Six cups of soft, sweet jelly with melon flavour. A treat for rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, mice and gerbils, no more than 1 to 2 per week. Not for degus. Read more.
A fruit cup is a real treat, for a special moment. It is a small plastic cup with soft jelly that tastes of melon. Many animals love the sweet taste, and the soft texture makes the jelly easy to eat. This pack contains six cups. You remove the plastic film and the cup is ready to give. Back Zoo Nature describes the jelly as a snack with high acceptance. That means most animals are happy to eat it.
Do take a good look at the ingredients. According to the packaging, this product contains no fruit. The jelly consists of sugar, fructose and fruit syrup, with gardenia and saffron blossoms, preservatives and flavourings. The feeding advice is a maximum of 1 to 2 cups per week per animal, depending on size and species. Back Zoo Nature itself states that fresh fruit is healthier and that the cups are only intended as an in-between snack. For a fancy mouse, a whole cup is a lot. Let it have a lick and then remove the rest.
Because this is a sweet snack, it does not suit every animal. Degus are sensitive to sugar and must not have sweet snacks, so no fruit cups either. Dwarf hamsters, especially Campbell's and Winter White dwarf hamsters, are also sensitive to sugar. Give them very little, or preferably none. Rabbits and guinea pigs may have a little now and then. Hay remains the basis of their diet, so see the fruit cup as a small treat and keep it to a few licks. Gerbils may also have a little now and then: a few licks is enough. Remove any leftovers afterwards, so no jelly ends up in the bedding. Rats, fancy mice and Syrian hamsters can also have a little now and then. Rats do gain weight quickly, so keep it as a treat. For daily rewards, Zooply snacks for rats and Zooply snacks for hamsters are a better choice. For rabbits and guinea pigs, have a look at our rabbits and guinea pigs sections.
A fruit cup is handy for getting your pet used to your hand. Hold the cup and let your rat or Syrian hamster lick from it. It learns that your hand means something tasty. Rats are social animals and enjoy sharing a cup together. On hot summer days, put a cup in the freezer beforehand. That is a tip from Back Zoo Nature for a cooling ice treat. Fruit cup holders are also available, which you fix to the bars or place on the floor of a tank. That keeps the cup clean. With rabbits and guinea pigs, hold the cup for a moment and let them take a few licks, for example as a reward after brushing or nail clipping. Then take it away.
Remove a half-eaten cup after a few hours, as sweet jelly gets dirty quickly. With a Syrian hamster, keep an eye on its cheek pouches. Hamsters like to carry food to their hoard, and jelly does not belong there. So take a quick look in the nest and remove sticky leftovers. Store the sealed cups in a dry, cool and dark place, out of reach of children.
Yes, a little now and then. The jelly is sweet, so hay remains the basis. Give a few licks as a treat and stick to a maximum of 1 to 2 cups per week per animal.
Yes, a little now and then. A few licks is enough. Remove the rest afterwards, so no jelly ends up in the bedding.
Yes, a little now and then. A whole cup is a lot for a mouse. Let it have a lick and remove the rest.
Degus are sensitive to sugar. This jelly consists mainly of sugar, fructose and fruit syrup. Dwarf hamsters are sensitive to sugar too, so give them very little, or preferably none.
Yes. Let your rat lick from the cup while you hold it. Stick to a maximum of 1 to 2 cups per week.
Mainly the flavour. These also contain no fruit and are a sweet treat for now and then.
In a dry, cool and dark place, out of reach of children.
Knaagplaza is the online shop of 't Knaagplein in Bodegraven, specialised in rodents and rabbits. We are honest about which snacks suit which animal, and which do not. For daily rewards and enrichment we recommend Zooply, our own brand, which we use every day with our own animals.
