Howmany mealworms

[QiQi]

Hi,
I wanted to ask howmany dried mealworms i should feed my russian dwarf hamster each day?
I don't want give him too much because hes already getting a little bowl of normal hamster food + 1 piece of dried fruit (little one fruit mix) each day
thanks in advance

 

[Maz]

Do you mean you want to supplement the protein in the Little One Mix? You can use mealworms, freeze dried chicken and nuts for protein supplementation. A hamster will only eat what they need of that but probably no more than one mealworm a day.

As you have a Russian dwarf hamster, however, they will be a hybrid and prone to diabetes, so fruit and dried fruit shouldn't be given and they need a sugar free diet. This is very important as avoiding fruit and sugars can help prevent the onset of genetic diabetes and it's a painful and cruel condition if a hamster gets it.

Have you made any progress with a cage upgrade yet? I am sure there will be some good second hand options on ebay that give a better quality of life than the current enclosure.

 

[Maz]

As you like glass enclosures - this would be a good option if you can afford it. It's not the largest of hamster cages, but would make a lovely home for your dwarf hamster

Bucatstate cage

 

[Maz]

Or this one would be ideal for your dwarf hamster It's a perspex tank so lighter than glass and could sit on your desk. It would make such a lovely home for your hamster, with lots of depth of substrate.

Maxi duna multy - click here

 

[QiQi]

Ok so 1piece of dried fruit of about 1cm a day is too much?
Yes the mealworms is to add into the food
So 1 piece of dried fruit (little one fruit mix) about 1cm or smaller + normal hamster food + couple of dried mealworms
howmany mealworms do you suggest to add into the diet?
And im going to do upgrade in cage
i will post when things arrive, its DIY stuff

 

[Maz]

A little piece of veg would be better than fruit . Cucumber or broccoli are popular or if you have a bag of frozen peas you could defrost a couple of peas to give the hamster. Not dried fruit though. If you get the little one dwarf hamster mix it is sugar free. You don’t need to add the mealworms to the mix you can just give one daily.

 

[elusive]

Do you know what the protein content of your hamster mix is? How many mealworms will depend on how much more protein he needs.
One or two a day is usually ok.
There is quite a lot of different veg you can give, as well as those Maz mentioned red pepper, green beans & courgette have been popular with mine.

It is very important that you stop giving your hamster fruit, it really could lead to ill health which you don’t want, just cut out fruit completely & avoid any other sweet foods like treats with honey.