The juicy, sweet, and delicious fruits known as grapes are loved by people all over the world. Not only do they taste great, but grapes are also packed with excellent nutrients. Some of the most prominent vitamins and minerals in grapes are vitamin K, vitamin C, riboflavin, thiamine, manganese, and potassium. With grapesâ great taste and health benefits, you may be wondering: Can hamsters eat grapes?
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Can I Feed My Hamster Grapes?
Despite the debate about the topic, yes, hamsters can eat grapes as an occasional snack. There are some sources that state that hamsters canât eat grapes, while other sources say that they can. This controversy will be discussed in this post so that you can better decide whatâs right for your hamster.
What Do Hamsters Eat In The Wild?
First off, to better understand whether grapes are good for hamsters or not, weâll discuss what a wild hamsterâs diet consists of. Hamsters havenât been kept as pets for a long time. This means that theyâve been roaming throughout Syria, Belgium, Greece, Romania, and China for thousands of years, eating roughly the same food. During this time, their bodies and digestive systems have fine-tuned themselves to function excellently off of the food that they most commonly come across.
This is what makes it so important for you to match your hamsterâs diet to their natural eating habits â their bodies have been optimized to eat certain foods!
Hamsters are classified as being omnivores, but upon looking at their diets, you may notice that theyâre not far off from herbivores. This means that hamsters are able to get their essential nutrients from wide variety of sources, but most of those sources end up being plants and plant matter. Therefore, a healthy mix of grains, nuts, and the occasional fruit and vegetable makes up a wild hamsterâs diet.
Hamsters are natural scavengers, meaning that they run around and eat whatever food they can find (within reason). Now, while the exact diet of a hamster varies depending on the region that they live, the same dietary trends are still clearly present. A hamsterâs diet naturally consists of a mix of fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, nuts, cracked corn, insects, frogs, and lizards.
Controversy Surrounding Grapes & Hamsters
After looking at the diet of a wild hamster, you may think itâs obvious that hamsters should be able to eat grapes. They donât have regular access to grapes specifically, but hamsters eat many other fruits and vegetables that are similar in nature. Despite this, there is a lot of controversy that exists â controversy that lacks hard scientific evidence on either side.
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is actually the primary source stating that grapes are toxic to hamsters. They state that rhubarb and grapes are poisonous to rodents and thus must be avoided. Although the RSPCA is a very credible source, thereâs virtually no evidence or studies backing up that claim. This idea most likely stemmed from the fact that grapes are highly toxic to dogs.
While the exact chemical in grapes that causes kidney failure in dogs hasnât been found yet, itâs a well-documented hazard for dogs. However, dogs and hamsters have extremely different digestive systems. Dogs are primarily carnivorous while rodents tend to be mostly herbivorous, so it makes sense why their digestive systems would be quite different. It definitely is safer to conclude that grapes must be toxic for hamsters since theyâre toxic for dogs, but that doesnât mean that itâs true.
Fortunately, hamster owners have been testing the claim that grapes are toxic for years, and their findings look positive. Many owners state that their hamsters love grapes, and they havenât noticed any downsides after many years. Of course, this doesnât mean grapes are good for every hamster, and some hamsters can simply not digest it too well. However, for the most part, hamsters that eat grapes see no downsides.
How To Properly Feed Hamsters Grapes
The main reason why grapes arenât the best snack for hamsters is because of their high sugar content. A wild hamsterâs diet doesnât show too many foods that are high in sugar. Sure, they may eat the occasional fruit or vegetable that contains sugar, but their overall daily intake is small. So, you can feed your hamster grapes, but it must be done in moderation.
In terms of how much and how frequently to feed your hamster grapes, 2-3 servings a week is generally a healthy amount. A hamster âservingâ is right around the size of a small grape. These grapes can either be left whole or cut up. Cutting up the grape is generally more favorable as itâs easier to eat and more appealing for hamsters.
If feeding your hamster grapes seems like something that you want to do, you first need to ensure that their specific dietary needs are being met. Grapes do contain a good amount of nutrients, but they definitely canât be a dietary staple for a hamster.
The staple food for any happy and healthy hamster is a high-quality pellet or mixed food. These foods have been crafted with the needs of hamsters in mind, ensuring that they get the majority of their required nutrients. Additionally, theyâre a great texture for dental health and quite tasty and nice to eat. Once your hamsterâs needs are being met, then you can work on supplementing their diet with treats such as grapes.
Ways Hamsters Can Eat Grapes
Grapes make for a great little snack, but they donât have to be fed the same way every time! Hamsters are smart little critters that can actually get bored of eating the same food over and over again. Below are some of the most common ways that grapes are consumed, in addition to whether or not theyâre good for hamsters.
- Fresh grapes â Popping grapes off of the stem and into your mouth is the most common way to eat them! Fresh, healthy grapes can either be purchased from an organic store or grown in your own backyard. The skin and seeds are safe for hamsters, so the entire grape makes for a good snack. Make sure that you clean out any uneaten grape from your hamsterâs cage, as they can start to go bad quickly.
- Dried grapes â Another delicious way that grapes are eaten is in dried form. These can either be currants, sultanas, or raisins â theyâre all just dried grapes. Although theyâre also a great snack, caution must be taken. Dried grapes have the majority of their water removed, meaning that thereâs a higher density of sugar and nutrients. So, if you do opt to feed your hamster dried grapes, you must do so in smaller amounts.
- Frozen grapes â This is a little life hack for hot weather that rodent owners love! A few grapes placed in the freezer will keep them nice and preserved for when youâre ready to give them out. Once again, make sure that you clean up the remains of these grapes, as they will start to go bad and could cause some issues.
- Liquid grapes â Liquid grapes either refers to grape juice or wine. Either way, neither of those should be given to hamsters. Grape juice contains too much sugar for hamsters to process, and wine is simply dangerous as hamsters canât process alcohol. Avoid these altogether and stick to dried or juicy grapes.
Good Grape Alternatives For Hamsters
Although grapes make for good hamster snacks, there are definitely better snacks out there! Hamsters do gain some benefits from grapes, but those benefits arenât nearly as good as they would be from a dedicated hamster treat. Below are two of the most popular hamster treats that we absolutely love.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
Supreme Tiny Friends Farm Lovelies Treats
These Tiny Friends Farm Lovelies are among the most popular and well-received hamster treats available.
Featuring only a handful of natural ingredients, theyâre relatively healthy yet still tasty for hamsters.
2-3 of these treats a week is a healthy amount that keeps a hamsterâs diet interesting and complete.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
Brownâs Tropical Carnival Natural Select
Quality seed mixes are an excellent alternative to the standard hamster treat.
This mix contains a variety of seeds from pumpkin to sunflower, and this closely resembles a natural diet.
2-3 seeds a day makes for a very tasty snack thatâs also great for a hamsterâs dental health.
