- The Best Hamster Food
- 1. Kaytee Fiesta Hamster Food
- 2. Oxbow Hamster Fortified Food
- 3. Supreme Hazel Hamster Tasty Mix
- 4. Vitakraft Menu Vitamin Fortified Hamster Food
- 5. Sunseed Sunscription Dwarf Hamster Food
- 6. Kaytee Forti Diet Pro Health Hamster Food
- 7. Wild Harvest Nutrition Diet For Hamsters
- 8. Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Food Mix Hamsters
- 9. Kaytee FortiDiet ProHealth Hamster Food
- 10. eCOTRITION Yogies for Hamsters
Wild hamsters are omnivores, meaning that they'll happily feast on whatever creepy-crawly or blade of grass crosses their paths. Their adorable cheeks are proof of the breed's insatiable appetite; with the pouches within them having evolved to store food so it can be saved for later.
So, how do you choose a diet for your hamster that they'll want to literally stuff their faces full of? We've assembled the ten best hamster food on the market – any bag from the selection below will fill up your hamster with beneficial nutrients and energy so they can play to their heart's content!
The Best Hamster Food
1. Kaytee Fiesta Hamster Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 13.5%
Minimum Crude Fat: 6.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 10.0%
Maximum Moisture: 12.0%
First Three Ingredients: Corn, Oats, Ground Corn
Packed full of an assortment of fruits and vegetables to stimulate your hamster’s tastebuds, Kaytee’s delectable Fiesta Hamster & Gerbil food will go down a treat. Containing an abundance of prebiotics and probiotics, your hamster’s digestive tract will remain in prime condition. Similarly, the favorable amount of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals will rapidly increase the chances that your hamster will enjoy a long and happy life.
In order to prevent your hamster from requiring an emergency trip to the dentist to take care of unhealthy molar teeth, feeding your pet Kaytee hamster food – boasting an optimal shape and texture – is bound to save you a lot of dollars in this department in the future! It’s true, Kaytee care about your pet – and they prove it by ensuring their food is naturally preserved to maximize freshness.
2. Oxbow Hamster Fortified Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 15.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 4.50%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 15.0%
Maximum Moisture:15.0%
First Three Ingredients: Timothy Meal, Pearled Barley (Rolled), Oat Groats
When conducting an ingredient analysis of Oxbow’s ‘forti diet’, we were delighted to discover timothy meal featuring as the principal ingredient, with this popular variety of hay operating as the formula’s fundamental flavor. As timothy hay regulates weight and promotes a healthy digestive tract due to the large amount of vitamins within it, it’s the perfect ingredient to feed your small hamster.
Containing no types of seeds, high-sugar fruits, or artificial preservatives, any active hamster who loves nothing more than running around their wheel will thrive due to Oxbow’s formula. Putting the overall health of your hamster before their tastebuds, the company are quite rightly reluctant to include any sugary fruits in their bags and, as an effective substitute, contain barley and oats. And as Oxbow bags are large, you’ll have enough hamster food to keep your little one satisfied at an affordable rate.
3. Supreme Hazel Hamster Tasty Mix
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 18.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 6.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 6.0%
Maximum Moisture: NA
First Three Ingredients: Wheat, Torrified Wheat, Flaked Peas
Providing an optimal balance of pellets, dried corn, and other nutritious ingredients, Supreme Tiny Friends have mimicked a wild hamster’s diet so domesticated hamsters can profit from these tantalizing aromas and nutrients. Given the vast number of ingredients in this delectable formula, the tasty mix even encourages foraging – a natural habit that utilizes and therefore improves hamster’s spatial memory functioning.
This tasty mix contains no whole oats as a result of the possibility that this type of food may puncture a poor hamster’s delicate cheek pouches. In their place, whole peanuts and sunflower seeds are included in order to meet their daily nutrient requirements. In relation to vitamins and minerals, both vitamin A and vitamin D make an appearance to engender healthy growth and bone health. Suitable for all hamster breeds – even Dwarf Hamsters who are notoriously difficult to please in the food department, given the likeliness they may become diabetic – the variety is bound to impress even the pickiest fluff ball.
4. Vitakraft Menu Vitamin Fortified Hamster Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 13.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 4.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 12.0%
Maximum Moisture: 13.0%
First Three Ingredients: Milo, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Corn
Recommended for all life stages, the various textures and long strand fibers that constitute Vitakraft’s high diversity formula won’t only ensure your hamster maintains exceptional dental health – the assorted fortified hamster food also encourages hamsters to partake in natural foraging. What proves the salubriousness of Vitakraft’s hamster food in particular is the large amount of omega-3 fatty acids that support a strong immune system.
Complimenting the large amount of fatty acids are vitamins C and E. Present within the various fruits in this formula, vitamin C is crucial for ensuring your hamster doesn’t contract scurvy or become lethargic. Vitamin E similarly provides health benefits for our furry friends, strengthening the body’s immune system and maintaining optimal skin and eye health. Given its astonishing health benefits, it’s even more improbable that Vitakraft is selling at such a bargain. Invest today before the company realizes their worth and ultimately increases the price!
5. Sunseed Sunscription Dwarf Hamster Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 13.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 4.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 14.0%
Maximum Moisture: 12.0%
First Three Ingredients: Oats, Wheat, Steam-Rolled Barley
Shifting gears from our best priced hamster food to premium pick, Sunseed’s Hamster Formula is curated specifically for the nutritional needs of dwarf hamsters. Proudly manufactured in the USA, the commendable amount of omega-3s within the formula are only one of its perks. On top of that, enriching this dwarf hamster formula with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) will keep your furry friend’s eyes sharp and hopefully lead to a longer lifespan.
As oats function as the primary ingredient for this formula, their acidity is reduced by pairing them with ingredients wheat and steam-rolled barely. Just like your hamster’s furry ancestors, who survived by foraging for these types of ingredients, your domestic hamster will thrive through following the same diverse diet this premium pick provides.
6. Kaytee Forti Diet Pro Health Hamster Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 13.5%
Minimum Crude Fat: 6.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 12.0%
Maximum Moisture: 12.0%
First Three Ingredients: Corn, Ground Corn, Wheat
If you’re itching to find a food that will have your hamsters waiting by the door of their cages for their next meal, Kaytee’s Forti Diet food is the pack to feed your furry family. Exactly like all Kaytee pet food, this healthy diet is naturally preserved so freshness is maintained from the moment it leaves the warehouse until it arrives into your hamster’s bowl.
The variety of ingredients in this forti-diet encourage both natural foraging and chewing, thereby ensuring that your hamster’s dental hygiene and brain development are kept in top-notch condition. However, one customer complaint is that the amount of sunflower seeds in any bag verge on too many treats. As long as you mix these seeds in and limit the amount, this food – packed full with natural ingredients – will grant your hamster the high quality diet they deserve.
7. Wild Harvest Nutrition Diet For Hamsters
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 18.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 5.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 10.0%
Maximum Moisture: 14.0%
First Three Ingredients: Oat Groats, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal Meal, Whole Corn
Fed up of flimsy bags containing your hamster food that inevitably spill all over your kitchen? Wild Harvest’s Advanced Nutrition isn’t just a first-rate blend of ingredients that mimic a hamster’s ancestral diet, the convenient flip-top container the food arrives in is bound to encourage any customer to make the switch.
Relieved hamster owners remark upon the rapid transformation their pet made after being switched to this nutritional diet comprising of hamsters’ favorite grains, seeds, vegetables, and nuts – all coming together to achieve a well-balanced diet. Fortified with vitamins E, D, and B, hamster owners will never switch back from this impressive food once they see the health and energy their hamster obtains from following a commendable diet.
8. Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Food Mix Hamsters
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 14.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 7.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 9.5%
Maximum Moisture: 11.5%
First Three Ingredients: White Millet, Oats, Sun-Cured Timothy Hay
Higgins’ food is ideal for hamsters who are picky eaters, as the brand prefers to contain minimal pellets in their pet food. In fact, the exemplary ratio of ingredients is one of this gourmet food mix’s principal selling points – unlike the ambiguous blue or green dyed fruits that operate as junk filler in hamster pet food, Higgins ensure that naturally colored seeds and fruit bits are the only ‘extra’ treats included.
As the amount of protein in Higgins’ gourmet food mix isn’t enough to provide your hamster with balanced nutrition, we recommend supplementing this food with a high-protein lab block. This source of protein complemented by the high amount of amino acids, natural antioxidants, and DHA in this food will have your fur baby operating at peak health. Although Higgins certainly aren’t afraid to charge large amounts for their gourmet-level hamster food, it’s a price owners are willing to pay to ensure their hamster receives the correct nutrients in their food bowl.
9. Kaytee FortiDiet ProHealth Hamster Food
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 20.0%
Minimum Crude Fat: 4.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 7.0%
Maximum Moisture: 12.0%
First Three Ingredients: Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Corn, Ground Wheat
If you’ve had trouble in the past trying to encourage your picky pet to eat their food, feed your hamster Kaytee’s FortiDiet and your luck may change. This Kaytee formula moves away from stereotypical mixed nut recipes and instead, features pellets only to prevent selective eating.
The larger and crunchier pellet pieces smattered throughout have been included to support dental health by encouraging natural chewing activity. Plus, the generous smattering of prebiotics and probiotics renders the effects of this formula advantageous for mice, rats, and hamsters alike. Including plenty of delicious ingredients like ground corn that hamsters go wild for, your hamster will transform from a picky eater to becoming obsessed with when their next meal is on the way.
10. eCOTRITION Yogies for Hamsters
Key Features
Minimum Crude Protein: 1.5%
Minimum Crude Fat: 21.0%
Maximum Crude Fiber: 0.5%
Maximum Moisture: 3.0%
First Three Ingredients: Sugar, Palm Kernel and Oil, Dried Whey
For our final product, we thought we’d hammer home that although it’s essential to show your hamster that you care by providing them with a well-balanced diet, both humans and fur balls alike deserve a treat every once in a while! Containing a tantalizing array of natural and artificial cheese flavors, eCOTRITION’s hamster snacks should only function as a tasty treat due to their sugary composition. But they sure are delicious for our fur babies! If you have a household with multiple pets like rats, mice, and hamsters, all fur babies listed go wild for these tasty cheese treats made with real yogurt.
Amused hamster owners describe how their hamsters are so fond of these delectable cheesy treats that as soon as they hear the slightest rustling of the bag, they wait expectantly at their cage for their treat. As these treats should only be given sparingly, one bag filled to the brim with these cheese flavored delights should last approximately two to three months. Go Yogies!
Best Hamster Food Buying Guide & FAQ
Now that you've (hopefully!) chosen the perfect hamster food to satisfy your little rugrat and provide them with the nutrient-filled diet they deserve, you're sure to have some doubts regarding the ingredient list and amount of food you should be feeding your pet in the first place. To transform dinner-time from plain stressful into a fun bonding experience for the both of you to look forward to, we've summarized the basics below in our buying guide and FAQ. Just remember, the very fact you're researching how to ensure your hamster is happy and healthy shows how much you care.
Things to Look For In Hamster Food
Befuddled by your prospective hamster food's ingredient list? By asking yourself these three questions below, you won't have any problem at all deciding if this food is indeed 'the one'.
Does the ingredient analysis include Timothy Hay? In any ingredient analysis, you should be scouring the list for timothy hay. Reputable company PDSA recommend this special variety of high-quality hay is packed full of fiber, thereby rendering it beneficial for small pets.
Are my preferred pellets fortified with vitamins and minerals?
- Vitamin D: If, on your hamster food list, you come across a product that contains no vitamin D, this is a warning sign. As well as playing a major role in bone and muscle health, a lack of vitamin D over time can have adverse effects on pregnancies. As the mother's body is forced to derive her own supply of vitamin D from her fetus, her babies are often born with weakened skeletal systems or stillborn as a result.
- Vitamin A: It's essential to feed your hamster ingredients that contain a healthy amount of vitamin A to ensure normal vision and development ensues.
- Vitamin E: Also functioning as an antioxidant, vitamin E fights off toxins, supports the immune system, and protects hamsters from contracting anemia.
How much protein does this hamster food contain? Protein is a must for any omnivore. As it is a legal requirement to include nutrition information on pet food packaging, you should be able to find the analysis easily. The recommended amount of protein is between 12-12%. However, don't despair if your hamster's favorite kibble doesn't come within this percentage. Giving your hamster supplements in the form of protein lab blocks should work a charm, allowing your pet to receive the correct amount of nutrients whilst enjoying their preferred kibble.
Related Post: Hamster Cages
Different Types of Food for Hamsters
Pellets: A pelleted diet is recommended so your hamster can receive the perfect amount of nutrients to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing. As pellets consist of an optimal blend of fiber, it's recommended to give your hamster pellets daily, with a tablespoon being the recommended amount.
Seeds: Let's face it; hamsters adore seeds. Sunflower seeds in particular permeate all hamster foods due to the hamsters' ancestors and their love of foraging them in the wild. However, like all tasty treats, seeds must be given to your hamster in moderation. Pet owners who have a Campbell Russian Dwarf hamster in particular must watch out – the breed's high health risk of becoming diabetic means that owners should pick these fattening seeds out of mixed food so only two remain in their dinner bowl.
Fruit and vegetables: Small amounts of fruit and vegetables are essential for a hamster's health. Some delicious natural treats to feed your hamster are as follows; carrot, lettuce, green beans, broccoli – the list is endless! Above all other vegetables, hamsters go wild for corn, so much so that it's often the first ingredient they lunge for when given their dinner. However, although it contains plenty of carbohydrates, too much can lead to a tubby hamster. Only a teaspoon a day is recommended.
What Food You Should Not Give to Your Hamster
Although it may be tempting to give your hamster a nibble of your snack, both of you may come to regret it long-term. In fact, the snacks detailed below should be avoided all together:
- Almonds: Although your hamster may look like an adorable mini squirrel chewing on these tasty nuts, bitter almonds actually contain cyanide and are exceptionally high in fat.
- Dark Chocolate: Your hamster may think the sugar rush they receive from dark chocolate is worth it. However, this delectable treat contains theobromine – a toxic component that hamsters, unlike humans, have difficulty digesting. Consequently, toxins built up in their system and engender health complications like heart attacks or internal bleeding.
- Onions and garlic: These beloved kitchen staples contain thiosulphate – an ingredient which is again harmless to humans but deadly for hamsters.
Related Post: Toys For Hamsters
Our Top Pick
So, we've expressed our opinions on what we believe you should feed your hamster. But what food and brand would we trust to meet our hamsters' nutritional needs? Specializing in animal health, trustworthy brand Kaytee's Gourmet Variety Hamster and Gerbil Food have perfected the ancestral hamster diet to extend hamsters' lives by meeting their nutritional requirements for over 150 years. Every element of this food mix has been quality approved; for example, the sunflower seed was grown in South Dakota in the USA. Honestly, the stimulation this seed mix will provide your hamster with for foraging will both surprise and delight.
FAQ
Q: How much food should I feed my hamster?
Feeding your hamster the right amount of food is notoriously hard to get right. The breed's infamous cheek-stuffing behavior creates much ambiguity – has your hamster devoured their grains, or have the contents of their food bowl simply been stuffed away in their cheek pouches that remarkably extend all the way down to their hips. Crazy, right?
Consequently, it's imperative that you provide your hamster with strict food measurements every day; around a tablespoon of food packed with vitamins and minerals constitutes a balanced diet.
Q: Can I feed my hamster bird food?
Surprisingly enough, hamsters can eat bird food – its high fiber and low fat composition is exactly the type of nutrients hamsters require to thrive. However, if a bird food contains a large amount of dried foods, they should be removed on account of the large amount of fructose within them.
However, just because hamsters can safely enjoy bird food doesn't mean they should eat it as a low-cost alternative to food curated for their breed, Although bird food constitutes a tasty treat to feed your chubby-cheeked friend once in a while, hamster mixes will undoubtedly provide a better-balanced diet that promotes optimal digestive health and meets their nutritional needs.
Q: How long can a hamster go without food?
A hamster can survive without food for three to four days. Their incredible cheeks have the ability to store food for up to two days! Although this is an intriguing fact, never try to disprove this theory. Starving your pet is animal abuse.