Safe Food List

The following is a list of safe seeds, grains, nuts and vegetables you can feed to your hamster. A lot of these should be part of your hamster’s main diet as part of their daily food mix, while others can be given as treats.

This list is derived from the German Hamster Forum das-hamsterforum.de and translated with the help of DeepL and Dict.cc. It also has been cross-referenced to the safe food list by the Ontario Hamster Club.

The following is a very long list! I recommend making use of Ctrl + F if you are looking for anything in particular.

The different types of hamsters are often mistaken for breeds but they are, in fact, different species. Species is a scientific classification and defines a group of animals with similar genetics. While there have been 19 different species of hamsters discovered in the wild, only 5 of them have been domesticated.

This list contains all seeds, grains, nuts and legumes which are safe to feed to your Syrian hamster. Syrian hamsters have lived alongside human agriculture for millennia which made them naturally adapt to adding a larger variety of foods to their diet. Some of the smaller seeds and pseudo-grains are technically safe to eat but many Syrian hamster might avoid them due to their small size.

Unlike Syrian hamsters, Chinese hamsters and the dwarf hamster species are found in more sparse regions of the world, inhabiting steppes and deserts, which is reflected in their diet. The variety in their diet isn’t as large as compared to Syrian hamsters and they will generally prefer pseudo grains like millet variants and buckwheat.

Particularly Chinese hamsters and Campbell dwarf hamsters are not used to feeding on grains and fruits in particular. This reflects in their genetics and their predisposition to diabetes and obesity. While all hamster species are able to get diabetes, Chinese and Campbell dwarf hamsters (and in extension, Hybrid dwarf hamsters) are more prone to it.

To avoid increasing their blood sugar levels too much we recommend against feeding most fruits and true grains. We also recommend avoiding feeding too many high calorie treats such as sunflower seeds and nuts.

For Chinese and Dwarf hamsters unsuitable food will be marked red.

• Amelcorn (grain, floury, ancient grain)

• Barley (grain, floury)

• Einkorn (grain, floury, original form of wheat & spelt)

• Green spelt (grain, floury, unripe spelt)

• Oat (grain, floury)

• Rye (grain, floury) (some hamsters might react to too much rye with smearing droppings and coat problems)

• Spelt (grain, floury)

• Wheat (grain, floury)

• Amaranth (pseudo-grain, floury, very small seed)

• Buckwheat (pseudo-grain, floury)

• Canary seed (floury)

• Corn (floury)

• Dari / Sorghum (floury) (large millet variant, whole dari cobs can be offered as spray for enrichment)

• Grass seeds (floury)

• Millet (floury, small seeds) (all variants: yellow, green, red, Japanese, Senegal, silver)

• Milo (floury, sub-variant of Dari)

• Paddy rice (rice in husk, floury)

• Quinoa (floury, small seed, high protein)

• Blue poppy (oily)

• Cardi (oily, similar to small sunflower seeds)

• Carrot seed (oily)

• Clover seed (oily)

• Cucumber seed (oily, relatively low in fat, also popular as a treat)

• Fenugreek (oily) (particularly suitable for animals suffering from diabetes, do not feed large quantities for no reason though!)

• Fennel seed (oily)

• Hemp seed (oily)

• Linseed (oily, good for skin and coat, also known as flax)

• Melon seeds (oily)

• Milk thistle seed (oily, good for the liver)

• Negro seed (oily)

• Perilla seeds (oily)

• Pine seeds (oily)

• Pumpkin seed (oily)

• Radish seeds (oily)

• Rosehip seed (oily)

• Sesame seeds (oily, small seeds)

• Soya seeds (oily, very high in protein, so only feed sparingly and not in addition to animal protein)

• Spruce seed (oily)

• Sunflower seeds (oily, also a popular treat)

• Turnip rape (oily, very high in fat)

• Yolk seed (oily)

• Adzuki beans (legume, floury, high protein)

• Chickpeas (legume, floury)

• Lentils (legume, floury)

• Mung beans (legume, floury)

• Peas (legume, floury, rich in protein)

Not suitable are legumes that can cause flatulence such as red bean / kidney bean or green bean / snap bean.

• Cashews (unsalted!, okay as a rare treat)

• Hazelnuts

• Pine nuts (oily, popular treat but high fat contents)

• Pistachios

• Walnuts

• Peanuts (technically suitable, but often contaminated with pesticides and mold spores)

• Apple

• Apricot

• Banana

• Blackberry

• Blueberry

• Cucumber

• Currants

• Dates

• Goji berry

• Grape

• Honeydew melon

• Mango

• Papaya

• Passion fruit

• Peach

• Pear

• Pineapple

• Plum

• Raspberry

• Strawberry

• Tomato (remove green parts, avoid sweet variants)

• Watermelon

• Arugula / Rocket

• Avocado (only ripe ones, otherwise risk of diarrhea! Vitamine D is good for diabetic hamsters)

• Basil

• Beet / Beetroot

• Bell Pepper (all colors)

• Bok Choy

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

• Chamomile

• Carrot

• Cauliflower

• Celeriac

• Celery

• Chicory

• Chinese cabbage

• Corn

• Fennel

• Kohlrabi

• Lettuce

• Mint

• Parsley

• Parsnip

• Potato (only cooked! With no added salt and no green parts)

• Pumpkin

• Spinach

• Sprouts (you can use the seeds listed above)

• Zucchini / Courgette

• Alfalfa

• Buckhorn

• Cat grass

• Cornflower

• Daisy

• Dandelion

• Goutweed

• Lemon balm / Melissa

• Mallow

• Marigold / Calendula

• Nettle

• Rose

• Sunflower

• Turtle Vine (high in calcium)

Against common belief, hamsters are not pure granivorous or vegetarian. In nature they hunt a variety of insects but will also feast on other forms of animal protein if given the chance. The following is a list of safe animal protein you can feed to your hamster.

• Cockroaches

• Crickets (live and dried, any age)

• Gammarus (dried)

• Grasshoppers (live and dried, any age)

• Mealworms (live and dried, including pupae, very fatty)

• Silkworm pupae (dried, very fatty)

• Wax moth larvae (very fatty)

• Zoophobas (live and dried, any age)

• Boiled egg

• Freeze dried meat (without additives, f.e. dog/cat treats)

• Unsalted, unseasoned cooked meat (cooking is absolutely necessary!, cooked meat can spoil fast so make sure it doesn’t get hoarded)

Do not feed: Any sort of sausages or deli meat as they contain seasonings and are very fatty.

Hamsters are, unlike many mammals, not lactose-intolerant. They also do not produce enough lactase, but they have a pregastric pouch before their stomach which predigests their food similar to the rumen of herbivores. Small amounts of milk products are therefore safe to feed and the containing lactic acid bacteria can have a positive effect on the intestinal flora.

Safe to feed are: Any dairy product without added sugar, salt, flavoring or preservatives, e.g. natural yogurt, small amounts of milk

Do not feed: Any cheese, even mild variants and cottage cheese contain salt and are therefore not safe.