Any hamster people?

kblue · 08-19-2007, 10:18 AM

So my DH just bought the kids 2 Russian Dwarf Hamsters....REALLY CUTE

. I've never had this kind of a pet before and i thought i would ask anyone who might have hamsters or something similar...Is it ok to feed them fresh fruits and veggies? DH bought some of that dried pet food from the pet store but they don't seem to be eating it. I'm sure at some point they will but i just thought i'd ask if fresh stuff was ok too and what kind. These are my kids first pets EVER so i wouldn't want them dying on me/them

........

.

Thanks

Dilly · 08-19-2007, 04:52 PM

I'm a guinea pig owner, but I've never had hamsters. With any of my guinea pigs, when I first bring them home, they take awhile to get settled before they will eat. I usually feed them an extra small amount of pellets so I can easily tell if they have been eating or not.

My guinea pigs can eat fruit, but the sugar content isn't good for them, so I stick mainly to vegetables like green leafy stuff. I just looked at a bit of Hamster information online, and they have different dietary needs as they are omnivorous, while GPs are vegetarian. Here's one of the links I found:

Hamster info

There is a wealth of info on the internet about learning to care for your new critters.

What did you name the hamsters? Good luck with them!

kblue · 08-19-2007, 06:46 PM

Thank Dilly! Well my kids and DH named them pinky and dinky....i have no idea why. Now my kids are starting to randomly change the names. My kids are 5 and 3.

stitchwitch · 08-19-2007, 06:58 PM

Hamsters are cool. Mind you, those little buggers have the skills of Houdini though. I had hamsters as a kid (30 years ago) and more times than I care to remember those little Houdinis would escape from their cages and be lost forever (or so I thought). Just when I would end my crying they would reappear like nothing ever happened.

I've seen those Russian guys at the pet store, they are super cute. Hope you enjoy them.

auburnchick · 08-19-2007, 07:20 PM

My son has two pet rats. We bought the pet food at the store, but we did some research on the internet and fixed our own blend of dry food. We've also started cutting up fresh fruits and vegetables. I think the rats love finding out what "new" food they are getting every few days. They especially love the dry pasta.

Enjoy your new adventure!

Knitting_Guy · 08-19-2007, 10:17 PM

I'm not sure but I think they love pizza and beer.

zkimom · 08-19-2007, 11:57 PM

Originally Posted by Knitting_Guy

I'm not sure but I think they love pizza and beer.

Why, Mason, I think you are right!

JessicaR · 08-20-2007, 12:48 AM

Rorshach · 08-20-2007, 08:22 AM

Hamsters will eat fresh veggies and fruits, but as for the dried food, they tend to be notorious hoarders. If you look, you'll see their cheeks puffed out, that's where they tend to store their food until they deposit it in their nests. They tend to consume it at night, as they are nocturnal as well.

stitchwitch · 08-20-2007, 04:41 PM

Yeah, watch 'em, they want to be taken out of the cage with the puffed up cheeks and when you let them down they immediately go find a corner and dump the food in it. It's funny to watch.