Can Hamsters Eat Brazil Nuts?

While all nuts contain some amount of fat and phosphorous, some of them are safe for your hamsters, which some of them are entirely toxic. If you already have hamsters at home, then you know how much these little creatures love to eat nuts every once in a while. However, you need to be very careful about the kind of nuts you are feeding them, and the quantity as well. If you are wondering ‘can hamsters eat brazil nuts,’ then the answer is yes, hamsters can eat brazil nuts.

Here is everything you need to know about feeding brazil nuts to your little hamsters, and how much quantity of nuts you should give each breed.

Syrian hamsters are a popular species of hamsters and are quite large in size. These hamsters make excellent house pets, and love to eat the occasional nuts. You can give your Syrian hamsters one piece of brazil nut just once a week, but not more. As brazil nuts are high in fat, you should avoid feeding too much of it to your little hamsters, who are already susceptible to developing diabetes and obesity.

Campbell’s dwarf hamsters are a smaller species of hamsters, about half the size of the giant, Syrian hamsters. These hamsters are also great pets to keep at home, especially if you cannot keep larger animals in the house as pets. However, Dwarf hamsters have a rather delicate digestive system and cannot digest too many fatty foods in their diets. You can feed the occasional brazil nut to your Campbell’s dwarf hamsters, but don’t give them more than one piece once in two weeks.

Winter whites dwarf hamsters are also another species of small hamsters which you can keep as pets at home. These hamsters are also very susceptible to developing diabetes and obesity from a high caloric diet. You can give a brazil nut to your Winter whites dwarf hamsters once every two weeks only, but not more than that.

Robowski hamsters are like the larger species of Syrian hamsters. These hamsters can tolerate some amounts of fatty foods in their diets. However, you still need to be very careful when you are feeding them brazil nuts. Give your Robowski hamsters just one brazil nut once a week.

Chinese hamsters are also a species of Dwarf hamsters, so they are really tiny and cannot really digest much of fatty foods. You can give the occasional brazil nut to your Chinese hamsters, but keep in mind never to overfeed them. Give the Chinese hamsters just one brazil nut a maximum of once in two weeks only.

There are many species of wild hamsters which survive in places all over the world. Here in the wild, the hamsters cannot maintain a balanced and nutritious diet, but they hunt and pick their foods as they can. The wild hamsters survive on wild fruits and berries, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, leaves, and also the occasional small insects, lizards, and even frogs.

Domestic hamsters have a much more balanced and healthy diet consisting mainly of exceptional hamster food you find in pet stores, and the occasional safe foods as treats.

What are the benefits of feeding Brazil nuts to hamsters?

Brazil nuts can have a few health benefits for your hamsters as long as you feed it to them within moderation. These nuts contain potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin B6.

Potassium in the Brazil nuts is high for building both bone and muscle strength in your hamsters.

Iron helps in building strong immunity and is one of the most vital nutrients for the healthy growth of your hamsters.

Calcium is also beneficial for healthy bones and joints in your hamsters, keeping all kinds of bone health issues at bay.

Magnesium is also related directly to good bone health in your hamsters, and also encourages good heart health and keeps diabetes at bay, which is very important for these little hamsters.

Finally, Vitamin B6 has a whole lot of benefits. These include keeping healthy skin and nerves for your hamsters, along with the production of healthy red blood cells, which is good for the general overall health of the hamsters.

What are the risks related to feeding Brazil nuts to hamsters?

Well, Brazil nuts are one of those nuts which have a high level of potassium and fats. Hence, they can be very dangerous if you start feeding them to your hamsters regularly. The high-fat content in Brazil nuts can cause your hamsters to put on a lot of weight, leading to obesity, diabetes, and finally, a whole array of other health issues related to gaining excess weight.

As long as you can scale the quantity of Brazil nuts you are giving to your hamsters, mainly depending upon their specific breed, Brazil nuts can be a great occasional treat for them. However, in excess, Brazil nuts can be very harmful to hamsters.

Can hamsters eat Brazil nutshells?

Hamsters quite enjoy cracking open nuts on their own, using their teeth. However, with other, softer shells, this is an excellent exercise for them. Brazil nutshells are quite hard, just like coconut shells. Your hamsters can try to break them open, but will simply end up injuring themselves. It is best if you feed the Brazil nut to your hamsters after you already break the shells for them.

Can hamsters eat salted Brazil nuts?

No, hamsters absolutely cannot eat salted Brazil nuts, as the quantity of salt in these nuts will be way too much for them to digest, and they would end up falling sick! Give your hamsters only unsalted Brazil nuts.

How much Brazil nuts can you feed your hamsters?

Since Brazil nuts have a high quantity of fat in them, you have to be very careful about the number of nuts you are feeding them. Give your Syrian and Robowski hamsters just one Brazil nut per week, whereas your Dwarf hamsters only one Brazil nut once in two weeks.

Conclusion

With high-fat foods like nuts, you have to be very careful, since your hamsters are already prone to developing obesity and diabetes. Keep the quantity in mind when you are feeding Brazil nuts to your hamsters. It is best to keep your hamsters on a healthy diet of exceptional hamster food from pet stores and give them these treats occasionally.