Feeding fresh food to robo hamsters

[RainbowBrite]

I hope it is okay to discuss this here. I have been trying to do as much research as possible into hamster nutrition.

I have started to notice some people in Germany say it is not a good idea to feed robos vegetables daily or not at all. They say they do not need vegetables. I read information on hamster backen which says they also do not believe in the feeding of fresh veg because robos do not eat this in the wild and their digestive track is not designed for them. I then saw on diebrain they say the opposite and they need the vitamins and nutrients.

I cannot find any scientific information about this and it all seems to be speculation. I used to feed Orko a tiny bit of fresh veg every single day and now I am anxious about carrying this on with a new hamster. On the other hand, if they need some fresh veg I do not want to deprive them.

It seems people all have their own opinions on this but I am afraid of doing something wrong or potentially harmful. I am not really sure what to do.

Yes, I know I may be overthinking this but I overthink everything and cannot help that.

 

[elusive]

Getting information online can be a bit of a minefield but I wouldn’t worry too much, we all over think things too, it’s only natural when you care about them.

Robos do come from a dry region with little vegetation but not areas with no vegetation at all so I believe it would be quite natural for them to eat fresh shoots & bits of plant where they can find them.
Veg can provide your hamster with a lot of micronutrients some of which can be missing from an entirely dry food diet.
As with so many things I think moderation is the key so a small amount daily isn’t going to do any harm.
I remember the sort of portion size you gave Orko from his videos & I really can’t see how that would be harmful at all.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Getting information online can be a bit of a minefield but I wouldn’t worry too much, we all over think things too, it’s only natural when you care about them.

Robos do come from a dry region with little vegetation but not areas with no vegetation at all so I believe it would be quite natural for them to eat fresh shoots & bits of plant where they can find them.
Veg can provide your hamster with a lot of micronutrients some of which can be missing from an entirely dry food diet.
As with so many things I think moderation is the key so a small amount daily isn’t going to do any harm.
I remember the sort of portion size you gave Orko from his videos & I really can’t see how that would be harmful at all.

Thank you. I really appreciate your advice. I cannot help wondering if me feeding him veg daily contributed to his short life span. I know he may have had poor genetics but I want to avoid making any mistakes again.

 

[elusive]

I thought that might be causing you some concern but honestly I really can’t imagine it would have done him any harm at all.
I think you will probably find most robo owners feed some fresh food, I’m sure the others on here that own robos do.
I think when you lose a hamster it’s natural to question everything but I can’t see how any aspect of your care could have shortened Orkos life, it’s sometimes something we just have to accept that we can never know if it is genetics or some existing weakness or if it’s just that some do have very short lives but try not to worry over anything you’ve done.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I thought that might be causing you some concern but honestly I really can’t imagine it would have done him any harm at all.
I think you will probably find most robo owners feed some fresh food, I’m sure the others on here that own robos do.
I think when you lose a hamster it’s natural to question everything but I can’t see how any aspect of your care could have shortened Orkos life, it’s sometimes something we just have to accept that we can never know if it is genetics or some existing weakness or if it’s just that some do have very short lives but try not to worry over anything you’ve done.

Thank you so much.

 

[Riven]

I've given all my hamsters fresh food multiple times a week and they've lived 12 months to nearly 4 years. I don't think the fresh produce in Orko's diet contributed to his departure, so please don't worry about that. I understand that you are still grieving and you're going to think of all the 'what ifs'.

I agree with Elusive. The internet can be a wonderful tool BUT it also has a lot of conflicting opinions floating about which makes things more difficult than it should be. I personally think variety in their diet is the best. In the wild they would burrow and forage for roots and shoots. While they live in a dry climate, there is still some vegetation. Roborovski hamsters can be found in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. They are often found in the wheat fields etc as farms are taking over some of their habitats.

I used to feed robos a little bit of fresh food everyday when I had the syrians, since I've just had Ares, I now just feed fresh veg 3 times a week. Normally it is a bit of coriander or some lightly cooked broccoli or something like that.

I wouldn't worry too much about the extra nutrients if you are feeding a fortified and varied diet.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I've given all my hamsters fresh food multiple times a week and they've lived 12 months to nearly 4 years. I don't think the fresh produce in Orko's diet contributed to his departure, so please don't worry about that. I understand that you are still grieving and you're going to think of all the 'what ifs'.

I agree with Elusive. The internet can be a wonderful tool BUT it also has a lot of conflicting opinions floating about which makes things more difficult than it should be. I personally think variety in their diet is the best. In the wild they would burrow and forage for roots and shoots. While they live in a dry climate, there is still some vegetation. Roborovski hamsters can be found in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. They are often found in the wheat fields etc as farms are taking over some of their habitats.

I used to feed robos a little bit of fresh food everyday when I had the syrians, since I've just had Ares, I now just feed fresh veg 3 times a week. Normally it is a bit of coriander or some lightly cooked broccoli or something like that.

I wouldn't worry too much about the extra nutrients if you are feeding a fortified and varied diet.

Thank you very much for sharing this with me. It is very helpful.

 

[Daisy]

I don't think hamsters (especially Robos) necessarily need as much watery veg as many people feed them, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful.

Robos in particular come from very dry areas and aside from seeds, would be eating leafy vegetation and grasses with a lower water content to e.g cucumber or carrot. Leafy vegetables also tend to be higher in nutrients than cucumber and similar. I do think it's good to prioritise leafy foods (not just human foods like spinach etc, but also raspberry leaves, blanched nettles, blackberry leaves, pumpkin leaves, dandelion leaves, apple leaves, grasses such as wheat or oat etc many of which are great nutritionally), but that doesn't mean it's bad to feed a bit of other veg.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I don't think hamsters (especially Robos) necessarily need as much watery veg as many people feed them, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful.

Robos in particular come from very dry areas and aside from seeds, would be eating leafy vegetation and grasses with a lower water content to e.g cucumber or carrot. Leafy vegetables also tend to be higher in nutrients than cucumber and similar. I do think it's good to prioritise leafy foods (not just human foods like spinach etc, but also raspberry leaves, blanched nettles, blackberry leaves, pumpkin leaves, dandelion leaves, apple leaves, grasses such as wheat or oat etc many of which are great nutritionally), but that doesn't mean it's bad to feed a bit of other veg.

Thank you. That is an interesting viewpoint. I have quite a lot of dried leaves so that is very helpful.

 

[Maz]

I would just do what you're comfortable with. If it feels better to just give veg 3 times a week and give something else in the in between days, that is fine. All my hamsters, Robos and Syrians, have had a bit of fresh veg daily. My first Robo lived to age 2 after getting tumours at 18 months. Which is a good age for any hamster. Pip is already 2 years old and pretty energetic - he's had fresh veg every day.

I remember things on the internet that said hamsters can't digest dairy foods well (which might be the case) but mine have all had the occasional bit of cheese with no issues.

I also remember a time when there was a lot on the internet about soya being bad for hamsters and humans as most of it is GM and it's a cheap way of putting protein in hamster foods. After our first hamster died I went completely soya free and organic with the second one. It made no difference. In fact the first hamster lived longer than the second one, but they both lived to well over 2 years old and were both completely healthy all their lives.

Hamsters will eat things they like. Giving them cake every day wouldn't be good for them of course . I don't think vegetables would do any harm. I tend to do cucumber mainly.

There are things hamsters eat in the wild, like insects, that they rebuff, if given to them - I think they might prefer a better grade of diet. I don't suppose they get much meat in the wild (insects probably count as meat) but they really enjoy meat, and are omnivores so it's ok.

Having said all that - you could just give them a good hamster mix and nothing else every day and it would be adequate.

 

[Member ID2]

Just shows how little thought i put into food, for the hamsters and myself. I never worry about it and rely on my own common sense.

I've always fed fresh food daily regardless of species and probably too much by many people's standards. Robos only eat what they want and leave the rest.

Gordon lived to well over 2 and Finley is over 2. Monty and Scottie only made it to about 1.5 which tells me that their lifespan isn't related to fresh food. Also keep in mind that we can only go by what we are told when adopting or rescuing a hamster and background info can be vague. Especially in places like a certain petshop where i got different stories and different ages for the same hamster by speaking to different assistants on different days!

One thing i do know RainbowBrite. Your hamster care is excellent and any hamster who ends up with you is a very fortunate one.

 

[Member ID2]

No idea how old Bernard is. He was one of those grab the hamster and run situations.

 

[Daisy]

I don't think diet really has much impact on hamster lifespans - not unless we're talking really poor diets. Everyone has opinions and speculation (including myself) but nobody's yet discovered the key to guaranteed health and longevity which means it's all just opinions and speculation.

Sometimes with forums and websites a kind of "Chinese whispers" effect can happen whereby one moment somebody is speculating that xyz may be not ideal in some way, and the next minute it's being bandied around as actual fact that xyz is definitely dangerous. So as information and ideas are spread, the nuance can be lost. For example, it's been understood for a long time that iceberg lettuce is a less-than-ideal-but-not-harmful food for hamsters because it's nutritionally empty, but in recent years I've seen people confidently stating that it's toxic!

 

[RainbowBrite]

I don't think diet really has much impact on hamster lifespans - not unless we're talking really poor diets. Everyone has opinions and speculation (including myself) but nobody's yet discovered the key to guaranteed health and longevity which means it's all just opinions and speculation.

Sometimes with forums and websites a kind of "Chinese whispers" effect can happen whereby one moment somebody is speculating that xyz may be not ideal in some way, and the next minute it's being bandied around as actual fact that xyz is definitely dangerous. So as information and ideas are spread, the nuance can be lost. For example, it's been understood for a long time that iceberg lettuce is a less-than-ideal-but-not-harmful food for hamsters because it's nutritionally empty, but in recent years I've seen people confidently stating that it's toxic!

That is so true. The iceberg lettuce thing was always quoted in the guinea pig community too.

It would be helpful if more research was done into hamster diet.

 

[elusive]

I’m not sure more research would really be possible or that helpful to be honest Rainbow, it is pretty well known what they eat in the wild but domesticated hamsters are different & with such short lives, genetic & breeding factors as well as the diet & care they get as babies which is important for any animal there are too many uncertainties to really know for sure how much difference diet makes to life span & possibly even general well being other than really poor & inappropriate diets. I think with so many things it comes down to common sense & maybe experience.
Personally I do think trying to find the optimum diet is important & believe it can make a difference but it is almost impossible to know for sure.

 

[Member ID2]

But, a hamster may enjoy the fresh and crisp texture of a little iceberg now and again.

Romaine lettuce is supposed to be suitable but i wonder why. Lettuce is lettuce.

 

[Daisy]

Romaine lettuce is slightly less watery and has more nutrients than iceberg. Iceberg lettuce is almost entirely water but there's nothing wrong with that occasionally.

The anti-iceberg lettuce thing is borrowed from the rabbit and guinea pig worlds - but it's more important with those animals because they are supposed to get a significant amount of their nutrients from fresh vegetables, so it's risky for them to be filling up on iceberg lettuce too often. They might be malnourished if they're just fed iceberg lettuce and never any other vegetables. Hamsters get almost all of their nutrients from their dry food so it's not so important.

 

[Maz]

I decided not to bother with any lettuce as there was so much conflicting information - there are plenty of other vegetables and fruit I don't particularly like lettuce myself!

I think Daisy is correct that diet doesn't affect hamster lifespan (providing it has the right nutrients and isn't some bad mix). My experience above satisfied me of that. Just about everything with them is genetic I think. It's just like humans. You can get children with nasty life threatening diseases and it's nothing to do with their diet. It's either genetic or environmental factors possibly. Like living near Chernobyl.

 

[Maz]

Edit - conflicting information which Daisy has now explained above to clarify

 

[elusive]

I’d have to disagree & say that I do think diet can improve lifespan & I think I’ve seen that for myself but to be absolutley sure you would have to have had an awful lot of hamsters & tested different diets on enough of them to actually have any real evidence of that & I don’’t think any of us have had quite that many hamsters.