hamsters and plants

Question
we are planning to get a new hamster and grow small plants in her cage. what kind of EDIBLE plants could we grow?
please help.

Answer
Hi Nora,

i have never heard of anyone growing plants in their hamsters cage!!

i do not recommend it all, i dont think i would ever do it.

Hamsters can be very messy and i think the hamster would prefer to rearrange the plants than to leave them alone.

He would probably dig in the soil and, as it would be wet, he would probably get very dirty and messy, and may be harmed when trying to clean himself.

I am not sure what plants would be safe for hamsters to eat completely, including the roots, stems, leaves and flowers etc.  so you could potentially poison him.

I think the hamster would eat it all when ever he wanted and would probably damage it so that it wouldnt be able to grow anymore, especially if it ate the roots.  So i think the whole cage would get very messy very quickly.

Hamsters need to be kept in an escape proof cage or tank with wood shavings, tunnels, a wheel, a fresh daily supply of complete hamster food and a fresh daily supply of water.  They do benefit from a small amount of fresh fruit and veg each week, but too much can upset their stomach, so i think that access to whole plants would not be good for them at all.

Please feel free to ask other experts about this but i think they will mostly agree with me.

Please let me know how you get on as i would like to know if anyone does do it.

Please let me know if you need any more info when you do decide to get your hamster.

Kind Regards,

Tammy