Help! No ratration mix for hamsters until further notice- any advice what now?

[evel_lin]

Originally Posted by strawberrysmom

It is probably best to get something like those above are suggesting without having to HAVE to supplement. It would be difficult to know if you are giving them exactly the extras they need. The proper amounts of vitamin and buying all those vitamin supplements would be a pain.
I get the Harry equivalent here in the states : Hazel. If it's anything like Harry then it's good stuff.

It's not that much of a pain to add the supplements. I just add them to the fresh food I have always given daily. I prefer the variety of RR and if my hams are leaving parts of the HH mix then they aren't getting the full nutrition anyway.

However all hamsters are different so a bit of trial and error is probably necessary for finding out what suits your hamster best

[shiny]

I am giving a mix of 2 dry foods & adding a pinch of supplement powder to the hammies' fresh veg each day. It's very straight forward & a tub will last for ages.

[Lougarry]

The other thing to bear in mind is that nutritional requirements will change as your hamster gets older, and I feel that the protein level in the RR mix is really too high for older hamsters unless counteracted with a higher proportion of fibre. If you do feed the RR mix I would recommend gradually increasing the quantity of fresh veg you give, and giving something fibre rich daily.

I've decided variety is the key so I am feeding a 'melange' (ooh, get me) of Harry Hamster, P@H Premium, Burgess, bird seed and lots of fresh food and veggies.

[jesselle]

Originally Posted by Kissa

I hate to say it, but the RR mixes seemed to be lacking in more things than commercial mixes. My Robo has become more active since I changed him to a commercial mix, and my Syrian's coat and condition has greatly improved. Plud my Syrian actually likes her new mix better

how long did it take to see the improvements?

[Lougarry]

In the case of my robo, a couple of weeks (but she is having mite treatment too, just in case.)

[newcastlemam]

I used to use wilkinsons hamster mix for Tinkerbell, Now I get my local pet shops mix for Lola and just buy it loose she loves it.

[vanilla-yazoo]

Myself ild go to a new mix, if you are worried about lack of verity, mix 2 or 3 mixes together, im trialing a rat mix right now (not always recommended as some contain onion and garlic) but if that dosnt work out ild be putting them on mr johnsons (with verm-X for vitamins) and harry hamster mixed together.

if you where worried about them getting bored with the same food, liven it up outside the mix, mine get broccoli, carrot, spinach, pasta, sweetcorn, red pepper, tofu, egg, and many variants of baby food, and much more!!! I swap their 'lunch' around every day, so they get to eat new things and dont get bored, and they all eat their normal mix too.

My hams have improved so much in the last few weeks on a new diet, my oldest ham was under weight, fur loss all over, she acted an old hamster, but since the change of food she has been full of energy, weight is back and fur is in great condition and most has grown back already! (almost 2!)

[GhostsInSnow]

My hams have improved since changing also. I never saw my robo, he was always asleep and my Syrian wasn't very active either. Since the change my Robo is out a lot more and my Syrian has gained some weight too
I suppliment with stuff like the occasional mealworm, mixed puffs, fruit/veg and an occasional monkey nut plus a load of other stuff. One of the reasons I switched is I can't afford the daily essentials supplement for three cages as I was having to supplement my mice's RR diet with the stuff too so they're now on a different mix.
For variety, combining commercial mixes seems to be the way to go, a lot of us are doing it now

If you're stuck for what to feed your mice, I can tell you what I'm using if you want. I'm combining 4 different mixes at the moment for them and supplementing with mealworms, egg biscuit and a few other things and they're doing great on it.

[Bekki2308]

My hamsters have been on a commerical food mixed with bird seed type arrangement for many months now. They have approx 50-60% commerical mix and 40-50% bird seeds and other extras. It works out at 15% protein and higher fibre than standard UK mixes, but in line with the German type mixes and a fat content in line with both UK standard and German standard mixes. They get fresh vegetables usually daily and treats such as baby food about once a week as well as all the "standard" treats, this varies depending on hams age. Hamsters below 6 months who need the extra protein get extras such as mealies/chicken/egg/tofu several times weekly, 6-12 months old get high protein treats about 1x a week and hams over 1 year get no high protein treats as they get enough from their base mix. As with all nutrition for small animals really this is my opinion on how to feed them, decided on through thorough research in the field and anecdotal evidence.

[vanilla-yazoo]

I forgot to mention i add a vitamin supliment (liquid) to their veg, i do this daily, so they get everything they can need I felt that the protein was a bit high for older hams, and I did get other problems, but as this thread is about sourcing food I wont go into it (my current mix is 14.40% protein, and the veg is quite high protein, so they get all they need, i offer more veg for the younger hams to cover what they need)

(i dont think i have said anything beyond what I should have, any mods feel what I have said isnt corect please let me know!)