How much to feed?

[Hello123]

I adopted my first hamster (Syrian) a few weeks ago. I've been giving her two tablespoons of food a day and she hides all of it every night.

I knew hamsters cached their food, but I wasn't expecting it to worry me so much. I'm used to monitoring food intake by looking at a food bowl. Should I continue to add two tablespoons of food each night? I can't see the cache, so I don't know how much reserve she has. She tends to hide a lot, so I also rarely see her and am unable to monitor her body condition that way.

If I'm giving 2 tablespoons of grains and pellets a day, how much fresh vegetable matter should I be giving?

Thank you.

 

[Maz]

Hello I tend to give 1 heaped tablespoonful of hamster mix a day. Some hamsters will pouch all of it and hoard it (and they tend to snack from their hoards as and when they feel like it). Other hamsters will leave quite a bit in the bowl after pouching some to hoard. If they do that I empty the remaining food out and put a new tablespoonful in as they tend to ignore any food that has been sat there and isn't freshly out.

So you don't need to worry about over feeding or underfeeding because hamsters will eat what they need/want from their hoards primarily. But it's a good reason not to clean them out too much or too often and to not remove or throw away their hoards. That can also make them quite anxious and then they can develop behaviours like peeing on things more (including the hoard) to deter thieves!

The other main thing is using a good hamster mix. A muesli mix is considered best as it has variety of ingredients which encourages the hamster's foraging instincts. It needs to be a good quality mix and with the correct levels of protein - which is at least 18 to 20% for a Syrian under a year old. Some mixes are good quality but a bit low on protein and then you need to supplement the protein a bit - one option for that is high protein treats like a nut or a bit of freeze dried chicken or even leftover meat from your meals (providing it's plain cooked and no sauces or spices etc).

So I'd reduce it to 1 rounded to heaped tablespoonful a day so you don't end up wasting too much food - as the hoards can get very large and at some point you will need to prune it and throw away the older part of it - but it's always best to leave some of the hoard behind.

Having said that - it depends what you call a tablespoon and which country you're from! I know from cooking that an English tablespoon is bigger than an American tablespoon! I think one is 15mls/grammes and the other is 20mls/grammes.

 

[Hello123]

Thank you for this great advice! I really appreciate it!

 

[Maz]

Which country are you in by the way?

 

[Riven]

I give 1 heaped tbsp too. Except once a week/every other week I don't give food. This allows my hamsters to use up some of the food in their hoard and forage for the seeds that may have fallen through the bedding. This keeps their hoard fresher and you don't need to worry about swapping their hoard for fresher foods should you stumble across it when cleaning. Although, once part of a burrow is 'dirty' (and a sign that your should spot clean that area) they typically move any good bits of their hoard to a new food storage area and create a new sleeping area not far from it. The toilet is furthest away from the sleeping area. If you find food in the toilet area, that's what the hamster considers to be 'expired'. This is safe to throw away without replacing.

 

[Maz]

I think hamsters can vary a lot in how they feed and manage hoards. I always put new food out every day as it becomes a routine for them and they expect it.

 

[Hello123]

Which country are you in by the way?

I'm in the USA.

 

[Maz]

how much fresh vegetable matter should I be giving?

I missed this bit! Fresh veg - you just give a tiny bit daily. Maybe 1cm cubed size (although doesn't have to be cube shaped!) If you give too much then they might hoard it and it go rotten then you have to go poking around trying to find mouldy veg! I've always given the 1cm cubed amount and they eat it all and don't hoard it then. Cucumber, broccoli, carrot, baby corn or peas are a safe bet - whatever you have in. There's also a thread about safe veg on here if you're thinking of other things. No onions though.

Ok if you're in the USA and it's a 15ml tablespoon then two level ones of those should be about right!

 

[Hello123]

I give 1 heaped tbsp too. Except once a week/every other week I don't give food. This allows my hamsters to use up some of the food in their hoard and forage for the seeds that may have fallen through the bedding. This keeps their hoard fresher and you don't need to worry about swapping their hoard for fresher foods should you stumble across it when cleaning. Although, once part of a burrow is 'dirty' (and a sign that your should spot clean that area) they typically move any good bits of their hoard to a new food storage area and create a new sleeping area not far from it. The toilet is furthest away from the sleeping area. If you find food in the toilet area, that's what the hamster considers to be 'expired'. This is safe to throw away without replacing.

Thank you! This is very good to know!