Hamsters are highly food-motivated, whether you feed them regular hamster pellets, fruits, vegetables, and even insects. They can eat various foods, but are eggs among the foods your pet hamster can safely consume?
Hamsters can eat eggs, as they’re a rich source of animal protein essential for their proper development. They also fuel your hamsters, as they’re very energetic animals that hardly stay still during their waking hours. Eggs also contain vitamins that help keep them healthy.
However, portion control is key when feeding hamsters anything, especially with treats or foods different from their regular meals. They’re typically voracious and won’t stop chewing until there’s no more food in sight. So if you’re ready to give your pet some eggs, read on to learn how to properly do it.
Can Hamsters Eat Scrambled Eggs?
Hamsters can eat scrambled eggs. Preparing eggs this way is excellent, especially for hamsters that are selective with their food. It’s easy to mix with hamster pellets and other foods you want to give your hamster, so it doesn’t leave out the ones it likes less.
Scrambled eggs are also very light and easy for your hamster’s sensitive tummy to digest, which is a plus if you’re trying to feed a sick hamster or one refusing to eat due to stress or anxiety.
Aside from that, scrambled eggs smell irresistible to hamsters, as they have a sharp sense of smell. If you’re cooking yourself some eggs, and your hamster smells it, it might try to get some of yours.
When giving your pet some scrambled eggs, you shouldn’t take from the batch of eggs you have for breakfast. If you’re like most people, you typically add seasonings like salt and pepper to your eggs, aside from cooking your eggs in a bit of oil or butter.
While this makes eggs taste great for humans, it harms hamsters. You should cook eggs before giving them to your pet, since uncooked eggs may contain bacteria that can cause your hamster to have an upset stomach or get sick.
However, you should only cook eggs without oil or any seasonings. Yep, even a pinch of salt is a no-no.
Can Hamsters Eat Boiled Eggs?
Hamsters can eat boiled eggs occasionally for their high protein content. You can add boiled eggs to your hamster’s diet to add variety to their meals. Mash a boiled egg, then mix ½ tsp (2.84 grams) of the egg with hamster pellets.
Although they’re nutritious, they shouldn’t replace a well-balanced hamster pellet mix. You can give hard-boiled eggs to your hamster once or twice a week, but not more than that. And the amount should be no more than ½ tsp (2.84 grams) per serving.
You’ll want to give boiled eggs as a treat, but you don’t want to give your hamster more than a tablespoon (14.3 grams) of eggs and pellet mix per day.
Hamsters are highly prone to obesity because of their huge appetite and instinct to hoard food. This is why you should never take an empty feeding bowl to mean your hamster is still hungry and needs more food.
If you keep adding more food, your hamster will continue eating, and hiding some of that food in its cheek pouches, resulting in those adorable bulging cheeks hamster owners find so cute.
When this happens too often, though, your hamster could end up having:
- Impacted cheek pouches: This happens when the hoarded food becomes so packed inside its cheek pouches that it can no longer take it out.
- Infected cheek pouches: An impacted cheek pouch that goes untreated long enough can potentially become infected, resulting in a painful abscess in severe cases.
Can Dwarf Hamsters Eat Boiled Eggs?
Dwarf hamsters can eat boiled eggs just like other hamster breeds can. However, the amount of food you give a dwarf hamster will be smaller than what you would give to a larger hamster breed. When given in the right amount, boiled eggs benefit highly energetic dwarf hamsters.
Dwarf hamsters are considered the most energetic type of hamster.
For such small frames, they are dynamos that won’t stay still when awake, as you’ll find them running, climbing, eating, and playing. And all that activity requires lots of fuel, which a rich source of protein can provide.
A well-balanced hamster mix should be able to provide enough protein that your hamster needs every day, but if you want to make meals more exciting for your food-motivated pet, adding a bit of boiled egg will do the trick.
Tip: Boiled eggs can be quite messy. To avoid having boiled eggs all over your hamster’s cage, try mixing them with other foods instead of giving mashed boiled eggs alone. Mixing mashed boiled eggs with hamster pellets, for example, will make it easy for hamsters to pick up the food without scattering bits everywhere.
Can Dwarf Hamsters Scrambled Eggs?
Dwarf hamsters eat scrambled eggs. Other ways of preparing eggs for dwarf hamsters include pan frying and poaching. If you don’t add other ingredients, like butter, to the eggs, they’re safe for your hamster to eat.
If your hamster is trying eggs for the first time, try to spend a few minutes observing how it responds to the food. If your pet likes it, it will sniff it for a minute or so, and then eat it immediately.
But if it doesn’t, it may sniff around, try a bit of it, and then ignore it completely.
The latter is quite rare, as hamsters generally aren’t picky, but they can learn to be selective with food in captivity, especially when you habitually give various kinds of treats. After giving your hamster some eggs, remove any leftovers to keep the eggs from going bad inside the cage.
Conclusion
Eggs are an excellent source of protein that most hamsters love. But as they say, you can have too much of a good thing. As a fur parent, it’s your job to keep portions in check and ensure that your hamster gets a well-balanced diet.