Can Hamsters Eat Pomegranate? Vet Reviewed Facts & FAQ
By Misty Layne
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As pet owners, we’re responsible for ensuring our pets eat a diet that provides the nutrition required to keep them healthy. For hamsters, a healthy diet consists primarily of pellets made specifically for hamsters, as they offer your pet the nutrition they need. However, along with a pellet diet, you can occasionally throw in a few fruits and veggies as a treat. However, not all vegetables and fruits are created equal, and some may not be healthy or safe for your pet.
If you’ve been thinking about giving your hamster pomegranate to see if they like it, it’s good to know that this fruit is not toxic to these little guys. However, it’s also not the best choice for them either, and there are many other fruits more suitable for your hamster. In short, although pomegranate is not toxic to hamsters, it is not a healthy treat for them.
Here’s what you should know about feeding pomegranate to your hamster!
Why Is Pomegranate Unhealthy for Hamsters?
Pomegranate isn’t the healthiest fruit to feed your hamster due to the amount of sugar it contains. Just 100 grams of pomegranate has nearly 14 grams of sugar! Of course, no hamster will consume 100 grams of any food in a single setting; however, any food that is 14% sugar is too much sugar for your hamster’s digestive system. Giving your pet an overabundance of sugar can lead to several health issues.
For one, the high sugar content of this fruit could cause your tiny friend to suffer gastrointestinal issues and diarrhea (even if they’re only fed a small amount). The seeds of the pomegranate also aren’t the easiest for your hamster to digest, which could lead to stomach upset, as well.
Then, there’s the fact that diabetes is common in many hamsters (Syrian hamsters are the exception), and adding a ton of sugar to your pet’s diet may lead to this disease.1 It can also result in your pet gaining too much weight (as obesity is quite common among pet hamsters). Overall, this is one fruit that can cause health problems in your pet, so it’s best avoided.
Other Reasons to Avoid Feeding Pomegranate to Your Hamster
The amount of sugar in pomegranate isn’t the only reason to avoid giving your hamster this fruit. You may also want to avoid it, as the seeds of the pomegranate could pose a choking hazard to your hamster. The seeds may be relatively small, but depending on the size of your pet, these seeds could be huge to them and too large to swallow safely.
Pomegranates are also relatively high in citric acid, another potential cause of stomach upset for our tiny friends.
The final reason you might not want to deal with pomegranates and hamsters is because this fruit is a juicy, sticky one, and hamsters can be messy eaters! Your hamster getting sticky juice all over them when eating a pomegranate is probably unavoidable, so your hamster will need to be cleaned up afterward. It’s not a huge problem to deal with, but it may not be something you want to have to do often.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
You might have a couple of other questions about feeding pomegranate to your hamster, so here are some of the more frequently asked ones.
Can I really not ever give my hamster pomegranate?
You can give them pomegranate; it’s just not really healthy for them. But since it’s non-toxic to hamsters, if your pet has a bit of pomegranate on the rare occasion, it probably won’t do much harm other than perhaps an upset stomach. But this fruit definitely shouldn’t be a staple of your hamster’s diet.
Can hamsters have pomegranate juice?
No, pomegranate juice isn’t suitable for hamsters. Not only will it have way too much sugar, but if it’s a store-bought juice, it could contain additives and chemicals that will harm your pet.
What are better fruits to feed my hamster?
If you’d like to feed your hamster fruit but want a healthier one, we’d suggest going with pears, bananas, apples, melon, raspberries, papaya, or strawberries.
Final Thoughts
Pomegranate isn’t toxic to hamsters but is incredibly unhealthy for these little guys. Pomegranate has too much sugar for a hamster’s digestive system to handle, which could result in gastrointestinal trouble. And in the long term, too much sugar can lead to obesity and diabetes. There are other reasons this fruit is inadvisable to give to your pet, too, such as the possible choking hazard of the seeds and the fact that you’ll probably have to bathe your hamster afterward.
Other fruits out there are much healthier for your hamster to consume if you want to add some fruit to their diet. Strawberries, pears, apples, and bananas are all acceptable (when given in small amounts and only on occasion!), and your hamster will likely immensely enjoy them.
Featured Image Credit: LeeTravathan, Pixabay
