Totoro being fussy

[Kirsty1987]

Hey how is everyone? Not been on here in awhile been busy and just recovering from the flu well I'm back as I'm at a loss of what to feed totoro he has become very picky with his food, he is only eating millet and mealworms at the moment but is refusing to touch any mixes i have tried harry hamster, burgess dwarf mix and supreme science selective but he won't touch them.
I have checked his teeth there fine and i have been monitoring his weight which has stayed at about 30g so he isn't losing any but I'm trying to get him to eat a mix and not just the treats i put in his cage.
If i take the treats away he still refuses to eat the mix what else can i try?

[Pouches]

Therein lies the problem with using mixes. Unfortunately hammies will tend to pick and choose what they want to eat, regardless of what they are needing nutrition wise.
I fed mine a mixed seed diet that I supplemented for the longest time, until I realized they were picking out the nuts and sunflower seeds and leaving just about everything else. If he's getting up there in age I wouldn't suggest changing his diet, but you should think about supplementing his normal mix with things like chicken, tuna, dried fruits and such. Mealworms are an EXCELLENT source of protein however too much protein can actually poison. There are a lot of fruits and veggies that you can feed them to get their intake of fiber and simple starches too. Shredded wheat cereal or chips can also be a tasty treat.

[Kirsty1987]

I have tried veg, fruit, chicken and pasta but he turns his nose up at it he is scared of everything even strange food silly boy lol, he isn't even a year old yet he loved the mix i used to feed him but due to certain circumstances i had to change it but now i can't find one he likes. He is only given a few meal worms once a week other than that he just seems to eat the millet and doesn't touch anything i put in his food bowl

[HollyHamster]

Chips? As in the salty, greasy potato variety? I wouldn't think its any good to feed hamsters these things as they are very high in iodized salt, which isn't digestible to hams. Not to mention the grease factor wreaking havoc with their cholesterol and such.

I would feed him plain oatmeal, made with water instead of milk, and only enough to make it a thick paste. Or you could just feed him the oatmeal flakes, uncooked.

[Kissa]

Have you tried breaking the larger pieces of a mix up? Darla struggles with the larger pieces in mixes, I don't like to use Harry Hamster because of it. I know a number of people have started using JR Farm for their dwarfies recently, you might want to investigate that. It's only available on zooplus though.

[Pouches]

Originally Posted by HollyHamster

Chips? As in the salty, greasy potato variety?

lol, no I mean wheat chips like Triscuit, or Wheat Thins. About the only time I ever give my hammies anything remotely close is when I get fast food, and even then it's only a small piece of french fry and only every other week.

[Kirsty1987]

Yeah i tried crushing all the big bits of food but that made no difference might give the JR farm mix a try then looking for something that has a good variety in the mix

[Kissa]

I am deliberating changing Darla to JR Farm and Burgess dwarf mixed together for added variety. He's okay on what he's got at the moment, but it's too high in biscuits and nuggets for his taste

[Pouches]

If all else fails you could make your own blend, it's really a lot simpler than it sounds. The hardest part is going to be finding a distributor of cracked corn that doesn't mind parting with much smaller quantities than normal.

[kyrilliondaemon]

I tend to go the mean route and give nothing but the bits they won't eat for a day or two. If the ham is silly enough to starve instead then there's a problem but in theory most won't be that insane...