Onions

Onions and garlic contain the ingredient Thiosulphate. Thiosulphate is harmless to humans but is highly toxic to hamsters and other animals. Hamsters will not eat onions by themselves in the raw stage, and no other foods which mask or contain onions should be fed. Things like cheese and onion, or food like pizza that contain onions, dried onions etc: even if cooked or raw feeding onions will cause severe Haemolytic Anaemia; anaemia is the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells.

Symptoms of onion poisoning are gastroenteritis resulting in serious bouts of diarrhea. The animal may show no interest in food and may be weak and become breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number, this can eventually lead to heart failure.