Niteangel Snacks!

Dexter the hybrid dwarf hamster enjoys a Niteangel Cheerio during playpen time

Niteangel was nice enough to send me some of their new snack line recently, so of course, I had to do a full taste test!

The snacks come in a variety of flavors. I have six, but I’m seeing other flavors on their website I don’t have in my collection (okra, tofu & worms!).

I thought I would do some amazing taste test where I put the snacks down and the hamsters just go crazy tasting each one… BUT! Turns out hamsters don’t love being filmed while eating out in the open. Of course! They’re prey animals! So the taste test was mostly little hams, running around, nibbling here and there. The real taste test didn’t come until I put the snacks in the playpen and let them snack at their leisure (see above image of Dexter realizing the joys of Cheerios, or another video of Dexter enthusiastically snacking on the Niteangel Freeze Dried Peas).

Regardless of how “successful” my taste test was, the point is, I actually love these snacks - for many reasons!

Veggie Based & Healthy (ish)

Outside of the Cheerios, the Nitenangel snacks are veggie based and healthy! These are not your sugary, yogurt-drops of olden, hamster care days. They are fun and interesting for your hamster but still not a bad snack for them to snack on.

*a note- Cheerios aren’t specifically un-healthy, but dwarf hamsters can be diabetes prone and so should limit the amount of refined carbs they intake. A baby puff or a Cheerio during bonding time won’t hurt, but I wouldn’t recommend too many Cheerios at once or every day of the week.

a Great Way to Have Veggies Anytime

I try to feed my hamsters fresh veggies and fruit when I can. However, sometimes life gets busy. I'm working a lot of hours, I don’t have time to wash tiny, hamster plates, I don’t have any fresh veggies in my fridge, etc etc. I love that this is a great way to have veggies anytime, without worry of them growing mold when carried off to a burrow.

Variety of Flavors in Appropriate Quantities

I’m sure we’ve all done the over-buying hamster treat thing - for example, wanting to buy your hamsters some in-shell peanuts but end up buying a five pound bag (okay, I’ve done this…). Not to worry with these treats- the Niteangel snacks come in cute, little manageable tins with enough to keep your hams happy, but not so much that you’re making a five-year investment in this particular snack.

The reasonable quantities mean you can try a wide range of flavors and see what your ham likes best!

Unique, Freeze Dried Snacks

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see a ton of freeze-dried veggie snacks out there for hamsters. I like that this is a unique offering! It’s super crunchy and I’m sure it is fun to eat for our little, gnaw-oriented friends, but it’s also soft enough that elderly hamsters (who maybe don’t have the jaw or tooth strength they once did) would be able to enjoy too.

Great For in-Cage or Out-of-Cage Snacking

If you are new to hamster-ing, you might not have built up an arsenal of hamster-snacks yet… but you wil soon, hehe, don’t you worry! New flavors and textures are not only enriching and stimulating to your hamster, but they can also be a great addition to bonding time with your hamster.

As you may have realized, a major part of hamster enrichment is built around hunting, gathering & storing food. Hamsters love to explore new tastes and textures. Having that experience be a part of their time with you can help build that special, human-hamster bond.

In Conclusion…

You might notice your hamsters don’t immediately seem interested in a particular snack. Leave it around in a playpen space for them. Maybe after a few exposures to it, you’ll find that they eventually pick one up and cart it off to a cozy, safe corner to nibble on it.

Hamsters can be picky about what they will or will not eat (like any of us), and sometimes it takes a while for them to build a taste for a new item. I’ve also seen hamsters who really like one particular snack for several months, then suddenly decide they are no longer interested in it and move onto something new. This is why I recommend having a wide variety of treats & snacks for your hamsters - getting some of the Niteangel Snacks is a great way to add variety to your cupboard!

Do you have any favorite treats you use during playpen or bonding time? Please leave me a comment!