If you have a hamster you are most likely giving them water to drink, But, what else can they drink apart from water?
Apart from water they can drink milk, juices, rice water and weak tea. Hamsters should only drink water when they fully grown as water contains all the vitamins and minerals they need.
If you plan to give your hamster anything other than water to drink make sure you give it to them as a treat and only in small amounts two or three times a week at max.
What Can Hamsters Drink Besides Water?
When hamsters are born they will drink milk from their mother and this will provide all the vitamins and nutrients they will need. After weaning hamsters should only drink water because it has the perfect content of vitamins and minerals for them.
Hamsters can also drink
- Milk
- Weak Tea
- Juices
- Rice Water
If you are looking to give your hamster an alternative to water to drink I recommend to give your hamster either weak tea or rice water.
Hamsters can drink other fluids but they might not be good for your hamster which I will cover below.
Can Hamsters Drink Milk?
Hamsters can drink milk and they do enjoy the taste, But it is not recommended to give to your hamster because milk is high in calories and will cause your hamster to gain weight. Milk also has very little nutritional value and can go off very quickly.
Giving your hamster milk will not harm them if given in small amounts. It should only be given as a treat no more than 2 times a week.
The disadvantages of giving milk over water include
- Milk goes off quickly
- Hard to feed to hamster
- Not Nutritious
- High in calories
You will need to be very careful to make sure the milk has not gone off or is close to going off. Hamsters have very fragile digestive systems and they will not be able tolerate milk that has gone off very well. Make sure the milk is consumed asap and does not become warm, do not leave the milk in the cage for hours.
Milk is also not very nutritious and is high in calories which is a good reason not to give your hamster milk.
If you do want to give your hamster milk I recommend to give to them via a babies bottle as shown in the video below.
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Can Hamsters Drink Tea?
Hamsters can drink tea, just make sure that it is very weak and do not give them to much of it to drink. Also do not add sugar.
I also recommend that you give them green tea because it will work as an antioxidant which should help your hamsters digestive system.
Most hamsters will love the taste of tea because it adds a little taste to the water, Just make sure they don’t drink more than they normally would as this can cause issues for them.
So, it is safe for hamsters to drink tea, As with milk only give your hamster tea as a treat no more than 2 times a week.
Can Hamsters Drink Juice?
Hamsters can drink juice as long as it does not contain sweeteners. Juices will also contain a high amount of sugar so it is recommended to give your hamster a small amount of juice at a time.
I do not recommend to give hamsters juice because of the sugar and acid in the juice which can easily upset your hamsters tummy.
If you want to give your hamster juice I would recommend only to give them a small amount, once a week as a treat.
Can Hamsters Drink Rice Water?
Rice water is the perfect drink to give your hamsters instead of just water.
You can boil rice then strain it and cool down the water before giving it to your hamster. The water should have a faint taste of rice which your hamster will love.
You could also give your hamster some of the rice as well.
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Tap Water Or Bottled Water?
The best type of water for your hamster is filtered because it will have minimal contamination. So if you should give your hamster either filtered tap water or filtered bottled water if possible.
Can hamsters drink tap water, is it safe for them? If the water supplied to you is potable then it is safe to give to your hamster. I recommend to purchase a water filter and filter your tap water before giving it to your hamster.
Is bottled water safe for hamsters? Bottled water will be safe to give your hamster if it does not have chlorine in it and does not contain any minerals or flavourings.
How Much Water Do Hamsters Need?
A hamster will need to drink between 5 – 10 ml of water a day to stay healthy. This includes all hamster types including small bread such as syrian hamsters.
An active hamster that exercises a lot will need around 10 ml a day, If your hamster is not very active then it will need a minimum of 5 ml water a day.
It is very common for your hamster to drink less when they reach old age.
The food you give your hamster will also have an impact on the water they drink. If you feed them dry food they will drink more water. Some foods such as vegetables will contain water which means they will drink less.
How often should you change your hamsters water?
You should change your hamsters water every other day to keep it fresh and prevent any bacteria build up within the bottle.
Do not wait until the water bottle to become empty before replacing it as it will take weeks for the hamster to empty the bottle. An average hamster will drink between 5 ml and 10 ml of water every day.
When you change the water make sure to empty the water bottle and give it a good rinse before replacing the water and putting it back in the cage.
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Water Bottle Or Water Bowl?
Personally I use a water bottle for my hamster because it is cleaner and less messy.
If you have a water bowl in your cage the hamster will tread in the water and possibly bathe in it as well. A Water bowl can also be knocked over spilling the water in to your cage.
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