Hamsters make excellent pets, and one of the best things about them is how the tiny creatures love to eat all day long! Nuts are a favorite food when it comes to hamsters. However, you need to be really safe when you feed them nuts as they are high in fat and sometimes sugar too. If you are wondering ‘can hamsters eat pecans,’ then the answer is yes, hamsters can eat pecans.
However, if you look into the components of pecans, you will notice that these nuts are high in fat, sugar, and water. It just means that while some species of hamsters can eat pecans, some others cannot. Here is everything you need to know about feeding pecans to your hamsters.
Syrian hamsters are a large species of hamsters which can grow up to 6 to 7 inches in length. These hamsters have enormous appetites and love to eat nuts as occasional treats. You can give your Syrian hamster one or two pieces of pecan once a week, but not more.
Campbell’s Dwarf hamsters are a smaller species of hamsters. Even though these hamsters love to each as much as their larger hamster cousins, you absolutely cannot feed them the same kind of fatty foods. You should altogether avoid feeding pecans to your Campbell’s dwarf hamsters as these nuts are way too fat for them, and also contain sugar and water which is not suitable for them in larger quantities.
Winter whites dwarf hamsters are also a small species of dwarf hamsters which cannot digest too much of high-fat foods. It is best that you do not feed any pecans to your winter whites dwarf hamsters, as it can be too dangerous for their health.
Robowski hamsters are another species of more giant hamsters, just like the Syrian hamsters. These hamsters can digest small amounts of salt, fat, sugar, and water in their foods. However, even these hamsters can eat pecan nuts only in moderation. Give your Robowski hamsters just one or two pieces of pecans once a week only.
Finally, the Chinese hamsters are also another species of dwarf hamsters which make trendy pets. However, since these hamsters are very tiny and quite susceptible to developing diabetes and obesity, you should avoid feeding them fatty food like pecans.
In the wild, hamsters can be found living in many places like deserts and jungles. Here, the hamsters are scavengers, which means that they hunt and pick their food as they can find them. The wild hamsters mainly survive on a diet of wild berries and fruits, vegetables, plants, leaves, and sometimes and nuts, grains, and seeds. The wild hamsters will also eat small insects, frogs, and lizards if they can get their hands on them.
Domestic hamsters have a far more balanced and healthy diet as compared to wild hamsters. You should keep your pet hamsters on a healthy diet of exceptional hamster food which you will find in pet stores. Other than that as a regular diet, you can also give your hamsters little treats occasionally, but make sure they are safe foods for your little hamsters.
Pecans can be a great treat for your hamsters if you feed it to your Syrian and Robowski hamsters occasionally. Pecans contain dietary fibers, protein, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B6.
The dietary fibers in pecans are great for regulating the bowel movements of your hamsters, along with contributing to a healthy digestive system and gut.
Vitamin K is essential for bone metabolism of your hamsters. The vitamin also plays a vital role in blood clotting as well as regulating the blood calcium levels in their body.
Vitamin C is vital for encouraging growth as well as repair of the tissues in the body. Along with that, Vitamin K also helps the body maintain healthy bone, cartilage, teeth, and a robust immune system.
Vitamin B6 helps the body in maintaining healthy skin, nerves, and red blood cells in your hamster’s body.
Pecans do have a lot of health benefits for your hamsters, however, overfeeding this nut can also cause a lot of health risks for them. For the smaller hamster species like dwarf hamsters, the sugar, water and fat content in pecans is far too high for them to digest. Hence, you should altogether avoid feeding pecans to the dwarf hamsters.
Due to the high sugar and fat content in pecans, too much of this nut can be dangerous for your hamsters, as they can develop obesity or diabetes by overeating this nut.
Your little hamsters absolutely should not be eating the pecan shells, as it is way too hard for them. The pecan shells also do not contain any nutritional benefits, so you should always peel off the shells before you feed pecan to your hamsters. However, your hamsters might find it a fun challenge to try and break open the shell by themselves to get to the nut inside.
Make sure the pecan nut and shells are not salted before you give it to your hamsters to eat.
No! Your hamsters cannot eat salted or roasted pecans! As far as salted pecans go, they are an absolute no-no for your hamsters, as the salt content is too high for these tiny creatures and they can get really sick. However, you can give the occasional roasted pecan to your hamsters if you want. The best option would be to provide them with raw, organic pecans.
Your Syrian and Robowski hamsters can eat one or two pecans just once a week. However, when it comes to your dwarf hamsters, you should absolutely avoid feeding them pecans, due to the high-fat content in these nuts.
As long as you know how much pecans to feed your hamsters, it can be a safe and healthy treat for them. Keep your hamsters on a regular diet of exceptional hamster food, giving them pecans only as an occasional treat.