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Can Hamsters Eat Veggie Straws?

Lots of people enjoy favorite late-night snacks of Veggie straws. They’re colorful, tasty, and crunchy like Fortune Cookies. But can hamsters eat Veggie straws?

In short no, hamsters shouldn’t eat Veggie straws. These deep-fried snacks are loaded with salt and processed ingredients and provide no nutritional value to hamsters. While they’re targeted to a more health-conscious consumer base, they actually aren’t any healthier than potato chips or any other kind of junk food for that matter.

What Are Veggie Straws?

Veggie straws are deep-fried snacks made from processed potato and come in plain, spicy, cheesy, and sweet flavors.

What Are Veggie Straws Made Of?

Veggie straws are made from potato flour, potato starch, corn starch, oil, spinach powder, tomato paste, artificial colors, and lots of salt and seasoning.

While the exact process is an industry secret, Veggie straws are likely made by mashing potatoes into a fine powder, mixed with starches and food color.

This doughy textured mixture is pressed through an extruder that forms thin hollow tubes, or straws. The straw shapes are cut, deep-fried, and seasoned with the required flavor before being sent for packaging.

Are Veggie Straws Bad For Hamsters?

While Veggie straws aren’t lethal, their ingredients are nevertheless bad for hamsters’ health. Some Veggie straws are seasoned with condiments that are safe for humans, they can be toxic to hamsters. To understand how each ingredient affects hamsters, let’s go through them one by one.

Corn starch
Corn starch is neither toxic nor unhealthy for hamsters, however, it doesn’t make it beneficial either. Remember that corn starch is pure carbs with zero fiber.

Oil
Veggie straws are deep-fried in high-temperature hydrogenated oil, which significantly raises the product’s fat content. Of course, hamsters aren’t supposed to eat fried foods — aside from occasional snacking. Eating fried snacks regularly could lead to the following:

  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Lethargy
  • Gastrointestinal issues
  • Cardiac disorders
  • Pancreatitis

Salt
Another ingredient that’s generally used in veggie straws is salt. Just like humans, excessive salt can lead to many problems for hamsters. It’s terrible for a hamster’s tiny body, consuming too much may even have a fatal outcome. When a hamster eats too much salt, it creates a number of problems in its organism. Salt sucks up the water from the body and leaves the hamster dehydrated.

Considering that a single serving of veggie straws contains a whopping 220mg of sodium, you can see how sinisterly salty this snack is.

Ingesting too much sodium can cause the following:

  • Salt/Sodium poisoning
  • Dehydration
  • Hypertension
  • Muscle spasm
  • Kidney diseases
  • Cardiac disorders

Why You Shouldn’t Feed Your Hamster Veggie Straws

We love to give our pet hamsters a nice treat every now and again. However, considering how harmful those snacks can be for your hamster, these types of snacks should be completely avoided.

Due to the high salt content, Veggie straws are completely unfit for hamsters. The high salt easily exceeds an average hamster’s sodium quota.

While plain Veggie straws are very bad for the hamster’s health, spicy and ranch Veggie straws are even worse. Due to Veggie straws being seasoned with onion and garlic, they could potentially induce toxicity if eaten.

Hamsters that suffer from obesity, or any other health problems, should never eat fatty and salty snacks.

Do Veggie Straws Provide Any Nutritional Benefit For Your Hamster?

No, Veggie straws do not provide any nutritional benefit for hamsters. While the nutritional information on Veggie straws’ packet does list calcium, iron, potassium, and dietary fiber, its quantity is simply too little to be of any good.

The nutrition label is dominated by fats, cholesterol, sodium, and carbohydrates, so these generous proportions far outweigh any benefits for a hamster.

What If My Hamster Has Already Eaten Some Veggie Straws?

Your hamster will likely appear fine after nibbling on some Veggie straws. However, it’s best to monitor your hamster for any signs of abnormality. Cut them off of anything that’s unnatural from their diet and only give them healthy food that they should be getting.

Hamster Safe Alternatives To Veggie Straws

If you want to give your hamster a treat, there’re plenty of healthy options to go for. Here are some alternatives that make a great snack. Not only do they lack the side effects of junk foods, but they’re also packed with essential nutrients.

Bananas – They are potassium and vitamin-rich snacks. You can also sun-dry the banana slices to give them a chip-like texture, although bananas should be fed in moderation.

Apples – are high in natural sugars and carbohydrates, which makes them an excellent sweet snack for your hamster.

Pumpkin – Due to its high fiber content, pumpkins help keep a hamster’s digestion and immunity in tip-top shape.

Baby carrots – are crunchy and sweet sources of essential vitamins. They’re also easier to eat for hamsters compared to regular carrots.

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