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Can Hamsters Eat Blueberries?

Hamsters, the cute little creatures, are way too dear to their owners. It is nothing unnatural for them to get tempted to feed their hamsters the rich, flavourful blueberries. And, this is where they get confused! After all, not all food items are going to suit the hamsters’ health. 

Can hamsters eat blueberries without facing any consequences? Isn’t this thought pricking your mind? Well, just relax! This is because we are here to provide you with the proper guidance for your hamster’s diet. 

Blueberries are delicious fruits, and these are included as the chief ingredient in various mouth-watering dessert items. Aren’t we too fond of this luscious fruit? We understand how badly you want to offer blueberries to your hamster. In this blog, we will discuss if hamsters can eat blueberries and shed significant light on the benefits of this great fruit. 

What Are Blueberries? 

Among the various kinds of berries, blueberries are the most delicious fruits that exist. It is a native fruit of North America.

However, that doesn’t mean that it is not grown in other parts of the world. Anyway, North America still ranks as the top producer of blueberries.

These are remarkably versatile fruits because you add these to a diverse range of food items. 

Can Hamsters eat blueberries

Starting from fruit salad, desserts, ice cream, yogurt, cakes to sandwiches, blueberries can be added to any of these to enrich the taste and add a fabulous flavor to the food items.

Even we, human beings, are crazy fans of this delicacy! No wonder why the pet owners ask if their hamsters can eat blueberries. 

Blueberries have significant nutritional value and offer quite a lot of health benefits for the hamsters.

These are rich in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. These are good for hamsters as they can absorb the benefits of blueberries and gain the power to combat diseases. 

What Is A Hamster? 

A hamster is a rodent that is quite a popular pet in the US. It has a minuscule body covered with super soft fur. Its large eyes and short tails add to its cuteness.

The coats of the hamsters may come in a myriad of colors and striking patterns. The hamster’s coat design and color may vary according to its breed. It has an average body size of about 4 to 10 inches. 

A Hamster Munching On A Food

Hamsters are basically nocturnal creatures and are most active during the night. They are omnivores so that they can feed on both the plant materials as well as small insects and live bugs.

Introduce a balanced diet to your cute creatures. Make sure that it constitutes hay, nuts, grains, fruits, and veggies. They have a friendly nature but may act restrained until it acclimatizes to the new environment. 

Are Blueberries A Good Food Choice For Hamsters? 

You can offer blueberries to your hamsters in small amounts. Make sure that the blueberries do not compose more than 20% of its diet. If you want to feed blueberries to your hamster, make it a point to give only one teaspoon of blueberries per day for a single hamster.

Blueberries

Usually, hamsters are subjected to digestion problems, weight gain or obesity, and high cholesterol. Interestingly enough, blueberries are safe for hamsters in a way that these fruits protect the little rodents from the health risks that it is naturally inclined to get afflicted with. 

Blueberries are rich in polyphenols and fiber. While polyphenols aid in lowering the cholesterol level in the hamsters, the rich fiber content of the blueberries facilitates proper digestion. As a result, it is shielded from any kind of indigestion problems. 

Hamsters love blueberries! If you provide them with fruits like blueberries, they will surely devour these with great pleasure. Just ensure you are not feeding your hamsters with too many blueberries.

This is because feeding on these juicy fruits in large amounts may make the hamsters look more round and plump, thus leading to obesity. 

If you have an adult hamster in your home, you can offer it blueberries in moderation, that is, only 1 to 2 usual-sized fruits. However, if you own dwarf hamsters, feed them with ½ teaspoon of blueberry once a week and consider the fruit as just a treat. 

Nutritional Value Of Blueberries 

Blueberries
Nutrients In Blueberries Percentage/Amount (Per 100 Grams Of Blueberries)
Cholesterol 0 mg 
Fiber2.4 g
Sugar 10 g
Sodium 1 mg 
Potassium 77 mg
Magnesium 1%
Iron 1%
Vitamin C16%
Vitamin D0%
Vitamin B65%
Fat 0.3 g 
Total Calories 57
Protein0.7 g
Carbohydrate 14 g

Benefits Of Blueberries

Blueberries are great fruit choices and have low sugar content.

Moreover, these are rich in significant nutrients, vitamins such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin B6, minerals such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, fiber, antioxidants, and protein.

In fact, these also help in preventing diabetes in the hamsters and regulate glucose metabolism rate. 

Blueberries

A hamster can eat blueberries as it helps in controlling its bowel movements and make them immune to cancer.

Give your hamster blueberries to maintain a healthy condition of its heart and monitor its blood pressure level. The polyphenol content of the blueberries also helps in protecting this cute rodent from fungal attack. 

What Is The Right Amount Of Blueberries To Feed Your Hamster?

Remember that a significant part of the hamster’s diet needs fresh food and hay. Of course, you can make hamsters eat blueberries but only in the right amounts.

Can hamsters eat blueberries properly? Is this what you are thinking right now? Well, if yes, do note that one or two fresh blueberries can be offered to the rodents as treats every twice or thrice per week. 

A cute hamster

A single blueberry will provide the rodents with the right amount of nutrition. Avoid feeding your hamster food that may cause obesity in it. Overfeeding blueberries to the hamster may make it prone to digestion problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. 

What Are The Types Of Blueberry Foods That Your Hamsters Can Eat?

Are Blueberry Muffins A Good Choice For Hamsters? 

Hopefully, your question of “can hamsters eat blueberries” has now been answered. Now is the time to help you with the solution to another doubt that a majority of the hamster owners have.

We all love having various blueberry dishes such as blueberry muffins, cakes, ice creams, and other dessert items. So, it is natural for you to have the desire to share and feed delicacies to your hamsters like blueberries, cakes, ice creams, muffins, etc. 

Blueberry Muffin

Hamsters can eat blueberry muffins but can intake only small pieces and crumbs of them. Take note that blueberry muffins are baked items so that you can feed your hamster food like this only in small amounts; otherwise, these may cause obesity in them. 

Can Your Hamsters Eat Blueberry Jam? 

 Blueberry jam has high sugar and is not at all low in calories. Feeding them with blueberry jam may suffer from obesity, significant gain, and other health issues. So, it is suggested that you don’t offer jam of blueberries except for fresh fruits. 

Can You Offer Blueberry Juice To Hamsters? 

Making your hamsters drink blueberry juice is not at all a good idea. This is because this sugar-rich drink may make them prone to diarrhea and dehydration. 

Can Hamsters Eat Blueberry Leaves? 

Hamsters can eat blueberries’ leaves as these are safe options for these rodents. However, the taste of these leaves is not at all good. It is likely that your hamster won’t love eating blueberry leaves. 

What Are The Health Risks Of Blueberries? 

While you can feed blueberries to your hamster, it is crucial for you to know about the risks that these can pose to the health of the rodents. If hamsters eat blueberries in great amounts, the following health conditions may arise. 

Obesity 

The high sugar and fat content of the blueberries may make the hamsters fall prey to obesity and excessive weight gain. Consequentially, this may lead to an overall decrease in the life expectancy of these rodents. 

Choking/Retching 

Though the answer to “can hamsters eat blueberries” is a yes, choking is a great hazard that hamsters may experience if they eat too many blueberries.

The small-sized and dwarf hamsters may not be able to eat or swallow the entire blueberry and witness choking, thus posing a threat to their lives. 

Diabetes 

The excess sugar content in the blueberries may lead to diabetes in your pet hamster. That is why you need to consider this fruit as a treat. Else diabetes may make rodents prone to a myriad of other diseases. 

Problem Of Availability Of Proper Nutrition Absorption 

Since hamsters like blueberries, they may end up eating a lot of it and get their stomach filled with just one type of fruit.

As a result, their bodies fail to absorb the nutrition of any other kind because they don’t intake any other fruit or vegetables. Thus, their bodies won’t receive the health benefits of other nutrients and suffer from nutrition problems. 

What Is The Total Number Of Blueberries That Hamsters Can Eat? 

Here is to share a fun fact with you! Did you know that hamsters love to eat blueberries a lot because of their delicious sweet taste? But, you need to be a little strict while providing this to them.

You can give two blueberries maximum to them in addition to their diet. Just consider it as a treat and regulate the amount of the blueberries while providing these to your dear rodents. 

Number Of Blueberries That Robo Hamsters Can Eat 

If you have a Robo hamster, you can feed them one fresh blueberry every 15 days and consider these as treats. Avoid exceeding the feeding amount as these are just treated and can never make up for the benefits that the other foods in the hamster’s diet can offer. 

Number Of Blueberries That Dwarf Hamsters Can Eat 

Dwarf hamsters, as their name suggests, have a petite body size. In fact, Campbell, Russian, and Chinese hamsters have similar body sizes to dwarf hamsters.

Feeding blueberries to them can be safely done if you stick to providing them with only one half a blueberry every 14 days. 

Number Of Blueberries That Syrian Hamsters Can Eat 

You will be super amazed to know that Syrian hamsters are the largest breeds among the group of hamsters and have the capacity to consume a lot of blueberries.

You can offer a Syrian hamster two fresh blueberries every fortnight. To ensure that the hamster’s health stays well and its immune system doesn’t get affected, keep a careful check on it and stop providing it with blueberries.

Under no circumstance should you stop feeding vegetables to your hamster just to feed them more blueberries in that place. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can blueberries kill hamsters? 

If You Feed Hamsters With A Significant Number Of Blueberries, They May Get Afflicted With Diabetes And Obesity, Decreasing Their Life Expectancy. So, Blueberries May Not Directly Kill Hamsters But Afflict Them With Certain Diseases That May Invite Their Death. 

What fruits can hamsters not eat? 

Hamsters Can Not Eat Watermelon, And Iceberg Lettuce As These Are Rich In Water Content And May Affect Themselves By Diarrhea. 

What other fruits and veggies can be considered as occasional treats for your hamster? 

Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, And Bananas Can Be Considered Occasional Treats For Your Pet Hamster. 

About the author

I'm Gulshan, a passionate pet enthusiast. Dive into my world where I share tips, stories, and snapshots of my animal adventures. Here, pets are more than just animals; they're heartbeats that enrich our lives. Join our journey!