If your pets are too little then you might find it hard to feed the right food to them. You always need to be prepared with a diet chart for them. They might need the little amount of that food but they still need the right amount.
Can Hamsters Eat Guinea Pig Food?
No, Hamsters cannot eat Guinea pig food. Despite them both being small their nutritional needs are very different from each other. Their diets are very different from each other as the macronutrients required for them are very different. So, feeding the guinea pig food might lead to various problems like malnutrition, digestive problems, and reduced quality of life.
Why Should You Give Guinea Pig Food To Your Hamster?
Firstly, you should know that the choice of food and the quantity of food that hamsters and guinea pigs need are very different from each other. The hamsters are omnivores and guinea pigs are strict herbivores. This is the main reason why you should not feed guinea pigs to hamsters. That will mean that their feed won’t be able to suffice their nutritional needs.
The types of food that a Hamster can eat are:
- They eat fruits, vegetables, berries, and seeds. Also, they pray on some insects and some creepy crawlers like crickets and mealworms. So, they require both plants and insects to survive.
- Also, they cannot eat carrots because they can get stuck in their cheeky pouches and can also cause choking problems whereas guinea pigs eat those.
- It would be good for you to feed them freshly-cooked vegetables, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
- When it comes to meat you can serve them pork or beef because they love eating them. Also, they can eat worms or grub they are easier to eat.
While the food Guinea Pigs eat are:
- As told before they are strict herbivores, they eat foods that are a mixture of vegetable roots and seeds also you can complement their diet with fresh fruits like bananas, apples, and strawberries.
- Guinea pigs also like eating hay and oats because their diet also needs a lot of fiber, it is because they have a short metabolism, so they require fiber for regular bowel movements.
- They also like eating celery, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes.
Why Should You Not Give Guinea Pig Food To Your Hamster?
To get a better understanding of this it is better to show you a small comparison between the hamsters and guinea pigs. To tell you how are they very much different from each other and therefore their need to have an altogether different diet.
- A Guinea pig’s size is much bigger than a hamster.
- Also, guinea pig’s lifespan is longer than hamsters. if we take proper care of a hamster then it will live up to three years whereas hamsters can live more than five years.
- Hamster’s grip capability is much higher in their paws than a guinea pig, which lets them climb over curtains and even a staircase. Also, you must know, guinea pigs have more hind leg strength and are capable of jumping.
- Only hamsters can run around inside an exercise ball or in a wheel. There is a need to do this to burn energy and reduce obesity and other health issues. But you must know, guinea pigs do not have a spine structure for that type of arching. Putting your guinea pig in an exercise ball or wheel will do no good for them.
How To Feed Guinea Pig Food To Your Hamster Properly?
Although some food is common among hamsters and guinea pigs still, they should not be fed to them because their diet in that case also become completely different from each other.
Therefore, if you are feeding your hamster any guinea pig food you should first see what to feed them and what not to feed them. Also, see what their requirements are from that food and feed them in the same quantity.
Alternatives To Guinea Pig Food For Hamsters
The following food items can be given as a replacement for Guinea pig food for your Hamster:
- Timothy hay
- Mealworms
- Pork
- Pumpkin seeds
FAQs
Are Guinea Pigs And Hamsters Similar?
The only similarity between them is that both have open-rooted teeth which means their teeth will never grow and they both will require food that is rough enough to grate their teeth down.
Can Guinea Pig Food Kill Hamsters?
No, Guinea pig food is not good for hamsters, they certainly cannot kill them. Although it might create various health problems which might lead to poor quality of life. And if you keep feeding them then it might become dangerous for hamsters.
Conclusion:
Well, we can see hamsters and guinea pigs have very different diets because firstly hamsters are omnivores and guinea pigs are strict herbivores.
Then their sizes are also very different from each other hamsters are smaller than guinea pigs which makes their dietary requirements very different from each other. So, if we feed them guinea pig dietary food there are chances of them becoming diabetic and obese.
So, if you have both hamsters and guinea pigs in your house as a pet don’t mix their diet. They both eat different foods. I am telling this from personal experience. I had a hamster and a guinea pig and due to laziness, I decided to serve the same food in the same quantity. In less than one year my hamster becomes obese.
I couldn’t understand the reason why was it happening. As soon as one year passed without me realizing the hamster died. So sincere requests never feed them the same food. They both have different requirements.