If you are asking yourself: “Can hamsters eat banana chips?”, take a break from searching as you’ve come to the right place. They certainly can, but with some restrictions.
As with all things in life, there must be a necessity to learn and discover things needed to protect and evolve your relationship with your furball. Needless to say, you are on a good track!
Buckle your seatbelts and enjoy the ride as you discover the “myth” behind this topic.
Many different species of hamsters can be found in various places all around the globe and they all share (more or less), the same diet.
Be it commercial pellets, vegetables, fresh fruits, or herbs, what all connects us is the love and care we share for our hamsters.
Being certain of the well-being of your hammies, it is essential to know what are the upper limits of some foods that you give to your pets. So keep reading to expand your knowledge and find out everything there is.
Banana Chips In Hamster Diet
Banana chips are essentially dried bananas. The “dried” part is referring to the making process of the chips. Simply put, by extracting the water from the preemptively sliced banana, you are left with the dried and crispy product that all hamsters love.
As you know, almost always in life you can’t necessarily do everything you love and the same can be said for eating. Hamsters can eat banana chips only when certain factors are met. The first factor is, oddly enough, found in the banana.
The banana itself is a healthy fruit snack that contains numerous vitamins (A, C, K, E), and its most beneficial vitamin B6 regulates the metabolic system of your organism. Apart from that, bananas are highly rich in sugar.
They don’t possess any fat or cholesterol in them but the presence of sugar is where the essential problem lies – too much sugar intake will lead your hamsters to potentially develop some kind of intestinal problems.
It just adds up the fact that throughout the process of drying the banana, the sugar levels elevate even higher. But there is no need for fear and panic. It is still a manageable snack to give to your beloved pets if you keep track of a few simple rules:
- First of all, always make sure that you are present when your hamster is eating the banana chips
- Serving it in a bowl or giving it directly to them using your hands (there aren’t any ups and downs in choosing one over the other)
- Carefully measuring the amount (not more than twice a half-quarter teaspoon per week)
- Always make sure that the bowl is clean before and after you give the treat to your furball
Needless to say, it’s a perfectly safe snack to give them as long as you keep track of those few easy rules and steps.
Apart from all that, there are no current scientific studies that show that hamsters can, through regularly eating banana chips, develop an unhealthy obsession of only wanting to eat that treat. They will gladly partake in any food that you offer them.
Some food may be more appealing to them, I mean, who doesn’t think that way? But to stay healthy and on top of their game, it is your responsibility to take proper care of their diet, particularly referring to snacks.
Providing them with a colorful array of things inside their living space by putting all sorts of stuff they can use to play with, they will play with those toys and at the same time exercise by running and jumping all around the playground you’ve built for your special one.
Nonetheless, it is not a solution nor an excuse for you to give them that one more extra slice of the banana chip. Stay true and on the right track with their diet and never risk those things, it is your and only your job to properly take care of that!
Fun Alternatives To Banana Chips
If your imagination is vast, then your potential is limitless! Never have I said that banana chips are strictly necessary to give them as they are – on the contrary, mixing them up with some other ingredients may well be the way to break the monotony in this ordinary snack.
By buying and acquiring your regular food and supplies (with banana chips), you can spice it up in a fun and interactive fashion by combining your banana chips with other food. If I may, let me introduce you to some innovative ideas.
Banana Shake
As a nutrient-rich drink, it is an irresistible treat for your fluffy pet that requires little effort in making:
- 1 banana
- 50ml water
- 50ml milk
- A single tablespoon of sugar (it is not necessary and isn’t harmful)
Blend all of it for five minutes and serve in doses not more than 10ml.
Banana Cereal
Commonly served for newborn hamsters, it is a must-have in a diet for every baby hammy that requires that little extra boost to their food regime. To make one you need:
- 1 dried banana
- 200ml milk
- 200mg cereal powder
Cut the banana, then add it to a pan on low flame with milk and cereal powder. Stir it up until it all mixes and then refrigerate it for 10 minutes. Remember to not overfeed them on it as it is only a snack!
Banana Cream
The requirements for this delightful dish are as follows: A teaspoon of dried bananas with a good cream. Mix it all up and you’ve got yourself a wonderful treat for your little buddy.
I can’t stress enough the importance of realizing the fact that at the end of the day, these are only snacks, not real food. That means that you only need to consider them as rare and little adds to the daily diet of your furball.
On the other side, while it is good to have a good imagination, you need to keep track of things that are not beneficial or borderline dangerous to mix your banana chips with. These are the things that humans regularly eat like some kind of sweets.
Mixing your banana chips with honey or chocolate should never be on your mind when you think about snacks for them. They are sweet products that have extremely high levels of sugar in them, thus making them not viable to mix with banana chips when feeding your hammies with it.
Taking things into consideration, you can add some veggies with banana chips to spice up the flavor a little bit. Things like broccoli spears, spinach, and carrot tops are phenomenal for your hamster.
The types of veggies that you should avoid mixing with banana chips are veggies that are rich in water content. Things like iceberg lettuce and cucumber are overall bad. This is because too much water intake may lead to diarrhea for your little one.
Different Species Of Hamsters
Hamsters are animals. Crazy, am I right? Jokes aside, that means that there are several different species of hamsters. Why is this important? Let me explain.
Like with every other animal that has multiple different species, the difference is present for a purpose. That purpose is generally in the biological and genetic sphere of things. Certain stuff needed to evolve in them to better adapt to all things around them. Some stuff stayed the same.
But we will look at the thing that devolved. By taming certain species of hamsters people have, unwillingly, made a natural selection of hamsters. We categorize them by referring to them as wild or tamed.
Hamsters that are wild (Robovksi and Syrian) are adapted to eat greater volumes of banana chips. On the other hand, tamed species (White Dwarf, Chinese, and Campbell) are exactly the type that is commonly found in most homes and are not tolerant to much intake in banana chips.
To Summarize
If you are still in a dilemma can hamsters eat banana chips, the answer is clearly yes. It is a healthy snack full of positive nutrients that are beneficial for your loved one. It is easy to buy one considering the fact that all markets are required to have bananas.
You aren’t restricted to only serving them as chips – combining them with other stuff in order to make something new is a must-do. There are many more varieties that can be done simply by using your imagination. Be innovative!
Hamsters require a lot of love and attention, positive care, and gentle handling. They will keep you good company and return to you everything they can. So don’t waste any time – head to your local market, grab some bananas, dry them out and surprise your hammy if you haven’t already!