I suffer from short-term remembery loss.

We’ll hide and you count and come find us.  Okay, daddy.

*slow clap it the fuck out*  

All dwarf hamsters need animal protein, but the amount of animal protein in their food in percent varies depending on the species:

• Dzhungarian dwarf hamsters and Campbell’s dwarf hamster: about 40%
• Chinese dwarf hamsters: about 30%
• Roborovski’s dwarf hamster: about 10%
• Syrians/others: 3-4 times a week 

Almost all mammals are lactose-intolerant when they are no longer breastfed and adults, so do not give them milk, cream, cheese etc. Some people do give their hamsters small amounts lowfat quark, but I would personally not recommend it. Also tofu (not smoked or flavored tofu, the natural one!) and soy yogurt are okay to be fed sometimes as it’s high in protein.

Suitable: dried- mealworms (very fatty, not more than one a day!), freshwater shrimps, prawns, grasshoppers, crickets.

The most important food for your hamster is the everyday dry food.  You can mix it up with the animal protein or you store it in different cases (as I prefer to do it). So you can adjust the percentages if your hamster doesn’t like insects that much. Also dried insects start rotting fast so be careful. 

Give 1 or 2 tablespoons a day for dwarfs, 2 tablespoons for Syrians.  Scatter the food in their cage (make sure they can find it) to keep them busy looking for food. Don’t use food bowls for hamsters. 

Unfortunately most so called “hamster food” in pet stores is not suitable as it contains too much sugar. The more artificial it looks the more you should consider not buying it or throwing it away if you did already. Mostly it is terribly unhealthy and not natural at all.  The most unhealthy food in pet stores is the most easily produced and stored so be careful.

• grass seeds: crested dog’s-tail, tall fescue, orchardgrass, ryegrass
• oil seeds: blackseed, safflower, perilla, flax seed, hemp, poppy, sesame, camelina
• millet: silver millet, Japan millet, Manna millet, crabgrass, Senegal millet, Sorghum millet
• grains: barley, wheat (organic farming), kamut, rye, emmer wheat buckwheat, amaranth. Barley is well suited for all hamsters but all the others should only represent a small percentage of the food mix.
• dried herbs, not too much, but important for mineral balance: nettle herb, blackberry leaves, dill, daisies, green oats, hazelnut leaves, shepherd’s purse, chamomile, cornflower blossoms, dandelion roots, lemon balm, parsley, peppermint leaves, marigold flowers, sorrel herb yarrow, sunflowers, plantain herb, chickweed
• a little bit of dried vegetables/fruits: beetroot, carrots, celery, fennel, kohlrabi, parsnip, parsley, cucumber, broccoli, pumpkin
• nuts: very rarely as they contain too much fat: you can give a quarter of a nut or a sunflower seed every 2-3 days, suitable are: sunflower seeds, peanut, pine nuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds 
• other ingredients (rarely fed, small percentage only): rice flakes, pea flakes, carob, unsweetened corn flakes, raw noodles (You can give more of these if your hamster is too skinny!) 

1x a day you should give a small amount of vegetables.  Do not give any fruits to dwarfs as they are prone to diabetes! 

For example half a slice of cucumber, a very tiny piece of paprika (smaller than 1cm) and a slice of a carrot.  If your hamster never got any fresh vegetables or fruit in their life give only VERY small amounts in the beginning so they get used to it first. (Otherwise they can get diarrhea.) 

Be careful that your hamster doesn’t hide too much food for too long and change it every day so it can’t get moldy and unhealthy to eat. 

Suitable veggies: fennel, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, fresh corn (only a few corns!), pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, beets, zucchini.  Fruits for non dwarfs: apples, tomatoes (the green parts are poisonous, be careful), grapes (no seeds in it), quarter of a strawberry, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries (only one berry a day for NON dwarfs!) 

Do not feed stone fruits, it can cause diarrhea, flatulence and abdominal pain. Do not feed bananas, papaya, mango, raisins etc.

Make sure to give your hamster something to chew on like fresh or dried branches! 

Do not give them chew toys or anything that’s not natural or even made out of plastic. It can poison or kill them! 

Suitable: Apple and pear branches, alderwood, hazelnut, blueberry bush, currant bush, cottonwood - and dandelion roots.  There are more branches that can be given but sometimes the leaves or fruits are poisonous to hamsters so be careful and inform yourself before you give anything to them. 

• Give your hamster fresh water every day. Make sure to clean the “slimy” layer in the water bowl. 
• Do not feed anything artificially(-ish) looking with sugar in it, do not feed honey or anything “colorful” or if you can’t identify the ingredients. Do not feed them typical treats like “yoghurt drops” etc. They do not need them and it can make them sick. 
• Don’t trust any store when they tell you that you can feed hamsters  artificial looking treats or hamster snacks or anything with sugar in it. 
• If you happen to have a pregnant hamster, give her a lot more animal protein! They can develop deficiencies which can lead to dead births, the mother eating their children etc. But please do not breed and do not buy animals anywhere. Always adopt. You’ll always find a hamster in your area looking for a new home. 
• Hamsters don’t need any additional given vitamins if fed correctly. 
• After 4 months dried food should be thrown away and no longer be fed. 
• Dried insects go bad pretty fast. Do only buy small amounts. 
• Hamster shouldn’t be too fat. Make sure they’ll get enough exercise, a suitable big wheel and a big cage + safe zone to run around.
• If your hamster has some kind of food storage chamber you can change the food stored there from time to time and put new food in it, so they feel safer. 
• If your hamster has any health issues please ask a knowledgeable vet on how to feed them correctly during this time.