Food
Proper food is very important for your hamster. You must throw away old food, rinse and dry the dish, and refill it with new food everyday. You should feed your hamster a dry, bagged food designed for hamsters that consists of a variety of seeds, grains, rodent blocks, and other nutritional things for your hamster. This food is available at pet stores in a large selection of brands. The brands of food that I recommend and feed my hamsters are (pictured from left to right) L/M Animal Farms Bonanza Bounti-Buffet for Hamsters and Gerbils and Kaytee Fiesta Fortified Gormet Food for Hamsters and Gerbils.
These superior blends of high quality fruits, nuts, vegetables, specialty seeds, and grains provide your hamster with essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients!
*Health Note* Do not change your hamster's brand/type of food unless necessary! A change of diet can upset your hamster's stomach and make your hamster sick!
Food Dishes
Food dishes are an item your hamster must have. You should buy ceramic or stainless steel small bowls. Ceramic bowls come in many colors, and make the perfect sized dish for your hamster. Look for Small Animal Kingdom Ceramic Bowls. You can get them in different sizes depending on the size of your hamster. For Dwarf hamsters, I recommend the 3" diameter or the 4" diameter bowl, and for Syrian hamsters I recommend the 5" diameter bowl.
Is it ok to give your hamster meat for protein?
Some people say that you should feed your hamster meats and poultry for protein, but I disagree. It's true that hamsters need protein, but the bagged hamster food that you buy should already have a good amount of protein and other minerals (look at the ingredients and nutrition facts on the back of the bag) to satisfy your hamster's daily needs. You can go to the pet store and buy the small crickets or small mealworms and feed those to your hamster on a special occasion. It may sound gross, feeding your hamster bugs, but think about the wild hamsters burrowing around in Russia and Siberia. They get their protein from the bugs. So if you want to give your hamster added protien and a special treat, then these petstore-bought small crickets and small mealworms are always an option. But if your current brand of bagged hamster food isn't supplying enough protien and you feel like you need to give your hamster more, then you need to switch brands of hamster food to one of the kinds I recommended above.