Need some hamster diet advice :)

Knotty · 04-26-2013, 11:11 AM

We're not sure on what to feed the hams, we want them all to have the best diet possible.

Since not being able to get their previous mixes, we were going to revert back to this:

The syrians on Harry Hamster, mealworms and some millet seeds

Kolah the Chinese on the burgess supahamster, with peas and corn removed, millet seeds and a few more mealworms added

Puddles the winter white on burgess supahamster, few more mealworms added and some millet seed

Does this sound like a good diet for each of the hams??

HorseyMandz · 04-26-2013, 11:13 AM

If their mixtures were the Ratration's mixes, that is now for sale again

But yeah, that sounds good as long as you're sure that Puddles is a pure WW!

Knotty · 04-26-2013, 11:15 AM

Seeing as Ratrations mixes are now complimentary mixes only, we want a full mix, and the postage is soo high!!
Puddles is definitley, she was bred by Tristar

Sandti · 04-26-2013, 11:23 AM

Can try JR farm mix off of Zooplus

HorseyMandz · 04-26-2013, 11:33 AM

Sorry! I was completely misinformed about this and made many assumptions

**kyrilliondaemon** · 04-26-2013, 11:46 AM

I have to disagree there HorseyMandz. I know quite a few people who had their hams affected - including our own Geiger who was diagnosed with a dietary deficiency that we believe was caused by the mixes, she's now permanently smaller than her sisters and I think its safest to treat the mixes as complementary - I know too many hams who've suffered from their owners not knowing we needed to do that. In the interests of not causing the mods more trouble I can't post everything that my friends believe the mixes caused in their hams, but I personally do not believe the mixes can just cause a "slight dietary imbalance".
One serious example of a dietary imbalance can be found in this thread, and personally I do believe that dietary imbalances could cause even worse symptoms.

If someone is concerned about a mix thats no longer labelled as complete, I can definetly respect that given the situations I've heard of ham owners finding themselves in.
Oh and if a mix is labelled as complimentary, as a general rule its probably safest to treat it that way.

Knotty - It all sounds fine to me

souffle · 04-26-2013, 12:13 PM

Please refer any enquiries to the seller of any mixes.
Knotty is asking about the suitability of her current food and not about their previous diet.
You should select your mix from the vast quantity available and based on your own judgement on what suits your hamsters best.
Personally I use Harry Hamster with some added small seeds for dwarfs and the usual suggested extras such as fruit and veg as well as extras as available such as chicken, egg, porridge, pasta etc.

Lucinda · 04-26-2013, 12:22 PM

I think it's worth clearing up why the previous mix wouldn't be suitable now, when someone says otherwise. All the reasons Sam listed above though.

I don't know a lot about Chinese hams, but the Winter White mix sounds fine and is what I would feed a dwarf

Lougarry · 04-26-2013, 12:26 PM

Well, then can a Mod reword HorseyMandz's post? As RatRations describe them, the mixes on their site are a straights diet with no added vitamins or minerals. The missing vitamins and minerals (which are added to other commercial mixes) are critical for a hamster's health, so it is wrong to suggest they are complete mixes. I think it is important that people who don't know any of the history are aware of this. They are also unsuitable for adult hams as they are too high in protein and too low in fibre. Please don't delete this as it's important.

Vectis Hamstery · 04-26-2013, 12:35 PM

Knotty, I use Burgess dwarf supahamster as a base for my mix, having changed from Harry Hamster as my dwarf hams seem to prefer the Burgess (and since I have so few Syrians they get less of a say!). Adding extra millet and mealies to it sound good for dwarfies. I personally am not a fan of picking things out of mixes and am less convinced about the perceived perils of corn and pea flakes, but as Souff mentions, hamster diet is something that each owner needs to make their own decisions on and feed what they feel is appropriate. For example, my mix is very straights heavy in the end so I supplement with vitamins and have done since I started using it.