Can your hamster eat grapes? Yes, of course your hamster can eat grapes. They are a healthy treat for the animals, but you have to consider some things when feeding the grapes to your hamster. What these are, you will learn here with us.

Are hamsters allowed to eat grapes?

As a predominantly herbivore, hamsters require a balanced diet. This means sufficient vitamins and minerals must be provided through the food offered. Grapes can be a part of the diet. However, it should be noted that grapes, which are readily accepted by hamsters, may only make up a small portion of the diet.

The reason for this is that the grapes, in addition to their healthy properties, which are present in large quantities, unfortunately, have a very high sugar content. This high sugar content can become detrimental to the health of the animal if fed too extensively.

Starting with the mouth, which can become sore from the acidity, the teeth, which become more susceptible to decay from the sugar content. In addition, gastrointestinal problems can develop, ranging from mild cramps to severe diarrhea. However, this is only if an excessive amount of grapes is fed to the hamster.

The biggest problem with too much sugar intake is the risk of diabetes. Especially in small animals, this disease is often detected too late and can lead to life-threatening conditions.

How to feed your hamster grapes

If your hamster has never eaten grapes before, you should observe carefully when he eats these fruits for the first time. This way you can see in time what he does with the fruit, if he eats it at all, or if he drags it into his hamster house and lets it rot there. Your observation should also not be short term.

Because you should pay attention to whether your animal reacts unusually. It may get diarrhea or behave strangely. The probability with grapes is extremely low, if you offer your animal only one or two grapes. We can only recommend that you use grapes that have been grown without pesticides. If this is not possible, then wash the grapes thoroughly before feeding them to your pet.

To make sure that nothing happens when you eat it for the first time, you should cut the grapes into small pieces. Many a megalomaniac hamster has stuck a grape in his cheek pocket and got into trouble. Therefore, always cut small, so that there is no danger that your hamster can choke on the grape.

This is what you should pay attention to after feeding the grapes

As the name hamster suggests, hamsters love to hoard food. Therefore, if you feed your hamster grapes, the next day, you should take a close look at the living area of your hamster. Because often the animals hide a part of the grapes, which then begin to rot and become inedible for the animal. Therefore, play it safe and remove these grapes.

Because not all domesticated animals have preserved their instincts. So it can happen that your hamster sees the actually inedible grapes as full-fledged food and gets sick afterwards.

Grapes as an attractant for the hamster

If you realize that your hamster likes to eat grapes, use this to attract him. To do this, cut a grape in half and hold it between your index finger and thumb. This way you offer the grape to your hamster and if he likes to eat grapes, then he will at least consider grabbing this grape.

This luring will not work for every animal, but the probability that it will work is very high. If after several attempts the hamster is at your hand and tries to take the grape from you, then hand it over to him, or start the attempt that he nibbles directly at the grape while you hold it in your hand.

Every day grapes for the hamster?

No, absolutely not. As we explained in detail above, the sugar intake would be too high. Fruit with high sugar content should only be offered as a treat to your pet. A good portion size would be to offer one or two grapes cut into small pieces once, maximum twice a week. It is also possible to mix the grapes with other fruits.

But here you should also pay attention to the amount, and offer a maximum of twice a week a fruit mixture with the volume of a slightly heaped teaspoon.

Can hamsters eat grape seeds?

We are not currently aware of any cases where grape seeds have caused illness or danger to the animal. It is sometimes said that a grape seed can cause a hamster to choke. We have never heard of such an incident in all the years we have spent with hamster friends.

This would also be somewhat unlikely, since the hamster is a rodent and eats a wide variety of grains and seeds. So, what should a grape seed do there?

Eat grapes with skin or without?

Your hamster can eat the grapes with skin without hesitation. It is even good if he eats the skin. Because in and under the skin are the most minerals, antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients. Therefore, it is best to always give with peel, so that the fruit can develop its maximum effect on your animal. We know that some pet owners see this differently.

They refer to the pesticides that are contained in the skin. We therefore recommend grapes from controlled cultivation to give to the hamsters. But conventional grapes can also be "cleaned" by washing thoroughly. Because most people eat these grapes from conventional cultivation and live with them.

Are grapes healthy for the hamster?

Definitely, because they are full of vitamins and minerals that are essential for the hamster. In addition, they contain antioxidants. Here is a small list of what healthy nutrients are contained in the grapes for your hamster.

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6
• Antioxidants
• Potassium
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Iron

As you can see, your hamster will get an exceptionally nutritious treat if you feed him grapes occasionally. The grapes consist of 81 % of water, but also contain nutrients, which we briefly list here. The quantities refer to 100 g of grapes each.

• Fat: 0.3 g
• Protein: 0.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 15.2 g
• Dietary fiber: 1.5 g

Is it better to feed the hamster red or green grapes?

The difference between red and green grapes is only the colorant. Otherwise, the nutrients are almost identical and there are only minimal differences. Therefore, it does not matter if your hamster eats red or green grapes. However, if you have only given him green for weeks, he may hesitate on the red grapes before accepting them.

Are all hamster breeds allowed to eat grapes?

Yes, we can also clearly answer this question. But for each breed of hamster, the same thing should be considered. Grapes are a food supplement and should be given accordingly dosed. Feeding recommendation from our side is the dwarf hamster maximum one teaspoon per week. For larger hamster species such as the golden hamster may be 2-3 teaspoons.