Daily pellet portion for Syrian and dwarf hamsters from two US feed guides, then a 24-hour weigh-in that counts the hidden stash, plus a weight check and daily water range.
Hamster Food Calculator - Grams a Day and a 24-Hour Check
Daily pellet portion for Syrian and dwarf hamsters from two US feed guides, then a 24-hour weigh-in that counts the hidden stash, plus a weight check and daily water range.
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How much a hamster eats, checked against the scale
Pick the species and life stage, and the hamster food calculator gives the daily pellet portion from two US feed makers side by side. Weigh the food you put out and what is left 24 hours later, and it tells you what your hamster really ate and whether that fits. Add the hamster's weight for a check against the reference weights and a daily water range.
Five fields, two of them for the weigh-in
- Species - Syrian, Campbell's dwarf, winter white dwarf, Chinese or Roborovski. Feed makers split them into large (Syrian) and small or dwarf (all the others).
- Life stage - adult over 6 months, young under 6 months, or pregnant or nursing. Only adults get a measured portion.
- Weight - optional, in grams from a kitchen scale. Turns on the weight check and the water range.
- Food put out - optional, grams of pellets placed in the bowl.
- Food left after 24 hours - optional, grams in the bowl plus any stash from the nest and corners. Both feeding boxes are needed for the measurement.
Starting portions from the bags
The calculator shows both guides because neither is wrong, they just measure differently. One cup holds 16 tablespoons, so 1/3 cup is 5.3 tbsp and 1/8 cup is 2 tbsp.
| Hamster | Mazuri, a day | Oxbow, a day | 30 days at Mazuri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Syrian | 20 to 25 g, about 40 to 50 pellets | 1/3 cup (5.3 tbsp) | 600 to 750 g (1.32 to 1.65 lb) |
| Adult dwarf or other small hamster | 5 to 7 g, about 9 to 12 pellets | 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) | 150 to 210 g (0.33 to 0.46 lb) |
| Under 6 months, pregnant or nursing | not stated | unlimited | - |
A Syrian eats roughly three to four times what a dwarf eats on the Mazuri numbers, which is why species is the first box. Oxbow calls its amounts guidelines and points owners of over- or underweight hamsters to a veterinarian; Mazuri describes what adults generally consume.
Reading a 24-hour weigh-in
Eaten is simply food put out minus food left, stash included. What to do with the number depends on where it lands against the Mazuri range for an adult:
| Measured intake | Most likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the range | portion fits | keep it, weigh the hamster weekly |
| Above the range | a stash you did not find | search the nest and corners before cutting the portion |
| Below the range, weight steady | a light eater or a missed stash | repeat the weigh-in on another day |
| Below the range, weight falling | not eating enough | see a veterinarian; teeth are a common cause |
For young, pregnant and nursing hamsters the measured number is shown only as a reference, because Oxbow feeds them without a limit.
Reference weights, species by species
Adult weights from Table 5-1 of the NRC hamster chapter, with Merck's range for the Syrian. The calculator flags a weight outside these limits but does not call it a diagnosis: young hamsters are lighter, and the winter white's weight changes with the season.
| Species | Adult weight | Feeding group |
|---|---|---|
| Syrian (golden) | 110 to 140 g (Merck), 120 to 180 g (NRC) | large |
| Campbell's dwarf | 30 to 50 g | small |
| Winter white (Dzungarian) | 25 to 45 g, varies with season | small |
| Chinese (striped-back) | 28 to 40 g | small |
| Roborovski | no NRC or Merck figure | small |
Three hamsters on the kitchen scale
Water, seed mixes and other side questions
The water range comes from the NRC: golden hamsters drank on average 8.5 mL per 100 g of body weight a day, with males at 5 and females at 14. That spread is why the result gives a range, not one number; a 130 g Syrian lands between 6.5 and 18.2 mL. Merck recommends a stainless steel sipper tube, because Syrian hamsters readily bite through glass.
On food type, Merck is direct: a complete, balanced pelleted diet made for hamsters, and generic seed mixes avoided.
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