If your hamster’s commercial food has run out, but the food you ordered has not yet arrived, there are plenty of things in your house and refrigerator that your hamster can safely eat.
Remember, this is just a temporary solution to feeding your hamster until you can buy or make him a well-balanced diet.
Now, here’s a list of foods you can safely give your hamster when you run out of commercial pellets, which we’ll call the hamster-friendly human food list:
What can i feed my hamster if i run out of food?
1- Animal protein and fatty foods
The hamster is an omnivore, so it eats meat and mostly insects in its natural environment, but there’s plenty in your refrigerator to provide the 15% to 25% of protein it needs each day.
Here are the protein foods your hamster can eat when you’re out of pellets:
- A few pieces of chicken breast or turkey, boiled without salt or seasoning.
- Pieces of boiled egg (young and white)
- Pieces of steamed fish without bones (sardines, trout, salmon, tuna…)
- A small piece of well-cooked beef or mutton (just a little).
- Finally, some sources of fat such as cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and tofu.
Some other cooked things:
- Boiled rice
- Cooked pasta like spaghetti
- Boiled potato
- Boiled sweet potato
2- Seeds, grains and nuts
There are always seeds and nuts in our homes, and they make up the bulk of hamster food in their natural environment.
Here’s a list of seeds and nuts you can find in your home to enrich your hamster’s food while waiting for his pellets to be delivered:
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Soy seeds
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Millet seeds
- Corn on the cob
- Corn flakes
- Popped corn(without seasoning)
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Lentils
- Rice
- Sesame seeds
- Hazelnuts
- Oat flakes
3- Hamsters love Veggies
When your hamster runs out of food, you can also give him daily portions of fresh vegetables. Here are some you probably have in your refrigerator:
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Celery
- Peas
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Green beans( bouillies ou cuit a la vapeur)
- Zucchini
4- Small pieces of fruit
If you’ve run out of food for your hamster, give it a few small pieces of fruit. Here’s a list of the fruits we eat, which you can also give your hamster (in moderation, of course):
- A piece of apple (seeds and skin removed)
- A piece of strawberry (ripe and well washed)
- A small piece of banana)
- One grape (without seeds)
- Cherries (remove seeds)
- Melon, Cantaloupe and watermelon
- Pomegranate
- Blackberry
- A piece of Pineapple
5- Your hamster will need fiber
Apples, pears, and carrots are excellent sources of fiber for your hamster, hay is also food your hamster can have while waiting for his bag of pellet and seed mix to be delivered.
6- Hamsters love herbs
You can also improve your hamster’s diet with a few herbs while waiting for his food to be delivered. Here are a few examples:
- Chamomile
- Basil
- Dill
- Parsley
- Dandelion leaves
- Cornflowers
- Rose petals
- Nettle
- Oregano
Final Thoughts
Hamsters need 15-25% protein, 35 to 40% carbohydrates, 5% fat and 5% fiber daily. This is to say that you can combine the foods I’ve mentioned in this article to ensure a balanced diet until his food is delivered.
Finally, you can buy some unseasoned baby food to feed your hamster temporarily.
