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Old 02-19-2008, 06:07 AM   #1
newtohamsters
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Default A hamster's diet

My girls get harry hamster, either the green one or the yellow one,which they seem to love

I was thinking of adding dried pasta to it just to give them something else to chew on.

But I am at a bit of a loss regarding fresh food?

the rats get weetabix and soya milk plus salad - mixed veg and fruit, sometimes with cooked pasta which they love

The hamsters will get either a stick of carrot or a grape each night just out of the rat bowl( much to Hazel's disgust)

but is that enough? too much? can I give them anything else?

Also I give my hamsters yoggie drops for hamsters everyday - when they wake up. Are these bad for them?

thanks

NTH
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Old 02-20-2008, 10:50 AM   #2
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I think Harry Hamster is one of the best (if not the best) hamster mixes out there - it's got the right protein balance and it contains prebiotics to help maintain a healthy digestive system. I've always fed it and I've not yet had a hamster with diarrhoea or tummy problems so I swear by it!

As for fresh foods there are loads you can give a hamster! Just remember that the hamster mix needs to be the main part of the diet and always give fresh foods and supplements in small amounts. I only feed hamster mix every other day to encourage them to eat more of the stuff they don't like as much.

I feed porridge, rice and lactol rice pudding and cooked pasta (they love spagetti!) about once a week each in small amounts. For a little extra protein I occasioanlly give a little piece of scrambled egg or omlette. I also feed fresh veggies about five times a week - tiny pieces of courgette, carrot, peppers, broccoli etc. Then about once a week mine also get a cooked dinner - ie chicken, boiled or roast potato, carrots, green beans, broccoli, peas and corn - all cooked with no salt and in tiny amounts - literally one pea etc. Always build up very gradually when giving fresh veggies.

I also find young hamsters do well on a little baby food - I like the Hipp organic stage two foods but they aren't very economical if you've only one or two hamsters.

Mine love the yoggie drops too but I only give them once or twice a week as I'm not sure too many are beneficial - you could try giving a little piece of raw veggie instead some nights if you wanted to give yours less.
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Old 02-20-2008, 10:53 AM   #3
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i am just changing over to harry hamster as the hamstery standard i have been using wilkos own brand i do think harry is worth the 30p extra the girls actually eat it eall insted of picking the wilkos
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Old 03-09-2008, 04:43 PM   #4
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I will buy Harry Hamster food next. I've been using a pet shop brand name hamster food, which they really enjoy, but I've never known which is the healthiest product for them.

I tend to do a mix up consisting mostly of the brand name hamster food, some JR farm Wellness food which has herbs and shrimps added, a handful of james well beloved turkey and cranberry cat kibbles and a bag of healthy hamster omega treats, which are biscuits with an apple filling... can't remember what they are called right now.

This plus a bit of carrot or apple most days is their usual diet, and I hope I am getting that right.
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Old 03-10-2008, 01:14 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by borrett71
I will buy Harry Hamster food next. I've been using a pet shop brand name hamster food, which they really enjoy, but I've never known which is the healthiest product for them.
I'm dubious about "pet shop" generic hamster food - you never know if the quality is consistent or even if it's the same each week and, if it's "bagged up" in the shop there may be issues with storage of the main batch and contamination. Also hamsters have fairly specific protein requirements and the cheaper own brands probably don't get that right either - though that's just a guess from looking at the info onthe cheaper pre-packed foods.

I give mine daily veggies - well about 5 times a week and, though some people consider that too much, I've never had a problem. I try to vary it as much as possible - mine love courgette, carrot, red or yellow pepper, broccoili, brussel sprout etc
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Old 04-12-2008, 08:20 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Holly
I'm dubious about "pet shop" generic hamster food
All our hamsters picked from the food we got them from the pet shop and I agree with Holly - but it was good as a 'fail safe'. The real 'dynamic' is to realise that hamsters are scavengers so a varied diet is probably more appropriate for them.

Our hamsters always got fresh food daily (courgette, melon, broccolli - though never lettuce - apple, pear - and they hated citrus) and they each had their own preferences.

I remember that our first one loved cherry stalks - but cherry stalks that were attached to cherries. He didn't eat the cherry, neither would he eat a stalk if it was on its own. You had to give him the stalk attached to the cherry so he'd take it off and then you'd throw away the cherry!

We also gave all our hamsters small portions of cooked meat (not spiced or flavoured because of the possible chemicals used).

So, a varied diet is always best, imo.
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Old 04-12-2008, 09:08 AM   #7
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Charlie has Harry Hamster mix and he loves it I think it's one of the best dry foods out there so I'm happy to feed it. He also sometimes get a sprinkle of porridge oats, extra seeds/nuts etc, and dog biscuits. He gets fresh foods daily - that's usually a vegetable, very occasionally fruit, or something like baby food, porridge, chicken etc.
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Old 04-12-2008, 09:24 AM   #8
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I use Harry for my Syrians, I think it is worth the extra expense. Mark prefers Burgess for his dwarfs though.
Mine are fed every 3 days. As well as Harry they have a lot of extras - porridge, weetabix, cooked rice, cooked pasta, cooked potato, bread crusts, scrambled egg, yoghurt, chicken, cat biscuits, fruit & veg. Pretty much whatever I have handy really.
With all the extras generally only about a teaspoonful at a time though.
Babies in the nest get a mix of millet, wheatgerm and crushed peanuts sprinkled into the nest from the age of 5 days until they are old enough to come out and forage.
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Old 04-12-2008, 01:45 PM   #9
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What yoghurt do you give Sue?
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Old 04-12-2008, 01:54 PM   #10
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It depends what is on offer at Tescos!!
They did enjoy the Yeo Valley pro-biotic but that is so yummy it was a case of a spoonful for you and one for me!!
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