Oxbow, Hazel Hamster, or?

[Bozly's Family]

I'm sure Hazel Hamster is really great since all the experts on here suggest it! But I just wanted to add that Oxbow was the food recommended to me by my veterinarian who specializes in small animals, so I don't think you can go wrong with that either if you add in some mealworms and seeds and fresh veggies once in a while.

[HollyHamster]

Originally Posted by Callistra

Does nobody care about the BHT and artificial food coloring in this food? I guess I'm surprised that the top food would have all this extra stuff in it..

Not to sound grumpy, but I don't see any problem with a teeny tiny partial amount of BHT in an otherwise wonderful commercial hamster food product. Like Hamtastic said, there is no conclusive or definitive scientific results that state that BHT is harmful. To say that something as incredulous as that is just pretentious. I do agree that the food coloring makes it look a tad unatural, but its fine otherwise. I've never had a problem with Hazel Hamster and will continue to use it faithfully. Its the best commercial mix out there. Period.

Also, just wanted to add that a lot of vets out there don't specialize in animal nutrition, rather they just focus on animal medicine. Therefor, they just go by what other vets have said/recommended without doing proper research into that field. A lot will try to sell you foods that are only available in that particular office so they can fund their practice (and sometimes their own wallets).

That's not to say that a vet can't do both. I have a wonderful vet who studied animal nutrition as a minor while getting her doctrine in vet medicine. She is wonderful for that and has told us a lot about what to feed our portly pooch (she has an eating disorder where she tends to overeat).

So, I wouldn't necessarily go by what a vet says all the time. Always take their advice with a grain of salt, if you don't absolutely find them wonderful at what they do and trust them completely with your animal's health 100%.

[Eriklover555]

Originally Posted by Callistra

Does nobody care about the BHT and artificial food coloring in this food? I guess I'm surprised that the top food would have all this extra stuff in it..

Hazel is the best food available. I haven't found one hamster mix that is amazingly good. However, you shouldn't feed any animal the same food day after day without any variation, like fresh foods and animal proteins. It wasn't till the late 1800s and early 1900s that "complete" foods came on the market, aimed towards convenience in animal feeds.

The BHT hasn't been proven to be harmful, and the amount is really very small. The colorings are dumb, but it's aimed towards being more marketable towards the human brain, go figure ^^

I agree, however, that the fact that the top food has that in it is annoying >.<