When you’ve got lately bought a hamster and have a pet canine in your house, you could marvel in case your canine and your new hamster can share the identical meals. The quick reply is no, they’ll’t, however maintain studying to see if there are any exceptions to this rule and any particular manufacturers you should utilize for each animals.
Is Canine Meals Dangerous for My Hamster?
There are a couple of causes that you just shouldn’t feed your hamster pet food, and we’ll take a look at every of them now.
Pure Eating regimen
The most important purpose to keep away from feeding your hamster pet food is that canines and hamsters have totally different pure diets. Whereas each animals are omnivores able to consuming crops and animals, canines are a lot nearer to the carnivorous facet. They’ve solely change into omnivores from residing with people. As much as ⅔ of the dog’s diet could be animal meats and proteins, with greens and grains making up solely a tiny half. In distinction, the hamster will eat subsequent to no animal proteins and spend most of their life fortunately consuming Timothy hay, grass, greens, and different grains.
Protein
The protein content material in pet food is usually slightly greater than what you will see that in hamster food. Manufacturers like Hill’s Science Eating regimen Grownup Massive Breed Hen & Barley Recipe Dry Canine Meals have 20% protein or extra. Hamster meals like Higgins Sunburst Gourmand Mix Gerbil & Hamster Meals solely incorporates about 15% protein, which solely makes up a small a part of the hamster’s food plan.
Fats
By wanting nearer on the two pet meals we’ve talked about earlier, you’ll be able to see that the pet food has a a lot greater fats content material than the hamster meals. This greater fats content material can result in coronary heart illness and weight problems in hamsters. As a result of being chubby can scale back your hamster’s lifespan, it’s finest to keep away from meals with high-fat content material and keep on with Timothy hay, grasses, and greens.
Fiber
One other distinction between hamster meals and pet food is that pet food doesn’t comprise almost as a lot fiber as hamster meals. Hamsters require loads of fiber of their food plan and may get constipated in the event that they don’t have sufficient.
Issues Your Hamster and Canine Can Each Get pleasure from
Corn and Soy
Whereas most moist and dry pet food manufacturers have an excessive amount of fats and animal protein to be appropriate to your hamster, canine treats make an awesome occasional deal with to your pet. A canine deal with like Milk-Bone Delicate & Chewy Beef & Filet Mignon Recipe Canine Treats is appropriate to your hammy as a result of they often comprise many fillers like corn and soy. These substances is probably not nice to your canine, however your hamster will love them, and they’re nearer to the substances they naturally eat.
Chew Toy
Canine treats additionally are usually very laborious, they usually may help your hamster put on down their entrance tooth so that they don’t get uncontrolled. Timothy hay is the first means your hamster will put on down their tooth, however they’ll sometimes recognize tasty meals like a canine deal with.
Nutritional vitamins and Minerals
Many canine treats just like the Milk-Bones additionally comprise some nutritional vitamins and minerals that may profit your pet. The substances embody nutritional vitamins A, D, and E, in addition to calcium and phosphorus, which may help your hamster develop robust bones. Vitamin B12 can increase our pet’s vitality ranges, assist battle weight problems, and promote a powerful metabolism.
How Can I Feed My Hamster Canine Meals?
As talked about earlier, pet food isn’t appropriate for a hamster in both moist or dry kind as a result of it incorporates an excessive amount of fats and animal proteins. Nonetheless, a number of canine treats are appropriate, so whereas they’ll’t share the identical meals, they’ll bond over an awesome snack.
Not like your canine, who can eat a number of treats within the blink of a watch, your hamster will nurse a single deal with for a number of days. If solely offered sometimes, these treats can add selection to their lives whereas offering one thing to chew. We advocate serving canine treats to your pet not more than as soon as per 30 days to make sure they keep wholesome and don’t placed on extra weight. In between treats, be certain that they eat loads of Timothy hay to get the fiber they want.
Summing Up
In the event you caught your hamster munching down on a few of your canine’s meals whenever you weren’t wanting, they need to be positive. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t give your hamster pet food on goal as a result of it’s not consistent with their dietary wants, and it may shortly result in well being issues if offered recurrently. You would give your hamster the occasional canine deal with, however it’s most likely higher to stay to meals that hamsters are imagined to eat, like Timothy hay, grass, fruits, and greens.
Featured Picture Credit score: ariesa66, Pixabay
