So, can hamsters eat pretzels? Yes, they can. Is feeding pretzels to hamsters recommended? Absolutely not! Pretzels, no matter how natural and fresh they seem, should be kept away from the hamsters. There are several acute and chronic side effects of pretzels on hamsters.
Hamsters are sensitive animals. From specific temperatures to a balanced diet, hamsters need extreme care to stay fit. The needs and wants of these little critters are a lot different from other pets and humans.
Can Hamsters Eat Pretzels?
Technically speaking, if your has consumed leftovers of pretzels, you don’t need to rush to the vet.
Hamsters are omnivore animals. In the wild, our furry friends rely on nuts, seeds, plants, insects, and small animals. One thing that hamsters don’t eat entirely is “salt”. Hamsters’ digestive system is not made to deal with salt.
We, humans, are a lot bigger in size than our pets. We can handle good amounts of salt without getting dehydrated. However, things don’t work like that for our beloved hamsters. Salt is like poison to hamsters that leads to several health issues.
Still, hamsters can deal with small amounts of pretzels without having a need to visit the vet. So, don’t panic if your hamster has consumed leftovers of your favorite snack.
Should You Feed Pretzels To Your Hamster?
No, it is highly unrecommended to make pretzels a part of your hamster’s diet. As mentioned earlier, pretzels contain high levels of fats and salts, which are not healthy for your hamster by any means. Therefore, as a responsible hamster owner, you should keep those salty as far from your hamster as possible.
By looking at the nutritional value of pretzels, you will have a better idea:
- .9 Grams Sugar
- 4 Grams Protein
- 10% Daily Value Iron
- 32 Grams Carbohydrates
- 496 Milligrams Sodium
- 1.1% Daily Value Calcium
- 1.2 Grams Fat
- 89 Milligrams Potassium
- 1.4 Grams Fibre
From the list mentioned above, it is very clear that pretzels can’t be regarded as healthy food, not even for humans. In just one cup, pretzels contain .9g of sugar, which is a lot, especially for the hamsters.
Risks Of Feeding Pretzels To Hamsters
Now, as you know that pretzels do no good to hamsters, let’s discuss their harm. One of the major risks of feeding pretzels to hamsters is dehydration. Even a minute amount of salt can quickly lead to dehydration in the hamsters. Unlike humans, hamsters don’t have strong immune systems to fight dehydration.
The other big flaw of hamsters consuming pretzels is that it leads to obesity in them. Hamsters in the wild don’t get abundant food like our pet hamsters. Their bodies are designed to run several KMs a day to find food.
However, domesticated hamsters don’t get as many opportunities to burn excessive energy. This is also the reason why you will see that hamsters start running on the wheels without any training. Because they naturally need a medium to burn off excessive energy.
When you start adding high-fat content foods to the hamster’s diet, they result in obesity. Obesity can be stated as the mother of several diseases like heart failure, high blood pressure, and kidney dysfunction.
I hope that now you understand why experts refrain from feeding pretzels to hamsters.
FAQs
The following FAQs related to hamsters consuming pretzels might be helpful for you:
If your hamster has accidentally eaten pretzels once in a month, then there’s nothing much to worry about. Although it depends upon the health of the hamsters, they usually recover completely within a month.
No, saltine crackers are even more harmful than pretzels. These salty snacks contain high salt content levels than pretzels.
Pretzels And Hamsters Explained
Owning a hamster is a huge responsibility. You have to be very careful while feeding anything to your hamster. Many hamster owners feel the temptation of sharing their favorite snacks with their beloved pets. These snacks include pretzels. However, upon studying, we found that feeding pretzels to hamsters are very dangerous. Pretzels contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and fats.
All of the elements mentioned above are lethal for your hamster in high amounts. Therefore, it is highly unrecommended to feed pretzels to your hamster at any cost.
