Not refreshing food every day - good/bad?

WinnieTheHam · 03-26-2016, 04:56 AM

I saw on an article that it's actually beneficial to wait until the hamster has completely eaten all of what's in it's bowl/stash until you refresh the food. This way, it will get all the nutrients from what's in its food because they will be 'forced' to eat the bits that they don't find very palatable. This goes for the muesli-type mix feeds.

What do you think to this?

I think it would be a great way of making food last longer. I always end up throwing a load of food out because they haven't eaten it. I also find feeding veg every day stops them from eating much of their mix... which is bad because their mix is a complete food, meaning it has all the nutrients they need.

I think I will be feeding my hams veg every other day, and topping up the dry food once their bowls are empty, unless they've stashed it all.

There's a lot of different ways people feed their hams, some say feed veg every day, some say feed twice a week. So I just want people's opinions on this

souffle · 03-26-2016, 05:04 AM

We have always fed every 2 days with youngsters and 3 days with adults. We try and monitor the bowl / store and adjust the amount given to maintain a level of weight and condition that is optimum for that size and age of animal. We like them to have a decent store but not a huge one or next to nothing as this contributes to their feeling of wellbeing I think.
Extras I'd say are given 3 times a week or as available depending what we are having! Youngsters get more extras up to around 6-8 months.

WinnieTheHam · 03-26-2016, 05:21 AM

Thanks Souffle

I've always fed Belle and Abe larger size/quantities of veggies and protein food than the others. Winston very rarely gets chicken or mealworms due to his age but he does get egg when I feed it. Myrcella gets a regular sized portion of fresh food when given. Abe and Belle empty their whole bowl within one night, but they end up stashing it all. I think I will follow your feeding plan. Thanks again!

flowerfairy · 03-26-2016, 05:25 AM

I give them a little bit of scatter fed food every day as it gives them something to do when they get up.

They also have some in their bowls every couple of days.

Porridge and veg every few days.

barley · 03-26-2016, 10:10 AM

My hams get their mix twice a week! Enough to last them of course, but they don't get bowls emptied and refilled daily as they'd only eat their favourite bits. They get fresh veg everyday though.

Pebbles82 · 03-27-2016, 02:03 AM

I refill the bowl about every 3 days. If it's not empty after 3 days I throw away what's left but there's not usually that much left. I found quite some time ago, that if I let the bowl get completely empty, Charlie started pooping in it - maybe panicking that food supplies might be short! With it regularly refilled he doesn't do that. I don't think I'd like to leave it more than 3 days anyway as it wouldn't be so fresh. The food they hoard isn't fresh either but most of it stays hoarded!

Vectis Hamstery · 03-27-2016, 04:29 AM

I feed my hams' mix twice a week, though mums with litters, pregnant hams and youngsters get it more often depending on need. I've found my hams to be in better condition fed less frequently than when I was feeding daily. I scatter feed as my Chinese hams just bury their bowls and I've thrown out several at clean out time by accident! Scattering also gives them something to do

SKB_Hamsters · 03-27-2016, 06:06 AM

I refill my hamster's bowl weekly, so I measure out a weeks worth of food half Harry hamster and half pellets and when I spot clean weekly I replace food, I normally only have a little amount of waste food, this works best for my current hamster as she like to hoard her food in her bowl which makes it easier for me to monitor how much food she has eaten. With past hamsters I used to feed differently feed every 3 to 4 days (with a measured out quantity) as they used to hoard their food. But this is the way in which I ensure that I'm not throwing too much food away, also I found it was the best way to ensure my hamsters were not just eating only there favourite pieces.

Alongside her food mix, she has healthy treats (I always look at the ingredient I prefer to give treats with either no sugar or a small amount of sugar) which are scatter fed and fresh fruit and veg every 2 to 3 days.

Fluffagrams · 03-27-2016, 07:42 AM

I've had a very fussy hamster in the past so I learnt to only give them new food every two to three days depending on what extras I've given them otherwise they wouldn't eat everything they were supposed to.

Jessie is a bit of a rascal and would throw her food out of her food bowl anyway so I've recently switched to scatter feeding with them. She loved it but James didn't look too sure about it - he's used to being waited on!

pinkneon · 03-27-2016, 09:00 AM

My Sweep (Syrian) doesn't stash food, and I've only been refilling the bowl when it's empty. This has mainly been because I've been worried he's not eating properly! He doesn't get treats that often either - usually depending on what we're eating during the week. I've only had him a couple of weeks though so he's still getting used to fruit and veg!