Up To Date Diet Tips!

AmityvilleHams · 04-10-2016, 02:12 AM

I just have a few small tips when it comes to diet,and a lot of information you might find in some places is relatively incorrect sadly so here we go!

Firstly,there are no "fillers" in hamster mixes.The pellets you find often contain a majority of the added minerals and fiber in the hamster mix,and these nutrients are extremely important to maintaining the same exact nutrients as the mix should have.Do not remove them,as they are very important to nutrient integrity.

Second,fruit is not bad for hamsters even those who are diabetic or predisposed to diabetes.From my experience with diabetes and nutrition,there is absolutely zero reason to eliminate fruit from a diet completely.Natural sugars are beneficial,while artificial sugars and sweeteners like those found in sugary storebought treats such as yogurt drops are entirely unhealthy.With this in mind,you do however need to maintain moderation when feeding anything to any hamster!Moderation is the key to a good balanced diet.

Thirdly,and this is something that needs to be addressed immediately,Oxbow is not suitable for long term dietary needs.Yes,it can provide basic nutrition,but it does not offer enough variety and it is mostly hay based which is just not correct for hamsters of any species as they would naturally be eating completely different foods altogether.

Fourth,and this has been addressed somewhat already,hamsters should not be fed strictly lab blocks!Nor should they be fed strictly seeds,as neither will provide the right diet.You need a balance between a nutritionally correct and species adequate diet that has enough variety,and so mixes like Carefresh Complete Menu and pellet-like diets such as Oxbow are not suitable.

Lastly,this may or may not have been cleared up already but the US version of Harry Hamster is notnutritionally suitable for any hamster and should not be fed.However,in the US the best available seed mix is Higgins Sunburst Hamster and Gerbil combined in a 60/40 ratio with Mazuri Rat and Mouse lab blocks.This mix will provide a balanced,nutritionally correct,and entirely safe diet.

Pebbles82 · 04-10-2016, 02:56 AM

Diet issues tend to bring up conflicting views sometimes! I think on here it has been mentioned before the Oxbow should be a supplement rather than a main food and that protein needs supplementing a bit in Harry Hamster. I think it's Hazel Hamster in the US. In the Uk it's recommended by the NHC as having all the nutrients required. It has had a slight formula change recently and the protein is a bit lower, so protein does need supplementing a bit. We usually recommend supplementing with fresh food such as plain cooked chicken, the occasional piece of cheese or nuts, and other fresh food, plus fresh veg.

I give our Syrian some fruits from the safe list in moderation, but I thought it was not recommended for diabetic hamsters. Cypher or Souffle probably knows more about that. Souffle has been breeding hamsters for many years.

Useful info about US mixes there, as people often ask what to feed in the US. I think it's generally agreed that hamsters need variety and not an all-in-one feed, but some members have had hamsters who do better with an all-in-one feed like Science Selective.

cypher · 04-10-2016, 03:14 AM

I think it's been mentioned many times now that good quality food doesn't have fillers & nothing should be removed from the mix.

Sugars can be a bit of a controversial issue but in my opinion (& most of this is informed opinion rather than absolute fact after all) fruits are not a natural food for them & the natural sugars can be quite concentrated without having any added benefit which they won't get from fresh veg which can also be fairly high in sugar but not so much & usually has more fibre so sugars are absorbed more slowly which is essential.
Pure sugars in the form of glucose or sucrose in treats is something I wouldn't give to any animal anyway, but that's personal choice!

Again personal opinion but aside from needing some additional protein I think oxbow is one of the better "all in one" foods around, I do agree they need variety & personally choose not to feed an all in one pellet except as a small part of their diet occasionally but I really don't think it's that bad at all as they go.

I have to reread the GA & ingredients of all the US foods each time it comes up as I always forget so no comment there!

ETA one thing about fruit I forgot to mention is, aside from the sugar content fruit is acidic , some more than others but all have some acidity & hamsters stomachs haven't evolved to cope with acidic foods which is another reason to only feed very rarely, if at all regardless of diabetes.

AmityvilleHams · 04-10-2016, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Diet issues tend to bring up conflicting views sometimes! I think on here it has been mentioned before the Oxbow should be a supplement rather than a main food and that protein needs supplementing a bit in Harry Hamster. I think it's Hazel Hamster in the US. In the Uk it's recommended by the NHC as having all the nutrients required. It has had a slight formula change recently and the protein is a bit lower, so protein does need supplementing a bit. We usually recommend supplementing with fresh food such as plain cooked chicken, the occasional piece of cheese or nuts, and other fresh food, plus fresh veg.

I give our Syrian some fruits from the safe list in moderation, but I thought it was not recommended for diabetic hamsters. Cypher or Souffle probably knows more about that. Souffle has been breeding hamsters for many years.

Useful info about US mixes there, as people often ask what to feed in the US. I think it's generally agreed that hamsters need variety and not an all-in-one feed, but some members have had hamsters who do better with an all-in-one feed like Science Selective.

A lot of the not so good but highly recommended diets such as Carefresh Complete Menu have those pellets.Not sure if Higgins does,but I'll be finding out in a few months.Of course,if your absolute only option is Carefresh Complete Menu or a diet that does have the little pellets it is wise not to remove them just for the sake of not messing with minerals and fiber and such.

I think it's very hard to figure things out when you're in the UK and someone from the US needs diet help,but overall it is extremely confusing.I'll probably be able to offer more information on the ingredients that are entirely up to date for the Higgins mix,same with Mazuri,and just give an overall opinion on them but it's an extremely good mix that offers tons of benefits.

All-in-one feeds generally provide only half the benefits of a combined diet,but that being said I would say that the primary diet is a good quality mix with a lab block or high quality pellet as a nutrient supplement with those two combining to make up about 80-90% of the total diet.I'm personally not fond of the all-in-one diets for their lack of variety and how unnatural they are though.

As for fruits,there is absolutely nothing wrong with using them as a treat in moderation.Everything must be fed in moderation and as long as someone uses common sense there is no problem feeding small amounts of fruit to a dwarf hamster that is diabetic or is a species that is diabetes prone.Like with rabbits and guinea pigs I would view it as more of a special treat though to get fruit,as far as dwarf species are concerned.You can generally be more lenient with Syrians though,but that is no excuse for loads of unhealthy foods or way more fruit than necessary!

WinnieTheHam · 04-10-2016, 04:27 AM

I think fillers are classed as something that is in high quantities that doesn't give out a lot of nutrition - like corn, it's also quite high in sugar. I wouldn't recommend removing them though.

Hamsters would eat insects in the wild, but they'd also eat grains and other plant-based materials like that. So these mixes aren't so unnatural to them. They will either have plant or animal protein added in the mix. It's like every cat food you look at, they always have plant based products in them. Cats are carnivores, yet every single food that's made for them contains plant products - that's not natural but a lot of cats seem pretty healthy and happy on it.

AmityvilleHams · 04-10-2016, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WinnieTheHam

I think fillers are classed as something that is in high quantities that doesn't give out a lot of nutrition - like corn, it's also quite high in sugar. I wouldn't recommend removing them though.

Hamsters would eat insects in the wild, but they'd also eat grains and other plant-based materials like that. So these mixes aren't so unnatural to them. They will either have plant or animal protein added in the mix. It's like every cat food you look at, they always have plant based products in them. Cats are carnivores, yet every single food that's made for them contains plant products - that's not natural but a lot of cats seem pretty healthy and happy on it.

Cats are actually quite unhealthy.Unlike hamsters,they won't suffer from malnutrition instantly due to poor diet,therefore it is far less common for their diet to be focused on so intensely.Grains can lead to many health problems for cats,which is why the healthiest and most natural choice is raw food for cats.There is no such thing as a completely species appropriate cat food on the market,believe it or not.

I would also like to say that on the note of sugars,some fruits are actually fairly low in sugar and would be extremely reasonable to feed.Of course,in moderation as I have said many times before,and as with anything use common sense.With that in mind,yes it is in fact completely fine to feed fruits in moderation in reasonable amounts as long as those that are fed are safe and are lower in sugar.

Pebbles82 · 04-10-2016, 04:43 AM

There was quite a good thread on US hamster food options here, where people shared their tips

Best Hamster foods in the US????

Charlie (Syrian) is actually very picky about fruit. He'll go crazy for a small piece of apple or banana but won't touch anything 'fancy' like Strawberry or Blueberries. He is quite clearly a meat and two veg man-ham lol, with English tastes in fruit as well. He has tucked into pheasant, grouse, beef, chicken, porridge and scrambled egg with great gusto!

AmityvilleHams · 04-10-2016, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

There was quite a good thread on US hamster food options here, where people shared their tips

Best Hamster foods in the US????

Charlie (Syrian) is actually very picky about fruit. He'll go crazy for a small piece of apple or banana but won't touch anything 'fancy' like Strawberry or Blueberries. He is quite clearly a meat and two veg man-ham lol, with English tastes in fruit as well. He has tucked into pheasant, grouse, beef, chicken, porridge and scrambled egg with great gusto!

Lots of bad things with the thread

First up we have Hazel Hamster,which as I've said is nutritionally inadequate now due to formula change and all that.Second there is Ecotrition which is just an awful food in general,with loads of chemicals and artificial junk and sugary things involved that shouldn't be in a main diet to begin with.Third on the first list of "good foods" is a Kaytee food product,and Kaytee is again an awful food in general but their products may contain chemicals known to cause cancer as well as being generally quite unhealthy and sugary and loads of unnecessary things in them as well.Oxbow of course is just not good,as it is fairly grass based in general and not very healthy compared to the lovely mixes we have available here in the US.Harlan Teklad blocks,I've heard great things so that is one I can say yes to!

Then it goes on to have another post with VitaKraft included,which at least in the US they often have loads of sugars and chemicals and even more unnecessary things,unlike Higgins.

Lots of unhealthy suggestions such as Hartz brand and more Kaytee brand recommendations,which both are very low quality brands to begin with that are hardly nutritionally adequate and may be unsafe as well.

Of course,as it is a thread from 2014 I definitely do not expect the great information that is out there today.However,we do have really good options,but ultimately there is just one seed mix here in the US that is actually safe,healthy,and all natural.That is of course Higgins,and while it is not suitable on its own nor would any mix in the US it is perfect combined with Mazuri Rat and Mouse lab blocks.Yes,it is more expensive than Hartz or Kaytee,but overall the quality is so much better and it's a much healthier food as well as being an appropriate nutritionally adequate natural diet that is free of all the awful chemicals and things.

Pebbles82 · 04-10-2016, 05:01 AM

I think Nancy uses Higgins, and yes it's an old thread and I think some of those foods have changed formula as well. What is wrong with Hazel Hamster? Apart from being low in protein and needing supplementation.

WinnieTheHam · 04-10-2016, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Cats are actually quite unhealthy.Unlike hamsters,they won't suffer from malnutrition instantly due to poor diet,therefore it is far less common for their diet to be focused on so intensely.Grains can lead to many health problems for cats,which is why the healthiest and most natural choice is raw food for cats.There is no such thing as a completely species appropriate cat food on the market,believe it or not.

Raw food is best for all carnivorous species. A hamster in the wild wouldn't live as long as those that are pets. The mixes in the UK do contain sufficient nutrition, even if those feeds don't contain insects. My hamster Hammy I had when I was a child lived till he was 4 years old. He was on different mixes all the time, and he never got as much vegetables as the hamsters I have now. The only health problem he ever had was a cyst in his testicle, he got it removed and he survived and lived another two years. (he was 2 when he had it removed). He was from a pet shop too.

I don't understand how a cat can be unhealthy and live longer than expected? My childhood cat lived to 19 years old. He was fed on all the cheap food in the shops, and we all know cheap cat food contains the most grains and plant matter. He only developed problems in his elderly age, which is normal. And every other vet check up they said he was healthy.

Basically what I'm saying is, is that even if hamster food doesn't exactly replicate what they would have in the wild, they can still be healthy, and still live a longer life that they would in the wild. Mixes are fine if the nutritional content is sufficient. The only thing to look out for in mixes is what the main ingredient is, because hamsters like to pick things out, and they may be picking the less nutrient foods. There are ways to go about this though, and not feed every day to ensure they're eating everything in their bowl. You can supplement insects, live would obviously be more natural, but the majority of people feed dried.