How-to: Hamster Porridge!
Have an elderly hamster?
Is your hamster losing weight and you want to know what can help?
Want to add more protein to your hamster’s diet?
Hamster porridge can be made super easily with ingredients you might already have at home! It is basically their regular seed mix with vegetables and a protein source, all combined into an appetising homogenous mash. This tasty nutritious treat is ideal for giving picky eaters the nutrients they need from their food mix, and is a welcome and easy-to-eat meal for older hamsters that have difficulties consuming their dry food.
This recipe is also useful for increasing your hamster’s weight; hamsters will consume wet food on-site instead of hoarding it for later, so you know your hamster is definitely eating and getting their nutrients every time they are served this porridge.
This recipe is very forgiving and flexible. You can change the amount of vegetables and meat to your hamster’s preference! It’s okay if you have more chicken on hand that what we have listed below; just add it all if you want.
We highly recommend for you to freeze the portions and defrost as necessary to keep the porridge as fresh as possible when served.
Total cooking time: ~1.5h
Ingredients:
5 heaped tablespoons of a nutritious seed mix (We used Fatpouches seed mix here. Smells so appetizing, YUM!)
1 cup spinach*
¾ cup fresh minced chicken**
2 cups water
* You can substitute this with any hamster-safe vegetable such as bok choy, kalian, broccoli or pumpkin, just to name a few! The possibilities are endless.
** You can substitute this with high-protein legumes like edamame aka boiled soybeans, or tofu.
What you need:
A saucepan with a lid
A blender/food processor/hand blender
An ice-cube tray (optional) OR aluminium foil
A freezer
Let’s get started!
Step 1:
Boil the water in a saucepan.
Step 2:
Add seed mix to boiling water.
Step 3
Stir continuously for 8-10 minutes until water reduces by half and seeds are mushy.
Step 4
Add chicken in small portions with a spoon and stir.
Step 5: When the chicken pieces are cooked, add the spinach.
Step 6: Stir until the spinach is mixed in.
Step 7: Let the mixture boil for another 2 minutes.
step 8
Turn off your heat source, put the lid on. Leave for 20 minutes for the residual heat to continue cooking the porridge.
step 9
Let the mixture cool for 30-45 minutes.
Here’s the consistency of our porridge so far!
step 10
Transfer the mixture into a blender/food processor and blend until you reach a smooth consistency. You can add more water here if you want your porridge to be looser.
Here’s what our porridge looks like after blending. Add more water to reach your desired consistency if needed!
step 11
Separate your finished porridge into individual portions using an ice cube tray, or by wrapping portions in aluminium foil.
step 12
Freeze the portions of porridge.
step 13
When time to feed, defrost a portion by transferring it to the fridge the previous night, or by heating up in a hot water bath or a microwave.
Special thanks to our volunteer Zylia for providing the photos and videos!
Check her IG @butternotmargarine for the full IG Stories Highlights on this recipe!