can carry a large amount of food in their cheek pouches. They usually hoard their haul in their dens and frequently feed in intervals of about every 2 hours or so when food is abundant. This is a survival technique, as hamsters have many predators in the wild. The ability to transport large amounts of food to a safe location helps them avoid capture by having to repeatedly go out in search of food.
In experimental circumstances, hamsters can adjust their dietary intake depending on their nutritional needs, so they can pick and choose what to eat when they feel like they are lacking a certain nutrient. Hamsters rarely overeat in a single sitting and instead, prefer to store excess food in their favorite den, burrow, or hiding spot to eat later.
Hamsters have been used in many studies for implications involving human medicine,1 and in some of these studies, their responses to nutrition have been assessed. However, an optimal rating for many nutrients has not been established in hamsters, though values at which they thrive have been identified.
As pets, hamsters are best kept on a pellet diet that is supplemented with appropriate fruits, hay, vegetables, nuts, seeds, insects, meat and meat by-products, and legumes. The fundamental challenge for hamster owners is to ensure that they remove uneaten food from their hamster’s cage, especially food that easily spoils when left outside. For this reason, foods with a high shelf life (such as grains, hay, seeds, and pellets) are preferred over fresh produce (such as fruits and vegetables). Nonetheless, fresh produce does offer nutritional benefits to hamsters, which is why they should be considered as part of their diet. However, most fruits and vegetables should be treated as occasional morsels rather than daily dietary staples.
Hamsters and Green Beans: Safety & Benefit Analysis
Green beans are not toxic for hamsters and therefore, can be safely consumed by them. Green beans also have nutritional value for hamsters.2
- Water: 89.7 grams (g)
- Carbohydrates: 7.41 g
- Sugars: 2.33 g
- Fat: 0.28 g
- Protein: 1.97 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Calcium: 40 milligrams (mg)
- Phosphorus: 41 mg
- Potassium: 290 mg
- Magnesium: 28.2 mg
The main draw of green beans is that they offer your pet some hydration due to their high water content. The remainder contains minerals and vitamins that are beneficial for your hamster, though these can be derived from other sources.
- Silicon, which helps skin, coat, and bones
- Fiber, which aids in proper digestion
- Vitamin C, which helps your hamster heal and prevents scurvy
Complications of Too Many Green Beans
As with anything, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. So, you have to be careful when you’re thinking of portions. While one green bean may seem like a tiny snack, for a small hamster’s stomach, it will be quite filling.
The main concern with green beans is that the sugar present in them is in the form of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and trace amounts of lactose and maltose. High levels of sugar are problematic for hamsters, and excess sugar consumption has been linked to mortality in hamsters.
In addition, most of a green bean is water, which makes it somewhat risky for hamsters. Excessive consumption can lead to diarrhea. During a diarrhea episode, hamsters quickly lose large amounts of valuable electrolytes, which can quickly snowball into other health issues.
If your hamster has diarrhea, you should not attempt to rehydrate them with plain water, as this will make things worse. You should seek a product made specifically for rehydrating hamsters, available from your pet store or veterinarian.
Diarrhea in hamsters should not be taken lightly. If you notice diarrhea in your hamster, you should seek prompt professional care.
Serving Green Beans to Your Hamster
Your hamster can snack on canned, fresh, and even frozen green beans (thawed, of course). Fresh is best, as they’re the most nutritionally valuable. It is best to offer a small serving of a green bean (about an inch in length) to your hamster once a week. For dwarf hamsters, consider a half-inch serving. If you feed them canned green beans, choose the type with no added salt.
Always serve green beans plain with no added seasonings. Many flavors you might add to recipes aren’t agreeable and can even be deadly to your hamster.
- Sodium
- Broth
- Garlic
- Butter
- Cream of mushroom
- Onion
Hamsters are instinctive hoarders. They like to stuff food in their very large cheeks to transport it back to their favorite hiding places or den to consume later. Wild hamsters instinctively do this because the ability to hoard food lets them eat in peace without disturbances from predators or other threats. Pet hamsters may also demonstrate this habit.
Your hamster may take fresh produce to their favorite hoarding spot. It is important to thoroughly check these spots to remove food items that spoil quickly once left outside. Rotting food in your hamster’s cage can lead to health issues for your pet.
Introduce Green Beans Slowly
As with anything, you need to slowly add green beans to your hamster’s diet, especially if they’ve never had it before. If you give them too much at once, it can cause negative side effects like diarrhea and upset stomach.
- Before you give your hamster green beans, make sure you wash them thoroughly to remove any pesticide residue, since this can make your pet very ill.
- Cut the green beans into small pieces, about an inch or so in length.
- Offer green beans the same way as other foods. Use tongs, or put the small green bean pieces in their food dish or cage.
- Discard the excess. Ensure that you get rid of any uneaten fresh food after a period of about 4 to 6 hours (at most).
Add a few tidbits here and there until your hamster’s body adjusts to the new food. In most cases, your hamster shouldn’t have a problem digesting green beans, but you should still look for any signs of discomfort. If your little one is sensitive, you should stop adding them to their food regimen and seek veterinary advice.
Final Thoughts
Green beans can be a solid addition to any hamster’s diet. But be sure to offer a variety of fresh fruits and veggies so they can reap all the benefits of plant-based nutrition. Remember, even though green beans are safe for these rodents, they are full of calcium and lack many necessary vitamins and minerals, so you should never use them as a food substitute.
Now that you know hamsters can safely eat green beans, slowly introduce the food in tiny amounts. At most, they need a bean roughly an inch long (or the size of their head). Then you can let your little critter indulge in the green goodness.
Featured Image Credit: Unsplash
