Vitamin K enables proper blood clotting in your hamster, ensuring that minor scratches and nicks from burrowing or cage accessories heal quickly and do not lead to dangerous blood loss. It also supports bone metabolism by helping direct calcium into bone tissue. Hamsters obtain vitamin K from two sources: dietary (from dark leafy greens and vegetables) and bacterial (gut bacteria produce vitamin K2 as a byproduct of fermentation). Between these two sources, vitamin K deficiency is very uncommon in healthy hamsters.
A tiny piece of kale (about 1g) provides roughly 4-5mcg of vitamin K — your hamster needs approximately 1-5mg of vitamin K per kilogram of feed, about 0.01-0.06mg per day. Dark leafy greens offered a few times per week, combined with gut bacterial production, easily meet this need.
0.0% of daily nutrient intake
Vitamin K makes up 0.0% of your hamster's total daily nutritional requirements by weight. That's a tiny amount — but it matters.
Prolonged bleeding from minor wounds, bruising, and in severe cases internal hemorrhage. Deficiency is most likely to occur after prolonged antibiotic use (which kills gut bacteria that produce vitamin K) or in hamsters with liver disease.
Vitamin K from food sources has no known toxicity in hamsters. Excess is safely metabolized and excreted.
| Life Stage | Size | Min | Max | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | — | 1 | 5 | mg/kg feed | Approximately 0.01-0.06mg per day. Abundantly supplied by dark leafy greens and gut bacteria production. |
Source: general exotic pet veterinary consensus
