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Pet Care - feeding
Too much change in your hamster's diet will upset him, so make sure you feed him the same food as the pet shop for the first week. You can then slowly start to give him new foods.

Pet Care - feeding
 

Hoarding
The name hamster means 'hoarder' because hamsters love to hoard! He will store a lot of his food, so you will need to give him more than he needs to eat. Your hamster will use his large cheek pouches to move the food around and can carry up to half his body weight!

The right balance
To ensure that you give your hamster a healthy diet, containing all the right nutrients, feed him high quality dry food like Living World's Extrusion or Classic food for hamsters. You can also give him small pieces of fresh food and suitable treats and chews.

Fresh fruit and vegetables
In addition to dry pellets, seed mixture or food blocks give your hamster some small pieces of fresh fruit or vegetables. The ones that are safe for him to eat are: broccoli, parsley, apple, pear, carrot and turnip. So that your hamster doesn't hoard away fresh food that will rot, give it to him in small portions and remove any uneaten pieces daily.
Many fruit and vegetables are bad for hamsters and can kill them. Don't give him: onions, chives, leeks, lettuce, aubergines, garlic, raw potatoes, oranges, lemons, avocados, apple pips, peach stones or cherry stones. Don't give too much fresh food as it can cause digestive upsets - one broccoli floret or slice of apple per day is enough.

Protein
In the wild, hamsters are omnivores, which means they eat meat as well as fruit and vegetables. You will need to give your hamster some protein. Twice a week, give him a slice of hard-boiled egg, a teaspoonful of cottage cheese, scrambled egg, or a sliver of cooked chicken.

Supplements
If you feed your hamster a balanced diet, he shouldn't need supplements, but a mineral block will provide some important minerals, such as calcium, and help to keep his teeth healthy.

No sweets
Don't feed your hamster sweets and especially not sticky sweets like chocolate, fudge or toffee, as these will clog his cheek pouches and make him fat. If you do have an overweight hamster, feed him Living World's Extrusion food, which is full of healthy ingredients and prevents hamsters from picking out just their favorite bits.

Fresh water daily
You should always make sure that your hamster has fresh water available. You should change the water daily. Being small animals that are adapted to the life in arid environments, hamsters can also ingest all necessary liquid via sufficient amounts of watery vegetables, such as cucumber, without any negative effects.

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