Hm....

[conuly]

Lizziey, this site says it's okay for hamsters to have occasional hard boiled eggs, eating yeast, and the all important fish liver oil. Oh, and some doggy biscuits now and again, which sounds like a good idea, and cheap, if I could trust pet food companies....

Both that site and this one mention meal worms. This one also mentions alfalfa. But that's their product, so I'm not surprised.

This site says you should have blocks of wood, branches, etc. for climbing, and mentions dried fruit (maybe raisins) as food....

I don't know enough about hamsters. Clearly. And Lizziey's hamster could do with more variety in the diet (apparently) and more interesting surroundings. Branches I can get, though, that'll be easy. Right?

Okay, I know you people, some of you know about rodents in general and/or hamsters in specific. Hey, you can all spell the word, and that's really good enough for me. HELP!

Edit: Wikipedia suggests, among other things, a sand bath. It also recommends having hay at all times, for both food and nesting, and says hamsters should not have very many sweet fruits, and emphasises the importance of a salt stone. Wikipedia puts a lot of thought into the care of the common hamster. IF wikipedia is correct, I have a shopping list to make out.

Comments

[rainbow-goddess.livejournal.com]

I've never given my hammie a salt lick or a sand bath. Come to think of it, I've never given him anything to bathe in, but he's not smelly. I give him the hammie treat sticks that have nuts and seeds and fruit in them about once or twice a month, along with his regular hammie food. And hamsters must have things to chew, or they will start chewing on the bars of the cage for lack of anything else to chew, and drive you nuts.