Beef is a great meat that is eaten all over the world. Humans love to eat it, but do hamsters love to eat it? Can Hamsters eat Beef? The answer is yes, Syrian and Robo hamsters can indeed eat beef. However, we don’t recommend it for dwarf hamsters. You need to make sure that you know what your furry friend can and cannot eat, it’s impossible to look after their health otherwise! You need to ensure that the meat is properly cooked and you should know how much to feed your furry friend.
This article will be looking at what beef is, how to feed it to your hamster and the benefits and risks of giving it to your furry friend. We will also let you know how much you should be giving to your pet. Read on for more!
What is Beef?
Beef is a well-known meat that is made from cattle! It has been eaten since prehistoric times and has been eaten on its own, in stir-fries or in so many other meals! It is often eaten at Sunday Dinners with potatoes and vegetables. It is produced literally all over the world, with cows in every country. Beef is a very easy meat to get a hold of, and we eat it all the time. No wonder people are asking if hamsters can eat beef!
Can Hamsters eat Beef?
Absolutely! Hamsters can eat beef and they are likely to love it. You just need to ensure that it is fed in the correct amounts, otherwise, it can pose quite a few problems for them. We will get into this later on in this article. Ensure that the beef is:
- Cooked – Beef must be cooked well-done for your hamster, due to their sensitive digestive system.
- Unsalted – Added salt can hurt your pet’s health.
- Plain – No marinades! It needs to be plain.
How to feed beef to your hamster
When you are giving treats, such as beef, to your hamster, always make sure you are holding them or make sure that you are close to them. This is because giving treats to your hamster can strengthen your bond and assist in socializing them. Only give a small amount to your hamster at first, this is to figure out if they like beef. There’s no point giving your hamster a lot of it if they just ignore it! Your hamster might put the food in their cheek poaches though.
Make sure that the beef is cooked through! Just like humans, you can’t feed raw beef to your pet. It can be extremely dangerous for them! Don’t cook it ‘rare’, make sure it is well-done.
Consider feeding beef to your hamster as part of a diet including treats like pumpkin seeds, cabbage and carrots! Lots of fruit and vegetables are great for your ham!
How much Beef can you feed your hamster?
The amount of turkey that your pet can eat depends on their breed. A Syrian hamster can have more than a Robo and a Robo can have more than a Dwarf! We will now be going into each breed and how much turkey they can eat.
How much Beef can you feed a Syrian Hamster
Syrian Hamsters like beef, but you need to make sure that they only have a little bit! It’s just too much for them if they have too much! Give your Syrian a small amount of beef, around the size of their ear, every week. if you don’t stick to this, you can face a few problems which we state later in the article!
How much Beef can you feed a Robo Hamster
Robos love beef as well, but they can’t have as much as Syrians. This is due to their size, they are much smaller! Give your Robo a small piece of beef of turkey every fortnight, around the size of their ear. Make sure to stick to this as best you can, as otherwise, it could cause some issues!
How much Beef can you feed a Dwarf Hamster
Winter White dwarf hamsters, Chinese hamsters and Campbell Dwarf hamsters cannot really eat beef. It’s red meat and therefore can cause a few problems for their digestive system. The amount of beef you can give them is so small that there’s really no point in doing it at all. Try chicken instead!
Benefits of Beef
Beef has lots of benefits for humans! It can be nutritious, healthy and easy to eat. But does the same apply for hamsters? Yes it does! It can be a delicious snack for them, as long as it is fed in the right amounts. Some of the benefits of chicken include:
- Antioxidant – These help your hamster protect themselves against cancer!
- Protein – This allows your hamster to grow nice and strong, it gives them strength!
- Vitamin B – This gives your hamster tons of energy, it’s really important!
- Zinc – This protects your furry friend’s immune system!
- Iron – This allows your pet to transport red blood cells across their body!
Risks of Beef
As you can see, there’s a quite a few benefits of feeding beef to your pet. However, there’s also many risks around giving your furry friend too much beef! Some of the risks of overfeeding beef to your pet include:
- Diabetes – Beef is known to cause diabetes if fed too much. Make sure to stick to the quantity recommendations!
- Obesity – Feeding too much beef to your hamster can obviously result in obesity. They will want to eat as much as possible and they can, therefore, become overweight.
- Heart Pressure – Beef is red meat and therefore can hurt your furry friend’s blood pressure if fed in too high quantities.
- Nutritional Issues – Too much meat means that hamsters can’t have the other nutrients that they need in their diet!
- Choking – Big chunks of beef could cause your hamster to choke.
What kind of Beef can you feed your hamster?
What about the different types of beef? Are these safe for your furry friend? These are questions that are vital to answer, if you want to make sure that your pet is healthy. Let’s take a look!
Can Hamsters Eat Beef Jerky?
Unfortunately not. Beef Jerky is simply too salty for your hamster! It also doesn’t have the same nutrients as normal beef. Stay away from it!
Can Hamsters Eat Ground Beef?
No, they can’t! Ground beef has quite a few additives that makes it unsuitable for your furry friend.
Can Hamsters Eat Rare Beef?
Nope! Although humans can eat rare beef, the digestive system of hamsters is simply too weak to be able to cope with it. Make sure to cook the beef all the way through!
Conclusion – Can Hamsters Eat Beef?
As you can see, hamsters can absolutely eat beef! You just need to make sure that you feed it in the right quantities, and also to make sure that you don’t give any to your dwarf hamster. This blog post has, hopefully, answered all of your questions on this food, as well as if it is safe for your furry friend to enjoy it. We’ve looked at how to give your hamster beef, the benefits and risks, and how much to give your hamster. You need to ensure that you only give a tiny amount though! You can’t feed your hamster beef jerky, ground, beef, or rare beef.
Have you fed beef to your pet before? Let us know your experience in the comments!