Feeding fresh food to robo hamsters

[Maz]

That is a good point too. Maybe it should be that a reasonable diet with the right nutrients, makes no difference to an average lifespan. But a particularly good diet might increase it slightly. I think there are other factors still involved though, like the environment the hamster has, the lifestyle it's had and the genetics.

I think a very good diet can certainly keep them very healthy and in good condition, but it won't slow down the ageing process really.

 

[Maz]

And to be clear, a very poor diet could definitely shorten their lifespan - lack of protein in the first year for example or not sufficient vitamins and minerals in the diet.

 

[Daisy]

It's possible there could be more to it than nutrients though. I think it's likely that there's a difference between how a processed food like Harry Hamster and a whole food diet like Rodipet/Bunny affect the body even though they may have the same nutrients. Whether that translates into any difference in health of lifespan is debatable.

 

[Riven]

Well there are studies done that show how humans consuming a lot of processed foods are more likely to end up with health problems ranging from diabetes to cancer so who knows. If it can affect us I'm sure it could affect hamsters. But then there is a drastic lifespan difference which probably also affect that as you could argue toxins, which is a term I will use loosely, have more time to build up to problem causing levels the longer you live. However, hamsters do have a much faster metabolism.

 

[Daisy]

Interesting fact: Syrian hamsters have huge livers which means they metabolise a lot of drugs and toxins really quickly. For this reason, it's almost impossible to get a Syrian hamster drunk. They metabolise the alcohol too quickly. Not that you should try.

But now we're getting a bit off topic

 

[Riven]

Interesting fact: Syrian hamsters have huge livers which means they metabolise a lot of drugs and toxins really quickly. For this reason, it's almost impossible to get a Syrian hamster drunk. They metabolise the alcohol too quickly. Not that you should try.

But now we're getting a bit off topic

Daisy...I worry about what you do in your free time I'd also hate to see your search history lol

 

[Maz]

I’ve also read about the alcohol thing actually. Quite recently - I was quite surprised to learn that.

 

[Maz]

So veg is probably fine. But a pleasant extra rather than an essential. Alcohol isn’t fine, even if it doesn’t get them drunk .

 

[Maz]

Just as an update on this, this is what Wikipedia has to say about the Roborovski diet

They are omnivorous; they primarily eat grains, vegetables, fruit, and plants, but they will also eat meat and insects when present.

So they do eat fruit and vegetables as part of their natural diet. I think it's been a longstanding thing, owners giving a bit of fresh veg daily.

Roborovski dwarf hamster - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It also quotes research

Flint and Golowkin determined in 1958 and 1959 that nearly 100 percent of the cheek pouches' content consisted of plant food, whereas animal food was only found in 23 percent of the hamsters' pouches at all in 1958 and 32 percent in 1959. Th

It's an interesting page. It seems to be fairly up to date as it mentions large cage sizes and water bowls as well. It also lists all the variety of colours of Robos (which is something I have been wondering about as you see them in various colours these days).

One thing also - the white faced Robos are more prone to neurological issues apparently. Rather than the standard agouti type. This is something I was already aware of re "spinning" issues in some robos. So if you're thinking of getting another one, it could be nice to have a different colourway anyway - that's often recommended so you see the hamster as an individual more easily and not so similar to the previous one.

My first robo was white faced but didn't have neurological issues however. Also there's a difference betweeen a "white faced" and a "white faced Husky" (which can be confusing).

 

[Maz]

The other thing with veg is, Robos don't overeat on it. Both mine will take a few nibbles out of a tiny piece of veg and leave the rest. I hope this all gives some reassurance I think the 1958/9 research says a lot.

 

[Maz]

The National Hamster council says this about giving veg (which it recommends). I think if veg was an issue with Robos, the first thing you'd notice would be diarrhoea. I think it's fine to give them a bit of veg daily, but introduce it every few days over a couple of weeks.

The fresh vegetables include: Carrot Broccoli Cauliflower Cucumber Don’t feed too much fresh vegetable at once as the Roborovski Hamsters are adapted to desert conditions and, as such, their digestive systems are not designed to process food with a high moisture content. Too much at one time could give them diarrhoea. Also, even though they are desert creatures with extremely efficient kidneys which conserve any water intake, Roborovski Hamsters need clean, fresh water available at all times.

 

[elusive]

This thread did get a bit off track but we’re back where we started really that a small amount of veg is fine, variety is the key & maybe just not too mch of the very watery veg like cucumber but more of the nutrient rich veg is best.

 

[Maz]

Agree - although I don't have issues with cucumber either, I give it regularly to our Robo (and the last one) and no problems. And they really do enjoy it as well.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I remember reading that wiki article a while back. I actually used to feed Orko cucumber often. He would only eat cucumber, carrot, bell pepper. I would alternate this as he would leave any other kind of fresh veg. I now realise this is wrong as cucumber is watery and the other two are sugary. I was just concerned he had something he liked. I put out a small slice of veg and he always ate it and never left any or hoarded any.

I can understand it would be nice to get a robo that has different colouring. I think Orko's colouring seems to be the most common of all the robos I see in rescue.

 

[elusive]

There’s nothing wrong with giving cucumber Rainbow, it’s just better to give a variety of things, being watery is fine once in a while & it is only tiny amounts so that’s fine.
I don’t see a problem with peppers or carrot either, they are sweeter than some other veg but fine for a species that isn’t prone to diabetes, I give peppers to species that are without any worries.
All hamsters are different & enjoy different things so you just have to experiment & see what they like but I don’t think it’s an issue you really need to worry about.

 

[RainbowBrite]

There’s nothing wrong with giving cucumber Rainbow, it’s just better to give a variety of things, being watery is fine once in a while & it is only tiny amounts so that’s fine.
I don’t see a problem with peppers or carrot either, they are sweeter than some other veg but fine for a species that isn’t prone to diabetes, I give peppers to species that are without any worries.
All hamsters are different & enjoy different things so you just have to experiment & see what they like but I don’t think it’s an issue you really need to worry about.

Thank you. Orko was so picky with food and it was so hard to find things he liked so he worried me a lot with his diet.

 

[Maz]

Orko had an excellent diet and I am asbolutely sure what happened was nothing to do with his diet. I don't have so much veg in these days apart from cucumber and carrots and Pip has had cucumber virtually every day for 18 months. It's absolutely fine. The only sign of a hamster having too much watery stuff is if they get diarrhoea. I think they would have to eat an awful lot of cucumber to get diarrhoea. Personally I don't think watery veg is an issue anyway - they drink water! Basically, give your new Robo any veg you like off the safe list and that is a lot of choice. Or substitute the veg for a bit of apple or a blueberry now and then.

 

[elusive]

I think there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding here as I don’t think it’s been suggested that watery veg are bad because of the water content being an issue it just that they are very low in nutrients.

 

[Maz]

It was the Wikipedia article that mentioned watery veg giving diarrhoea . I thought Rainbow was referring to that. Either way Rainbow, both Elusive and I think it's fine to give veg to a Robo. I've always given cucumber and there's no issue with it - it won't do any harm at all. Most hamsters really look forward to a bit of fresh food every day and if you miss a day they get upset! But it doesn't have to be veg every day if you would prefer to do it 2 or 3 times a week. The in between days it could be a bit of fruit or other fresh item instead, so they still have something to look forward to.

 

[Frida]

I've been buying Albert and me these mini cucumbers (6 in a pack). They are less watery. I cut a small piece off for Albert and I eat the rest as a snack. Albert loves it. I normally have 2 or 3 veggies available and give Albert a small piece of something different each night.