Hamster Central - View Single Post - Two dead syrians :-(

AmityvilleHams · 10-13-2019, 06:41 AM

If you do want to get another hamster at any point the best food in the US is Higgins Vita Garden(not Sunburst). Whenever you're feeding that you can just add Pure Bites chicken, shrimp, or turkey and a pinch of flax seed to boost the nutritional value and make it an even better food.

I would not be using Carefresh as it really isn't that good of a bedding(it's known to be fairly dusty among other issues). The best options in the US are either Small Pet Select paper bedding or Oxbow Pure Comfort, both of which are virgin fiber non-recycled(no potential dyes, harmful contaminants, etc) sludge free and considered dust free. You could also add in some Small Pet Select aspen if you really wanted to, but there's not any need to do so.

For treats, the best possible treats are just whole fresh veggies. Storebought treats tend to be fairly unhealthy, and things you buy in human grocery stores like typical cereals aren't very good either. However, plain puffed rice or similar products where the only ingredient is just rice(or quinoa, wheat, etc) is not bad.

I can't really speak to the genetics and overall health of all pet store hamsters as there are some really big variations even within the same chain store, but I can say that pet store hamsters can absolutely be relatively healthy and aren't always riddled with endless health issues nor do they necessarily always die young. My own experience with a chain pet store hamster was wonderful in general but did end very shortly as she did die quite young, but since her death was due to unknown causes there's no guarantee of her early death specifically being due to coming from a chain pet store.

10-13-2019, 06:41 AM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Two dead syrians :-( If you do want to get another hamster at any point the best food in the US is Higgins Vita Garden(not Sunburst). Whenever you're feeding that you can just add Pure Bites chicken, shrimp, or turkey and a pinch of flax seed to boost the nutritional value and make it an even better food. I would not be using Carefresh as it really isn't that good of a bedding(it's known to be fairly dusty among other issues). The best options in the US are either Small Pet Select paper bedding or Oxbow Pure Comfort, both of which are virgin fiber non-recycled(no potential dyes, harmful contaminants, etc) sludge free and considered dust free. You could also add in some Small Pet Select aspen if you really wanted to, but there's not any need to do so. For treats, the best possible treats are just whole fresh veggies. Storebought treats tend to be fairly unhealthy, and things you buy in human grocery stores like typical cereals aren't very good either. However, plain puffed rice or similar products where the only ingredient is just rice(or quinoa, wheat, etc) is not bad. I can't really speak to the genetics and overall health of all pet store hamsters as there are some really big variations even within the same chain store, but I can say that pet store hamsters can absolutely be relatively healthy and aren't always riddled with endless health issues nor do they necessarily always die young. My own experience with a chain pet store hamster was wonderful in general but did end very shortly as she did die quite young, but since her death was due to unknown causes there's no guarantee of her early death specifically being due to coming from a chain pet store.