Lactol, Wheatgerm and more!

[Mollz]

Right well I got some lactol today and am planning to make some ready brek with it tonight. How much lactol do you put with how much water? Also (other than in porridge and rice pudding) do you put it in anything else or just give it as a drink?
Now I keep hearing people mentioning wheatgerm and that it is really good for hamster. Where do you get it, what is it and what does it do?

I'm looking for food to boost my hamsters' growth and then in a few months time to feed a pregnant Amelie and her babies on (hopefully). So far I know of: Scrambled egg, porridge, rice pudding, lactol, baby food (what do you find they like?) and pasta. Anything else?

Thanks!!! :wink:

[Spuds Mum]

We had a right job finding wheatgerm tbh and finally found it in Julian Graves the high st health food shop. Other things I use with lactol, mm basically cereal - cheerios sometimes, shredded wheat, wheetabix.
some people also give bread and milk.

For small quantities Mollz, I just sprinkle in a bit at a time (about quarter of a teaspoon, until the water looks like milk.

Maybe we should start up a hamster recipe thread, as Im sure others will have some really good ideas!

[Mollz]

We had a right job finding wheatgerm tbh and finally found it in Julian Graves the high st health food shop. Other things I use with lactol, mm basically cereal - cheerios sometimes, shredded wheat, wheetabix.
some people also give bread and milk.

For small quantities Mollz, I just sprinkle in a bit at a time (about quarter of a teaspoon, until the water looks like milk.

Maybe we should start up a hamster recipe thread, as Im sure others will have some really good ideas!

Thanks again - what would I do without you :wink: So it should be about the same consitancy of milk - not thicker or thinner?

The recipe thread is a very good idea!

[souffle]

You can get Jordans Organic wheatgerm in the 'organic section' in Sainsburys. Sometimes they also have it by the Muisli and stuff too.
To serve 4 hamsters we mix two heaped teaspoons of ready brek, one teaspoom wheatgerm, half a level teaspoon of lactol powder then add boiling water from the kettle to a paste. You should make it a little thinner than you would feed as it thickens when it cools. Leave till almost cold and serve with a nice Chablis :lol:
If you want it cooled quicker add cold water after the paste mix!

[Hanlou]

I got some wheatgerm from my local Holland & Barretts , there's several different types to choose from. They sell all sorts of things you could use for a hamster in there, I add lots of the flaky things to their food to add interest, such as barley flakes, spelt flakes and other errr, flaky things :oops: (I can't remember all the different ones offhand!).

They sell 'soup mix' there too which I also sometimes use with lentils etc in, an idea I stole from Nicola on here. :wink:

For a special treat for the rats, hamsters and mice I sometimes mix their lactol with a no added sugar Farleys rusk. :)

Yesterday I sort of tripped over my own feet as I walked in and nearly went flying through the doorway of H & B - a member of staff was really nice and made a kindly joke about it - I tripped on thin air, tried to recover myself, tripped again and then finally managed to steady myself in front of the rather large queue at the till......... Fortunately I did manage to save myself and didn't quite fall flat in my face, but it was rather embarrassing! :oops:

[Basia]

I'm always in Holland & Barratt buying things for the hamsters. They must look at me and think how is such a regular customer so unhealthy! I haven't managed to trip up in there yet though :P
Molz I also buy pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, linseed (good for coats), sunflower seeds (good for new mums) and you can get wheatgerm in there.

[Spuds Mum]

Oh I use Holland & Barrett for hamster shopping too - loads of lovely seeds, dried fruit (like dried cranberries etc.) and fun stuff as everyone has said.

It sounds like all of our hams eat better than I do! :oops:

[Yaffle]

I've never thought about going to Holland and Barrett although I think a shopping trip may be in order, saying that Neil already complains that the hamsters eat better than he does! :oops:
Also, where do you buy lactol? I've always just used kitten milk which has reduced lactose but it sours quickly.

[Spuds Mum]

Vets and pets at home seem to sell it Claire, and I am sure some other pet shops will, though the small ones near us dont seem to. Problem is you get quite a large tin, but at least being dry, it does last ages.

Have to say though, lots of the breeders (like Chris who looked at Minx at Bradford) just use full fat milk.

[Mollz]

Just to update and say that my hammies loved their lactol porrdge last night (I mixed a bit of muesli in too), and they all wolfed it down!

[Mollz]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody, my hamsters love all of it.
Today I mixed baby rice pudding with wheatgerm and a bit of cod liver oil (yuck!) and gave each hammy a tiny bit and the absolutely LOVED it! Hopefully this should help growth and help with their fur a bit too :D

[Spuds Mum]

I'm sure it will help Mollz, mine have had a supper of baby fruit breakfast cereal with lactol which they've gone mad for! :D

[Yaffle]

I bought some lactol yesterday and made baby porridge with it and added some wheatgerm, they all seemed to enjoy it and it's much less hassle than buying full fat milk all the time!

[Gust0o]

Ok, so I now have my lactol - but, for my next challenge, I think I just need to convince the hamsters not to go swimming in it!

Biggie has managed to make himself look like a papier mache hamster, by burrowing right into his porridge.

I should have known it wouldn't be quite so easy! :x

[suga]

I think i may have missed something here - wheatgerm I already get. Lactol????? What is that all about then? Confused :?

[Mollz]

I think i may have missed something here - wheatgerm I already get. Lactol????? What is that all about then? Confused :?

Lactol is replacement milk meant for hand-rearing/weaning puppies and kittens. It is sort of like custard powder that you mix with water and voila an instant nutritious alternative to milk. It is very good for them and can be bought in most pet stores.
I didn't know whether to bother getting it at first but it is deffinately worth it and I have found that tehy prefer it to milk.

[suga]

I see - is it harmful then milk? When I make hamster and human porridge I tend to do it with half semi skimmed milk and half water. Is that okay?

[Mollz]

I see - is it harmful then milk? When I make hamster and human porridge I tend to do it with half semi skimmed milk and half water. Is that okay?

There is a lot of debate about this. Some say that hamsters are lactol intolerant, however many big breeders use it every day with theirs! I think the thing is that some hamsters may have a problem with it just like some humans do. I think that it is fine that you use it, I just fine that mine prefer the taste of lactol to milk.

[babyboos]

If you just want a little bit of milk and can't get smaller than the half kilo tin of Lactol try baby formula milk in ready to use cartons.

[Gust0o]

I've been adding it to the porridge for a couple of weeks now, but can't seem to convince Tupac - who genuinely has the most to benefit from it! - to try the stuff.

I'm assuming it's more than safe to simply make it up as milk?

If I swapped his water off for an hour, or so, it might force him to try, at the very least! :D

[Spuds Mum]

yeah its fine Gus, but putting it in the bottle means its really hard to clean and just like fresh milk, sours easily and breeds bacteria quickly. So I probably wouldnt do this, and would more maybe put some in a bowl with cheerios, wheetabix etc, in case the porridge is what is turning him off!

You could try him on just normal milk in porridge, or, just forget it for him especally if he is eating higher protein levels to build him up, as in our ~tofu etc discussion

[Hanlou]

yeah its fine Gus, but putting it in the bottle means its really hard to clean and just like fresh milk, sours easily and breeds bacteria quickly. So I probably wouldnt do this, and would more maybe put some in a bowl with cheerios, wheetabix etc, in case the porridge is what is turning him off!

You could try him on just normal milk in porridge, or, just forget it for him especally if he is eating higher protein levels to build him up, as in our ~tofu etc discussion

I can vouch for the smelliness / hard to clean bottle. When fostering a litter of rats, they had a bottle every day to supplement their other food and to give mum a boost. I had to use a bottle brush and scrub it out every time. I had to use really hot water too to get it properly clean. In fact, I errr, used too-hot-water once and melted the bottle into a strange shape..... :oops: ....... so I would say a bowl is better, lol.

[Spuds Mum]

In fact, I errr, used too-hot-water once and melted the bottle into a strange shape..... :oops: ....... so I would say a bowl is better, lol.

ROFL - yup Ive done this too when cleaning a bottle! For a little while my Peanut had a bottle reminiscent of a piece of modern art!! :oops:

[Yaffle]

I use lactol all the time now for porridge and it definately gets eaten much quicker than it did with ordinary cows milk. I'm also using heinz baby porridge which is in powder form, noo recommended it and they seem to love it. I make it really thick almost like a paste and then add some wheatgerm.
I actually really like the smell of lactol, wonder what it tastes like?!

[Spuds Mum]

really Claire??? I have to say the smell of lactol can make me feel physically sick, and I breathe through my mouth when opening the tin and making it up!!!

Bizarre, I just cant imagine how anyone would like the smell lol - feeling very nauseous now :?

[souffle]

I tasted it :oops: It is quite sweet actually and a bit like baby formula. I am not that struck on the smell of it either sm. Are you feeling nauseous a lot sm? :? In the morning..... :wink:

[Spuds Mum]

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Thankfully not! :D especially because yes, lactol smell does remind me of baby formula and I have no intention of ever going there again (apart from with beautiful grandchildren in the distant future I hope). I think I have done my bit for the population, especially as my son has come home for a few days, and so the house is full to the brim (the hammies now have his old room, so he has been relegated to Rosie's room who is now borrowing space in Amy's)

But, you know Souff, if you ever feel broody, I will happily babysit once in a while........ :wink:

[souffle]

No...I will stick to the lactol I think , though you may want to puppysit in the summer :lol: :wink:

[Spuds Mum]

very wise - I have never know a dog to come home with suitcases full of washing, or ask to borrow money, or pinch your makeup.........

maybe I should have thought of that 25 years earlier :x

[Mollz]

I actually like the smell of lactol too ... it reminds me of custard powder, although I haven't tasted it!

Where do you find the powdered heinz baby porridge, Claire?

[nooboo]

i tend to use either the boxes of powdered baby porridge or the jars... usually find them down the baby section in supermarkets, and the boxes of powder are usually really cheep!

i must say i like the smell too...then again i happily eat chicken nuggents dipped in ice cream...so maybe i should stay quiet :P

[Yaffle]

I get the baby porridge from the baby aisle like Noo. They usually have it in asda. It's only a small box but is pretty cheap :P

[agatecrystal]

I buy the boxes of porridge or the tins of it from the baby section :0

[souffle]

We just use ready brek which seems very fine and they like it.

[Moosley]

Ours all get different feeds depending on condition but I know that EVERYTHING in shedland (be it rat, mouse, hamster or anything else) gets the eggfood that is marketed for birds every weeks, I just add it to warm water until its all soaked up, mix in a few drops of cod liver oil (though NEVER again! will go to linseed oil as it doesnt make me heave!) and over the winter i might mix in a sachet of soft cat food and make into a big bowl of mush and share dollops of it out between cages.

Our babies also get small seeds dropped into the nest, wheatgerm when we can find it, eggfood and some babyfood slop.

We buy loads of boxes of babyfood and put them into a plastic storage box so we dont have to buy it often. We never get the sweet babyfood as if fed weekly or more often then we've had several blighters get addicted to the sweetstuff and they got thin as they refused to eat anything else. Anything pasta/chicken/rice and vegetables gets fed in babyfood form.

Not to mention scraps LOL toast, bread, pasta, rice, chicken, beef or lamb scraps, carrots, cucumber and various other veggies.

Plus they get their homemade mix every four days which has a huge variety of seeds and flakes in.