Hamster Food Safety

[RainbowBrite]

My mistake, it says 36 not 35.
“Onion has been shown to favorably modify the lipoprotein profile. However, research on its underlying mechanism is lacking. The present study investigated the interaction of dietary onion powder with the protein expression of key receptors and enzymes involved in cholesterol metabolism. Thirty-six male hamsters were randomly divided into three groups and fed a high-cholesterol control diet or the two experimental diets supplemented with 1% onion powder (OP-1) or 5% onion powder (OP-5), for a period of 8 weeks. It was found that onion dose-dependently decreased plasma total cholesterol (TC) level. The change in plasma lipoprotein profile was accompanied by a greater excretion of both fecal neutral and acidic sterols. Western blot analysis revealed that onion up-regulated sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) and cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) with no effect on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and LDL receptor (LDL-R). It was concluded that the hypocholesterolemic activity of onion powder was mediated by enhancement of fecal sterol excretion and up-regulation of LXRα and CYP7A1.”

 

[Maz]

is it okay to use this list?

I saw this on the Hamster Welfare website. Is there anything on the this list that any members think shouldn't be on there or is it okay to use this list?

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Personally I don't think it's necessary. Most foods are ok. Unless they are "don't give". And as mentioned above, onion, garlic, spices and chocolate are not really recommended. You can always ask on here if you're not sure about anything. Also Daisy is the food expert

It concerns me they talk about health benefits of chocolate. There are scientific articles that say that kind of thing for humans as well! One week, coffee is good for you - the next week it's bad for you. The same with red wine. I remember a scientific article saying red wine prevented heart disease in French studies. Well yes - if they have a more relaxed lifestyle and eat and drink outside more!

Scientists narrow down on one beneficial ingredient sometimes, and overlook the "whole" effect.

 

[Maz]

My mistake, it says 36 not 35.
“Onion has been shown to favorably modify the lipoprotein profile. However, research on its underlying mechanism is lacking. The present study investigated the interaction of dietary onion powder with the protein expression of key receptors and enzymes involved in cholesterol metabolism. Thirty-six male hamsters were randomly divided into three groups and fed a high-cholesterol control diet or the two experimental diets supplemented with 1% onion powder (OP-1) or 5% onion powder (OP-5), for a period of 8 weeks. It was found that onion dose-dependently decreased plasma total cholesterol (TC) level. The change in plasma lipoprotein profile was accompanied by a greater excretion of both fecal neutral and acidic sterols. Western blot analysis revealed that onion up-regulated sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) and cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) with no effect on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and LDL receptor (LDL-R). It was concluded that the hypocholesterolemic activity of onion powder was mediated by enhancement of fecal sterol excretion and up-regulation of LXRα and CYP7A1.”

Thirty-six male hamsters

No females! No it doesn't mention species (so probably Syrians) and it doesn't mention if they were closely related or not.

 

[RainbowBrite]

No females!

I know. How odd. That is why I am not taking any notice of garlic and onion potentially being healthy. That is not in depth enough for me to be sure.

 

[Maz]

There are things that can have health benefits that can also cause gastro intestinal upset, and garlic is one of them - even in humans. Personally it upsets my digestive system.

I think what they are trying to do is knock on the head a lot of myths but it doesn't mean some of those foods should be recommended or are advisable. The citrus thing has been around for a long time and I would think it could be due to affecting digestion again. For example neat vitamin c powder (which some people take for health benefits, dissolved in water) can rot teeth as well as guts! It's far too acidic.

I think it's common sense to avoid giving hamsters lemons! If research says citrus is ok - how much did they give and did they do long term studies? I don't think these are long term studies.

I would still avoid citrus, onions, garlic and chocolate and spices.

Tomato is one that has had varying views. I know tomato contains lycopene - something that helps line the gut in humans. (Drinking tomato juice can help diarrhoea settle for example). It's still something I'd be cautious about with hamsters as the bulk of it is seeds and skin really.

 

[elusive]

There is a lot of conflicting advice out there, personally I tend to rely on common sense & experience but it’s not so easy for people who are new to hamsters & I think saying most foods are ok can just confuse them a bit.
It’s not really possible to do a truly comprehensive list so if in doubt just ask rather than relying on online info.

 

[RainbowBrite]

There are things that can have health benefits that can also cause gastro intestinal upset, and garlic is one of them - even in humans. Personally it upsets my digestive system.

I worry people will read that and then give a hamster a human meal. A few days ago I heard of somebody sharing spaghetti bolognaise with their hamster. Some people need clear guidelines or they will think that is okay.

 

[Maz]

As with humans also, some vegetables are also herbs which can have certain properties - ie diuretic. And I don't think enough is known about hamsters' metabolism with some of these technically medicinal herbs as to whether it would be an issue or not.

 

[Maz]

I worry people will read that and then give a hamster a human meal. A few days ago I heard of somebody sharing spaghetti bolognaise with their hamster. Some people need clear guidelines or they will think that is okay.

I agree with that entirely and they will be getting a whole range of things there. Tomato skin, contents of stock cubes (too much salt) and possibly even monosodium glutamate and other undesirable food additives.

It is a very good point - if someone looks at that list and thinks - meat, tomatoes, onion and garlic are fine therefore the hamster can have bolognese sauce ..............................it should also state - if giving human leftovers - no sauces or gravy - which is what we say.

 

[Maz]

I am sure hamsters don't get citrus in the wild!

 

[Maz]

There is a lot of conflicting advice out there, personally I tend to rely on common sense & experience but it’s not so easy for people who are new to hamsters & I think saying most foods are ok can just confuse them a bit.
It’s not really possible to do a truly comprehensive list so if in doubt just ask rather than relying on online info.

I think it's fine to say most foods are fine - "except for these"- and have an unsafe list. Providing that is moderated with information like - human leftovers should not include any sauces or gravy etc and keep to raw fresh foods where possible. And providing it also states that the bulk of a hamsters diet should be a good mix with the correct protein levels in and fresh food should be considered as treats or extras.

 

[Maz]

Sadly, I think most of that research linked, was not intended to monitor long term effects in hamsters, but as experimentation for humans. Citrus lowers cholesterol. Yes, but what effect does it have on the gut long term? Even humans with stomach ulcers are advised to avoid citrus.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Sadly, I think most of that research linked, was not intended to monitor long term effects in hamsters, but as experimentation for humans. Citrus lowers cholesterol. Yes, but what effect does it have on the gut long term? Even humans with stomach ulcers are advised to avoid citrus.

I would never feed citrus to any animal. What if it gave them a mouth ulcer.

 

[Maz]

Or a pouch ulcer.

 

[Daisy]

Vets almost always recommend pellets over seed mixes, but that's because they're focused on health, not overall wellbeing (not that I think pellets are the healthiest option anyway). They also tend to lump hamsters in with other species like rabbits or even dogs where selective feeding is much more of an issue. And often when they hear "seed mix" they think people are just feeding sunflower seeds and nothing else! Vets are experts on the medical side of things, not husbandry but they don't always realise that...

I feed tomato personally, and very occasionally a bit of orange. I don't think there's any evidence that hamsters are more sensitive to citrus than humans. But it is a personal choice at the end of the day.

 

[Maz]

I have problems enough eating oranges myself - without squirting myself in the eye . I have a vision of a hamster biting a piece of orange and it squirting everywhere. I would be concerned, if they are on a safe list, that people would not remove the pips or may squirt lemon juice into water eg.

 

[Daisy]

With satsumas, I peel away the skin of a segment to get these tiny orange sacs which they can eat in one piece.

I've also just remembered I did some research once into the acidity of various fruits and orange is not as acidic as often thought. It's similar to apple and less acidic than most berries.

What Are the PH Levels of Some Common Fruits?

Some pH levels of common fruits include Delicious apples (pH 3.9), bananas (pH 4.5 to 5.2), cantaloupe (pH 6.13 to 6.58), oranges (pH 3.69 to 4.34) and strawberries pH 3.0 to 3.9). The pH of fresh peaches is 3.3 to 4.05, while for canned peaches it ranges from 3.7 to 4.2. Fruits with a pH of 4.6...

redirect.viglink.com

 

[Maz]

Thank you Daisy. The lower the number, the more acidic. That is very interesting. I've always thought apples were quite acidic too. So maybe "citrus fruits" is too all encompassing and the focus should be on certain citrust fruit like lemons and limes. And presumably no pips. I can't imagine orange pips or lemon pips are safe.

 

[Daisy]

No lemon or lime is a given really! They're much too sour and acidic.

The pips aren't unsafe, but they might not taste very nice.

 

[Jain]

Sadly, I think most of that research linked, was not intended to monitor long term effects in hamsters, but as experimentation for humans. Citrus lowers cholesterol. Yes, but what effect does it have on the gut long term? Even humans with stomach ulcers are advised to avoid citrus.

Anyone with Acid or Silent Reflux should avoid tomatoes so I wouldn't thi k the are good for hamsters either but as usual I'm never 100% sure