Cheese is yummy food and we all humans love cheese. The item is quite famous all over the world. We are always informed that mice are in love with cheese as we see them grabbing a piece or more infamous cartoon series. But does that mean that cheese is healthy for them or for other rodents like hamsters? We will discover now.
Can you give cheese to the hamster?
Dairy products like cheese are not always suitable for the digestive system of all pets. The taste of cheese is quite delicious and hamsters have seen to taste it once in a while. But cheese contains a high amount of fat which makes it a guilty pleasure for them.
Cheese cannot be called a healthy treat for the hamsters. It will make them fat if given on a daily basis. Once in a while, you can provide them with a small piece of cheese but make sure that the intake is limited. Also, not the digestive system of the hamster is ready to digest cheese due to the high-fat content.
If you find that your hamster likes the taste of cheese and also it can digest a small amount of cheese, then giving it once a week to the hamster for snacking purposes would be ideal.
Why do hamsters love cheese?
The cheese tastes really good. We, humans, know how a piece of cheese changes the taste of a bland sandwich or pizza, or even a burger. Thus, it is not much difficult to understand why the hamsters love to have cheese.
Cheese is not only harmful to the hamsters. If given in small portions and right times, it can help hamsters as well. Fat and protein are present in good portions of cheese. Thus when the hamster is becoming underweight you can give it cheese to some amount of.
These nutrients in cheese will help the hamster to get a healthy body and also will keep it energetic. At times when the hamster falls sick and does not want to eat anything, you can offer a small piece of cheese to it. It will make the pet energetic and will revive its fitness. But do not give cheese if the hamster is suffering from any kind of digestive problem.
What cheeses can a hamster eat?
Hamsters should not have all the different varieties of cheese. The low-fat varieties like cottage cheese or mozzarella are the only varieties that you can try with your hamster.
Aged cheddar is a quite tasty variety of cheese but it would not be suitable for the pet. You must not get hamsters these kinds of cheese which are high in salt and fat content. The same is applied to parmesan or any other processed cheese product.
The number of sodium increases in the body of a hamster when it is given such foods made with processed cheese. The fat will also disturb its digestive system and its body weight will increase.
Which cheeses are not safe for the hamster to eat?
As we have mentioned earlier, the low-fat version of cheeses is safe for the consumption of the pet hamster. But when it comes to naming the unsafe versions you may think of parmesan, hard cheddar, etc. These ones are too high in fat to be consumed safely by the hamsters.
The processed foods that are created from cheese are not safe as well. These ones contain a good amount of preservatives as well as the wrong amount of sodium or potassium for small creatures like hamsters. Thus keep such foods away from your hamster and it would lead a long healthy life.
Can hamsters eat cheese daily?
No, cheese is not that safe for the hamsters so they can eat cheese every day. It should be given to the pet hamsters only sparingly. You must not give cheese to the hamster daily as that will make it an obese creature. Also, the sodium content of the cheese will increase its blood pressure and its cholesterol level will also be high.
Why cheese is not very safe for the hamsters?
Cheese is made by acidifying the milk. The nutrients in the milk like protein get converted to another different type called casein and that is more fattening for the consumers. Due to the formation of casein, the milk semi-solidifies, and coagulates. The thickness increases and later the milk becomes stiff. Thus cheese is formed.
Sometimes other flavoring ingredients like garlic, rosemary, or pepper are added to the cheese to make it more delectable. Some variety of cheeses needs aging to add taste. Some varieties of cheeses can be eaten hard but other varieties need melting to a gooey form to be consumed.
Cheese contains a good amount of vitamins like A, D, K, and B 12. It helps in the formation of bone structure and keeps the eyesight in great condition. Also, vitamin K helps in improving the condition of blood clotting. This way you can get various benefits from the consumption of cheese.
But yet, it is not very safe for the hamsters, and cannot be given more than a pea-sized amount at once. You can only give a couple of bites of cheese to a matured hamster once in a week. For a young hamster, as we have stated before, only a little ball of pea size would be adequate for them.
Can you keep cheese in the shelter of a hamster?
Some hamster owners prefer to keep the snacking item in the cage of their pet hamster. They feel that the pet would relax and eat the snack as and when it would need it. You can do that with the dry snacking items but cheese or raw fruit pieces would get rotten this way.
If you keep the cheese piece in the cage of the hamster it may and will not eat it for a long time. After the piece remains for 24 hours, it will start getting rotten. It will smell foul and later it will invite pests and insects. So it is not safe for the hamsters to leave a piece of cheese in their shelter which will later attract other hazards like mites or ants.
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