Healthy treats for my pets – homemade

Ready-made products from specialist retailers contain additives such as colorants, preservatives, fillers, and sugar. Classic pellets also take a long time to swell. They do not have an immediate satiating effect. As a result, pets consume large quantities of pelletized ready-made food within a short period of time. This is the most common cause of obesity. In addition, the teeth do not wear down naturally because less chewing is required. Dried bread is often fed as a snack. However, this is not hard enough for tooth abrasion and is very filling, so the animals chew less. Homemade treats contain only the ingredients you use. You can also tailor them to your pet and any intolerances they may have.

However, even homemade treats should not be fed daily. Always offer them individually by hand to keep your pet occupied or as a reward during medical training, for example. One to two small treats per week per animal are perfectly adequate. This will ensure that your pet stays healthy for a long time.

Vegetable chips make a valuable contribution to tooth abrasion. Despite being dried, they retain their minerals and fiber, as well as most of their vitamins. It is best to use low-water vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, or pumpkin. Cut the vegetables into slices as thin as possible and place them on a baking sheet. Then dry the vegetables either on the heater or in the oven at 50 to 70 °C convection. Leave the oven door slightly open so that the moisture can escape. The drying time depends on the thickness of the slices, the moisture content of the vegetables, and the temperature.

Fruit chips are made in the same way as vegetable chips. Bananas, apples, and berries are good fruits to use. However, fruit, especially bananas, contains significantly more sugar than vegetables, and the sugar concentration increases when dried. Therefore, only feed them occasionally and in very small quantities.

You can easily make your ownfruit and vegetable crackers by grating the desired fruit and vegetables, mixing them together and forming small piles. Then bake them at 70 °C in a fan oven for several hours with the door slightly open.

Dried herbs and flowers such as nettle, raspberry leaves, carrot tops, dandelion leaves and flowers, chamomile, basil, parsley, daisies, hibiscus or cornflower blossoms are healthy and inexpensive. You can either dry them in bunches tied to a string or on a baking sheet on the heater.

You can make hamster pralines from buckwheat flour and amaranth (together 1/3) and various seeds, dried parsley, dried flowers or dari (together 2/3). These are suitable for all types of hamsters. Mix all the ingredients with a little water to form a moist mixture and shape into balls about 1 cm in size. Dip them briefly in water and roll them in dried flowers, flax seeds, or dried parsley. Place the chocolates on a baking sheet and bake them at 100°C for 150 minutes. Allow them to cool thoroughly.

You can bakehamster cookies yourself using buckwheat flour (1/3) and various seeds such as wild seeds or dari (together 2/3). First, mix the buckwheat flour with a little water to form a creamy mixture. Then stir in the seeds. Fill the dough into small silicone chocolate molds and bake in a slightly open oven at 100 °C convection for 80 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly.

Treat rolls are also a great change for your hamster. Mix some buckwheat flour with water to form a sticky paste and spread it on toilet paper rolls. Then roll them in a mixture of seeds, flowers, nuts, or kernels of your choice, which will stick to the rolls. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 120 °C convection.

Store your homemade snacks in a cool, dry, dark place. Avoid large and sudden fluctuations in temperature. Your treats should contain as little residual moisture as possible. This will ensure maximum shelf life.