Question: Can hamsters eat Bacon?
Answer: No hamsters can’t eat bacon. This is a greasy meat that hamsters should not be given.
What is Bacon?
Bacon is ham that has been cut from the back of a pig. It’s then dry cured in salt or brine, smoked, and sometimes pressed.
The curing process of bacon can take a few days to several months. Curing improves the flavour and helps prevent spoiling.
Once ready, it’s usually cut into slices before being cooked in a variety of ways including frying, grilling, baking or steaming.
It’s a popular choice in many countries including America, China and Germany for breakfast!
Whilst humans may enjoy bacon It’s best to avoid feeding your hamster bacon as it serves them no nutritional benefit and is very high in fat, which can cause serious health problems.
Hamsters are much better off eating things like fruits and vegetables instead of poorly-prepared processed meats such as bacon.
Can Hamsters Eat Bacon?
Absolutely not! Under no circumstance should you feed your Hamster Bacon.
Whilst Hamsters are omnivores and do eat meat as well as plants in their natural habitat, they would never and should never eat highly processed meats such as Bacon.
The hamster’s diet would be made up of naturally occurring plants and animals, not heavily processed meats with a high fat content.
Risks of Bacon for Hamsters
Besides the obvious in that bacon is a processed and unhealthy meat, hamsters should not eat bacon for other reasons too.
Bacon is full of fat and salt.
It also contains high amounts of sodium which can be harmful to your hamster’s health.
In addition it contains many chemicals that are often added to processed meats to prolong shelf life.
These chemicals can lead to problems with your hamster’s nerves and digestive system, both of which may become very problematic for them.
Although the risk of these chemicals causing cancer is not necessarily high, it can’t really hurt to keep these away from your hamster.
Additionally, hamsters have a very sensitive digestive systems and should only eat fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet.
If you look at the typical nutritional makeup of Bacon you’ll see it provides no nutritional benefits for hamsters;
100g of bacon contains:
- Total Fat – 40g
- Saturated Fat – 13g
- Polyunsaturated Fat – 6g
- Monounsaturated Fat – 17g
- Trans Fat Regulation – 0.1g
- Cholesterol – 66mg
- Sodium – 662mg
- Potassium – 198mg
- Total Carbohydrates – 1.3g
- Dietary Fiber – 0g
- Protein – 13g
The perfect diet for your hamster
Hamsters are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals.
Hamsters feed on a variety of plant and insect species in the wild, therefore a diet that is comparable to this would be ideal for hamsters, such as a mix of fresh vegetables and high-protein dried insects like mealworms.
What else you can feed your hamster?
There are much better options for your hamster than bacon.
If you really want to give them meat, then it’s best to feed them protein-rich insects such as mealworms instead.
While these are high in fat too, they are much better for your hamster. As a plus, mealworms are dried, so this means they are not as greasy as Bacon either.
They also happen to be high in protein and other nutrients that your hamster needs which makes them a great alternative to bacon.
You may also offer your hamster a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to high-quality hamster food.
What fruits can you feed your hamster?
Hamsters can eat a wide range of fruits including;
- Apple
- Melon
- Peach
- Pear
What vegetables can you feed your hamster?
In addition to eating fruit hamsters can also eat vegetables;
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrot
- Cauliflower
- Chicory
- Courgette
- Cucumber
- Cress
- Spinach
- Sweet peppers
- What herbs can you feed your hamster
- Basil
- Coriander
- Parsley
- Sage
What should you not feed your hamster?
With many options of commercial hamster food, it’s worth noting that some should be avoided.
Muesli-style pre-mixed feed is not recommended, because your hamster will probably choose the high-sugar foods over the low-fiber ones.
High sugar food may cause detrimental effects on your hamster’s teeth and can lead to obesity in your pet.
Be sure not to feed your hamster citrus fruits such as;
- Grapefruits
- Lemons
- Oranges
In Summary – Can Hamsters Eat Bacon?
No, you should not feed your hamster bacon under any circumstance.
Being high in fat and sodium, bacon is a processed meat that does not have any nutritional benefits for your hamster.
It’s a good idea to stick with feeding your hamster proteins-rich dried insects or a commercial food mix instead.
While bacon is sometimes seen as a great treat for humans, and might even be considered a delicacy in some cultures, it will not do your hamster any good and the risks associated with feeding it to them are high.
Therefore we would recommend that you avoid giving your small pet any type of processed food such as bacon; instead feed them a diet of high protein insects and fresh vegetables.
