There are different types of bread, and they differ from each other in terms of composition, fiber content, starch, and degree of freshness. People prefer a particular type of bread over another. Some prefer wholemeal bread, others will choose white bread from wheat flour, and others like black from rye.
But how about hamsters? What type of bread can you feed hamsters? Can hamsters eat bread? Yes, hamsters can eat bread, especially when you serve whole grain bread.
However, try not to feed your hamsters’ white bread as it contains a high level of sugar, which can make the hamster obese and lead to tooth decay.
Can Hamsters Eat Bread?
Yes, hamsters can eat bread provided you serve it in small amounts. That’s because bread, in high amounts, can cause obesity and diabetes in hamsters. Not to talk of when it’s white bread, because of its high sugary content.
It’s nutritious to feed your hamsters bread. Hamsters are technically classified as omnivores. That said, the right balanced diet for hamsters is fruits and vegetables. This set of foods provide them with essential nutrients and keep them healthy and strong.
Do Hamsters Like Bread?
Hamsters love bread just as we humans do. But bread is high in carbs, low in micronutrients, and its gluten and anti-nutrient contents may cause issues for your hamsters.
Although, specific kinds of bread are often enriched with extra nutrients, and whole-grain or sprouted varieties may bestow several health benefits. In moderation, bread can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet for your pets or hamsters.
What Types of Food Should Hamsters Eat?
Hamsters are quite picky rodents, and they really have a voracious appetite. So when it comes to what food to feed your hamsters.
A healthy mix of seeds, grains, and occasion, fruit, and vegetable, is highly nutritious and keeps your hamster healthy.
Nutritional Benefits Of Bread To Hamsters
It provides surplus fiber to the body: Eating bread can enrich fiber levels in the body. This helps in screening the toxic materials and also with metabolic activities. It also plays a key role in providing energy during working in extensive heat and other weather conditions.
Supply of calcium: Most bread has about 20% calcium source for the body and strengthens bones and teeth.
Source of folic acid: It is a 10% supplier of folate for the body, which plays a key role in developing the blood cells. The formation of healthy blood cells is essential for supplying oxygen and weeding out harmful substances from the body.
Iron: Bread provides 10% of iron for the body. This is essential for hemoglobin formation to carry oxygen to the blood, a key function that helps sustain life.
Is Bread Harmful to Hamsters?
Compared to other foods like fruits and vegetables, bread is relatively low in essential nutrients. As such, it should be given to your hamsters in a little portion.
Bread is high in calories and carbs but low in protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are the essential nutrients hamsters feed to stay healthy.
Be it as it may, the nutrient profile can vary widely across different types of bread.
For example, whole-wheat bread may boast a higher fiber amount, while sprouted grains are richer in beta-carotene and vitamins C and E.
The table below shows how one slice of several kinds of bread compares in nutritional value:
Nutritional Statistics of Bread
| White Bread | Whole-wheat Bread | Sourdough Bread | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portion size | 1 slice (25 grams) | 1 thin slice (33 grams) | 1 small slice (32 grams) |
| Calories | 67 | 92 | 93 |
| Fat contents | 1 gram | 2 grams | 0.6 grams |
| Carbs | 13 grams | 17 grams | 18 grams |
| Protein | 2 grams | 3 grams | 4 grams |
| Fiber | 0.6 grams | 2 grams | 1 gram |
Bread nutrition varies by type. As such, whole grains are regarded as the most nutritious for hamsters. Choosing whole wheat bread can be part of healthy food for your hamsters, but serve it in moderation; a tiny portion.
A single slice of commercially prepared whole wheat provides about 82 calories and about 1 gram of fat. Be it as it may, these amounts will vary by brand.
Also, one slice provides almost 4 grams of protein and 13.8 grams of carbohydrate. It also provides about 2 grams of fiber and 9.6 net carbs per slice.
How Often Should I Feed Hamsters Bread?
We already said that bread does not have many nutritional benefits to hamsters and shouldn’t be fed regularly.
As a result, there are plenty of healthy foods available in the market for your hamster such as strawberries, bananas, lettuce, etc. and there is actually no harm if your pets prefer to have an occasional change of dish for refreshing their mood. Just that bread isn’t a good regular option.
But ensure that such dish changes must not be frequent; otherwise, your hammy may experience a series of health issues in the future.
Bread is our common item for breakfast, and there is no harm in serving it to hamsters. However, serve it in moderation and as a treat, not as a staple food for every day.
How Safe Is It To Give Hamsters Bread?
Hamsters can actually eat bread without much complication, and hamsters especially really love whole grain bread.
Even though hamsters eat bread, they are selective with types of bread. Bread usually differs considerably from each other in composition, degree of freshness, starch, and even fiber content.
The whole grain bread is safer for your hamsters because it ensures that the pet derives vitamins from the whole grain used in baking.
Whole grain kernels are made up of three parts: the bran, endosperm, and germ. The three of these components are highly nutritious and really beneficial to hamsters.
White bread should be avoided totally because their bodies can’t handle excess amounts of sugar-white bread which contains.
The high sugar content could make the hamster obese and cause tooth decay. With just a one-time feeding, its excess in the hamster’s intestines can lead to significant bloating and even internal organs’ fermentation.
Also, any bread that is salted is classified as unsafe for your hamster. Be it as it may, bread can either be served as a snack or as a treat for your hamster.
Read Also: Is Tomatoes a Good Diet For Hamsters?
How Much Bread is Good For Hamsters?
The amount of bread needed by hamsters is only a small quantity.
A piece smaller than a hamster’s head given to them 2-3 times per week is generally a safe amount. If a bread contains sugar, it should be given once a week.
What Happens When Hamsters Eat Too Much Bread?
The truth is, overfeeding your hamster on bread has so many side effects. In fact, it can sometimes cause the death of your hamster.
Giving your hamsters bread or pasta in a large portion can make them gain a lot of weight due to bread’s access to fat content, which can become a burden.
When that happens, the first health challenge that follows is obesity. The more reason you should avoid overfeeding your hamster at all costs; when you overfeed your hamster, it became obese.
It doesn’t stop there; an obese hamster will have heart and circulatory problems alongside joint problems.
Most times, it leads to the hamsters’ death as these health problems in hamsters are very hard to treat, seeing that they are tender animals or pets.
What Other Foods Can Hamsters Eat?
A few times exist where a hamster can refuse to eat bread, and if your hamster doesn’t eat bread, there is nothing wrong with him; that he doesn’t eat bread does not mean he won’t eat other foods, fruits, or vegetables.
You can try other veggies like lettuce and fruits as an occasional treat. More so, you can serve them crunchy pellets, a commercially made pet food sold at local pet stores.
However, you will need to be sure that these pellets are mainly for hamsters; otherwise, your hamster will face digestion problems.
We suggest you ask for a veterinarian’s recommendation before buying any commercially produced pellets for your hamsters, be it a dwarf, Syrian, or Chinese hamsters.
Veterinarian Recommendation: If you must feed bread to your hamster, we strongly recommend avoiding white bread because of its high sugar content and sticking to brown bread instead.
Maybe you can try feeding small pieces of the crust to your hamster, but soak the bread in milk or toast it.
Having said that, as bread isn’t perfect for your hamster because of its high-fat content, you should only feed it in a tiny portion.
The end of the matter is, given the huge range of other things that hamsters can eat, there’s no need to include bread in their diet, so you are safer sticking to more healthy foods and fruits.
Read Also: How Much Cheese Can Dwarf Hamsters Eat?
Conclusion
Truly most hamsters eat bread, and they prefer soft and crunchy bread. They usually eat them with excitement. But feeding them in moderation is the key to an excellent treat.
However, you should give extreme care to the type of bread you feed your hamsters, and the frequency shouldn’t be more than thrice a week.
In the end, if this post truly answered your question; can hamsters eat bread? The rest of the work lies with you. Aim at caring for your pets in the best ways you can.
