Hamsters are omnivores, which means they eat almost anything. In the wild, they will forage for various fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and even eat insects and other small animals. Besides providing a high-quality pellet food, you can give your pet hamster a supplementary diet of hay along with certain vegetables and fruits. You can even offer them small treats like mealworms, nuts, and boiled eggs.
Peanuts are not only safe for your hamster but, in moderation, are quite healthy for your rodent. They shouldn’t be salted or otherwise flavored, but they can be boiled or raw, and they can even be served in their shells.
While peanuts can be healthy additions to your hamster’s diet, they should not make up the majority of food that you give to your pet.
Typical Hamster Diet
Hamsters are rodents that come primarily from areas in Europe and Asia. They live in warm climates, especially dunes and the edges of deserts. In the wild, they eat fruits and vegetables they find, along with seeds, nuts, and other food that they can forage. As omnivores, they will also eat insects and may indulge in the occasional lizard, worm, or other small animal.
Pet hamsters can also be fed an omnivorous diet. Their meals should consist of approximately 15 to 20% protein and around 5% fat. Most of their dietary requirements can be met via hamster pellets. Choose a high-quality brand to ensure that it includes good-quality ingredients and has the right mixture of nutrients.
Although peanuts should not be the primary source of food for your pet rodent, they can be healthily and safely added to your hamster’s meals or fed as occasional treats. These legumes contain B vitamins, vitamin E, fiber, and antioxidants. However, this doesn’t mean that you can throw your hamster a handful of peanuts every day. You need to monitor the number that you offer, along with the type and preparation of the peanuts.
How Many Peanuts Can You Feed Your Hamster?
Plain peanuts have a high fat content, so too many can cause your hamster to become overweight. You can feed a single peanut once or twice a week, depending on your hamster’s size, but you should not offer any more than this.
Peanut butter, at least in some forms, is also safe to feed to your hammy in moderation. It needs to be pure, unsalted, and unprocessed—essentially, just mashed-up peanuts. In this way, you can offer a tiny amount of peanut butter once a week. Do not feed them more than this or more often. Be aware that peanut butter can get stuck in a hamster’s cheek pouches, so you will want to spread it on a piece of wood or carrot to help prevent this from happening.
Can Salt Kill Hamsters?
You should never give salted peanuts to your hamster. Salt is bad for hamsters, and you should avoid offering it in any way or form. It increases the likelihood of vascular and heart diseases and can, by some estimates, reduce your hamster’s lifespan.
In the short term, feeding salt to your hamster can cause dehydration and increase their need for water.
Do Hamsters Like Nuts?
While the peanut is a legume instead of an actual nut, it’s important to know that, in the wild, hamsters eat nuts and seeds, where available. Although every hamster is different and has their own unique likes and dislikes, most like the smell and flavor of peanuts and nuts.
Alternatives to Peanuts
It is perfectly safe to feed your hamster a single peanut once or twice a week or the equivalent amount of pure peanut butter. However, this should represent only a small amount of your hammy’s diet. Their diet should consist of 75% pellets and 25% additional foods. Other foods that you can give your hamster include the following.
Vegetables
Hamsters can benefit from a variety of vegetables. They especially like broccoli and can enjoy romaine lettuce, but you should avoid giving them iceberg lettuce because of its high water content. You can also offer cabbage, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, and carrot tops.
Fruit
Some fruit can also be offered, though this must also be in moderation because fruit has a high natural sugar content that can cause your hamster to become overweight. Safe fruits include apples, berries, peaches, apricots, and bananas. If you are serving apples or other fruits, remove the skin and the seeds beforehand. Avoid giving them any citrus fruit and opt for pears and grapes instead.
Can Your Hamster Eat Raisins?
Raisins are just the dried form of grapes. They are small and convenient, and hamsters tend to like the smell and taste of these sweet, sticky little treats. Raisins are safe to feed to hamsters, but the high sugar content means you should not feed them to dwarf hamsters. You should only offer a maximum of one raisin a few times a week.
Can Hamsters Eat Bananas?
Bananas are another fruit that is naturally high in sugar but considered safe for hamsters when fed in moderation. You can feed a quarter of a teaspoon of the yellow fruit once or twice a week, and this will be plenty for your hamster.
Final Thoughts
Hamsters should be fed a diet that’s 75% high-quality food pellets. The remaining 25% can include additional foods like some forms of hay, high-protein treats like boiled eggs and mealworms, and a combination of fruit and vegetables. Peanuts—unsalted and unflavored ones—can be tasty and beneficial additions to their diet too. You can feed your hamster a single peanut once or twice a week, or you can offer the equivalent in pure peanut butter. Always speak to your vet before adding any foods to your hamster’s diet to make sure it’s safe and that they get the proper amounts.
- See also: Can Hamsters Eat Walnuts?
