Hamsters, as delightful little creatures with unique dietary needs, thrive on a balanced diet that ensures their optimal health and longevity. Sprays, particularly seed sprays like millet, play a significant role in meeting these nutritional needs.
Although often seen as supplementary food, these sprays provide hamsters with an engaging and nourishing snack, promoting their natural foraging behaviours. Sprays provide essential nutrients, fibre, and minerals.
These sprays contribute to the hamster’s health, helping them maintain a robust immune system, sound dental health, and overall well-being. Incorporating sprays into your hamster’s diet is a fun and enriching food experience for them and offers valuable health benefits.
On the other hand, it can be overwhelming to decide what is the best hamster sprays to choose that are safe. Plus, sprays shouldn’t be your hamster’s main source of nutrients.
In this article, we will discuss various types of sprays, what kind to get, and where to buy them.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SPRAYS FOR HAMSTER
Before we get to the list of our recommended hamster sprays, first, you must understand what they do to hamsters. You should also check out our long FAQ about hamster food and diet and what vegetables hamsters can eat.
What are sprays for hamsters
Sprays for hamsters are essentially clusters of seeds or grains still attached to their stalks, such as millet or oat sprays. This natural hamster food looks like dried leaves, herbs, or plants. You can read our list of safe and unsafe herbs for hamsters.
Purpose of sprays for hamsters
Apart from being a great addition to your hamster’s diet, sprays encourage your pet to forage and collect food, just like what hamsters do in the wild.
For other people, adding sprays inside the cage also make the enclosure looking for natural and adds charm to their hamster’s home.
Types of hamster sprays
Learn about different kinds of sprays that you can give to your hamster.
Amaranth
Amaranth spray is derived from the mature amaranth plant, comprising clusters of tiny, round seeds on their stalks. It’s a nutritious addition to a hamster’s diet, packed with proteins and essential amino acids.
The sprays are visually striking, with bright, multicoloured seeds that offer visual and textural stimulation for hamsters. While amaranth sprays are not as commonly available as others, they can be sourced from specialized pet stores or online. Due to Amaranth’s reputation as a ‘superfood’, these sprays may be more expensive.
Canary Grass Seed
Canary grass seed spray consists of clusters of grass seeds attached to their stalks. Rich in fibre, it supports a hamster’s digestive health and mimics natural foraging habits. The sprays are unique, with long, delicate stalks and compact, pale-coloured seed clusters.
They can be found in many pet stores and online, making them relatively easy to purchase. While not the most inexpensive option, they’re generally affordably priced.
Chia
Chia spray is derived from the chia plant and consists of clusters of chia seeds on their stalks. It’s a nutritious addition to a pet’s diet, offering a high Omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fibre content.
Despite these benefits, chia spray is not the cheapest option and can be harder to find than other sprays such as millet. This is due to the growing popularity of chia seeds in human diets, which can drive up prices and affect availability in pet stores.
Flax
Flax spray, derived from the flax plant, is a bunch of flaxseeds still attached to their stalks. A versatile supplement, it offers numerous health benefits to various pets, including hamsters. Rich in dietary fibre and Omega-3 fatty acids, flax spray, can support a hamster’s digestive health and promote a glossy coat.
Millet
Millet is the most common and easy-to-find spray for hamsters. There are various types, such as panicle and pear, while there are many colours you can choose from. You will usually find the “golden millet” with stalks around 4-8 inches in height.
Millet spray is something you will find in many hamster dry mixes since it’s affordable and easy to source. If you want to try sprays for hamsters for the first time, millet is always a safe choice.
Oat
Oat spray, clusters of mature oat grains on their stalks, is an enriching addition to a hamster’s diet. Notably high in fibre, it supports digestive health and encourages natural foraging behaviour.
Oat sprays are unique, with golden-brown grains clinging to tall, slender stems. They are generally easy to find in pet stores or online and relatively affordable compared to other spray types. For all these reasons, oat sprays are one of the best hamster sprays available.
Quackgrass
Quackgrass spray, harvested from the mature quackgrass plant, consists of clusters of seeds on their stalks. Quackgrass sprays are rustic, with slender stalks bearing tiny, dense, grain-like seeds.
While not as commonly found in pet stores as millet or oat sprays, they can still be sourced online, although they may be slightly more expensive due to their rarity.
Quinoa
Quinoa spray is derived from mature quinoa plants and features clusters of small, round seeds on their stalks. Packed with proteins and essential amino acids, it’s a nutritious supplement for hamsters, fostering their overall health.
The sprays present a visually intriguing food source with their vibrant, multicoloured seeds. Though not as common as other sprays, quinoa sprays can be found in specialized pet stores or online, but they tend to be more expensive due to quinoa’s status as a ‘superfood’.
Sorghum
Sorghum spray comprises clusters of sorghum seeds still attached to their stalks. This spray, characterized by thick stalks topped with large, round, usually red or brown seeds, offers visual and textural stimulation for pets.
While not as readily available as other sprays, sorghum sprays can be purchased online or in speciality pet stores. They may be a bit pricier due to their less common use in pet diets.
Wheat
The wheat spray is a cluster of mature wheat kernels attached to their stalks. The sprays are characterized by their long, slender stalks adorned with golden kernels. Wheat sprays are typically easy to find in pet stores and online due to wheat’s widespread cultivation, making them a relatively inexpensive option.
Where to get hamster sprays
You can buy hamster sprays from pet stores. Usually, they are in the bird section since these snacks are also popular with bird owners. At the same time, ordering them online is also possible, plus there will be more choices for you to choose from.
How many sprays to give a hamster
When feeding sprays to hamsters, moderation is key to ensure a balanced diet. Generally, a small piece of spray (around 2-3 inches) once or twice a week is sufficient. This provides a variety of nutrients without overloading their diet with seeds.
Unlike rabbits, hamsters don’t need as much fibre. Remember, sprays should supplement, not replace, a hamster’s primary diet of a well-balanced commercial hamster dry mix, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Constantly monitor your hamster’s consumption to prevent potential overheating.
BEST HAMSTER SPRAYS THAT YOU CAN BUY
Now that you know what to buy and how much to buy, it’s time to show you where to buy sprays for hamsters. If you can’t find them at the nearest pet store, you can try online, such as Amazon or Petco.
Niteangel Combo Sprays
If you’re worried about the quality and making sure the sprays are safe for your hamster, Niteangel always delivers. You can choose from various combos of sprays or also go with flower options.
https://www.amazon.com/Niteangel-Natural-Flower-Hamster-Bedding/dp/B0B2C24S72
Nicerinc Pet Wheat/Harvest Wind Natural
This is an excellent choice because you have various sprays to give your hamster. Apart from sprays, there are also options for dried flowers and herbs, which are safe for hamsters.
Higgins Spray Millet
This pack has 12 stems, which could last you 2-3 months since each stems have lots of millet on them. Each branch is about 11 inches in height, so you can break it into 2-3 cuts and give your hamster 1 cut a week.
Tropical Carnival Oat Spray
This one is a great choice for oat sprays for hamsters. However, it’s so popular that it’s often out of stock. Millet sprays are often marketed for birds, but this one is specifically made for hamsters.
Kaytee Spray Millet
Tropical Carnival Wheat Sprays
Apart from oat spray, Tropical Carnival also has some wheat which is also made for hamsters and other rodents. This is a 1.5 oz bag, so not much, but it’s good to buy to see if your hamster will like it first.
Sorghum Sprays
Sorghum sprays are hard to find, but it’s luckily available on Amazon UK. There are 200 grams in this pack, so it’s a big one. If you know other hamster owners, maybe you can share the cost with them.
VERDICT ON THE BEST
It’s best to try either wheat, millet, or oat first. Both Niteangel and Tropical Carnival are great choices before you check out other brands. Those are also affordable and also have fantastic reviews.
If you’re not sure if your hamster will like sprays, it’s best to get the common and affordable ones such as oat and millet. From there, depending on your pet’s response to it, you can try the others and see which one your hamster likes the most.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It can be hard to tell what is the best hamster sprays since most offer the same nutrients – fibre. In that case, other features come into play, such as the price and how easily they are sourced.
The bottom line is that giving your hamster sprays can benefit their health and encourage them to forage and move around as if they’re in the wild. Just make sure not to give your hamster too much. About 2-3 inches once or twice a week is enough; more might upset a hamster’s stomach.