What all do I need to know about daily diet and treats

[Zireling]

I have a winter white dwarf hamster. When I bought her I simply bought a starter kit at the store. the cage was way to small so we upgraded to a much bigger fish tank. Her feed came with the starter set. It looks well balanced. I live in the USA. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on feed that is already pre mixed. What seems to work best for the hammies? I did buy her some snacks. I put one in her cage and she hardly seemed impressed by it. I was wondering what human foods I could feed her as I am going grocery shopping next week. I read they like eggs. Is there a certain way I should prepare the eggs? Also I have read they can eat basil. So I bought an organic fresh basil plant but she didn't seem to interested in the basil. Took one sniff and rubbed her face so I immediately took it as a sign of dislike....because she has taken foods out of my hand before like sunflower seeds.

Is there any nuts, seeds, herbs, dry fruits, fresh fruits or veggies that I should incorporate into her diet? How often should I give these things?

[AmityvilleHams]

For a winter white(hybrid as from pet shop,actually)you need to keep sugar low with foods.Burgess dwarf food is the best food on the market,even though you do need to order it online and get it shipped from the UK,and there really isn't another choice unfortunately

As for treats,the same applies.Keep sugar low(no added sugar,if using fruits stick to fresh only as dried are much higher in sugar than fresh and only feed them on an extremely rare occasion such as once or twice a month,etc).With any food be it treats or the daily diet,do not use anything with unspecified biproducts(digest is included in this as well)or preservatives which are unsafe(BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin).Treats should either be fresh foods or treats from reputable companies with only natural ingredients,and I know that there are quite a few dog treats in the US that fit this criteria so they can be fine depending on the quality(natural ones are great,but then Milk Bone and such are almost always poor quality with unsafe ingredients or at the very least with the natural versions extremely questionable,same with a lot of other brands,also never use anything made in China or that is treated with irradiation).

Make sure if you're getting premade treats(dog biscuits,Whimzees,etc with safe ingredients)that you order them from Chewy in the US,otherwise 9/10 times you're paying way too much for them I've found that Petco and Petsmart often charge a significant amount more for treats and things than Chewy,which is always frustrating.

In terms of dog treats other than biscuits and Whimzees(don't use Greenies,those are much lower quality and don't do much for dental health)you can find a lot of really nice freeze dried single ingredient(sometimes only a few ingredient)treats from all different companies.

I'm honestly not sure on exact companies for dog treats,but I do believe Sojos have some hamster safe biscuits(and freeze dried meat treats as well I think),at least one or two that are diabetes friendly as well.That's just one brand though,and there are tons out there with quality ingredients!

Luckily with hams wheat inclusive treats are fine,but if you want to share them with a dog they really shouldn't have wheat or corn

As for people food,puffed rice is a great diabetes friendly treat that is also fairly cheap so if she doesn't like it you don't have to worry about spending tons of money.Puffed wheat can be good too,or other puffed hamster safe grains,just make sure there's nothing added.

With the starter kit you'd get a food that isn't safe for diabetic hamsters or diabetes prone hamsters(or even Syrians),so you'll want to throw that out as soon as you get Burgess dwarf hamster food.The Great Value foods from Petsmart and a lot of other US hamster foods are extremely unhealthy and often contain lots of unsafe ingredients,I've even seen some including leek Others(in fact the overwhelming majority)contain dyes and artificial flavors,some with ridiculous amounts of added sugar,and especially common are dangerous preservatives(BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin,known to cause cancer).

[cypher]

I covered the basic of a hybrid diet in your other thread here Zireling.

As for human food egg is ok as an occasional treat (just boiled or scrambled with nothing added) & a good protein boost but shouldn't be given too often, not more than once a week & probably less depending on which other protein foods you give, dried chicken & mealworms are generally the best for a protein boost. Plain cooked chicken again nothing added, no seasoning, is fine too.
They don't actually need human foods, I give mine porridge or baby food (check ingredients) once every few weeks but that really is a special treat!
Stick to natural treats, millet, flax, hemp, sunflower & pumpkin seeds all in moderation.
I'm not surprised by her reaction to the basil, some herbs are safe but most are strongly aromatic to sensitive little noses & I haven't had any of my dwarfs respond positively to herbs!
Do not give fruit as I mentioned in the other thread, stick to fresh veg.
This is my list of safe veg if that helps.
Safe veg, those marked * are relatively high in sugar so only feed to diabetes prone species as an occasional treat if at all.
Asparagus
Basil
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Common or red clover
Cabbage, green or red
Carrot*
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Coriander
Courgette
Cress (not mustard & cress as commonly sold together)
Cucumber
Dandelion leaves & flowers
Endive/chicory
Green beans/runner beans
Kale
Pak choi/Bok choi
Parsley
Peas/mange tout/sugar snap/snow*
Peppers, any colour
Potato/sweet potato cooked only*
Radicchio
Spinach
Squash/pumpkin*
Swede
Sweet corn/baby corn*
Turnip

[Zireling]

Where can I order the food from the UK for her? I'd like to order it as soon as possible as she has been eating this food for two days. Is it possible to make my own food mix? I know it would be more time consuming and that's OK. Does any member on here do that? Or have you seen any recipes for them? Human food isn't that great for people in America. I should have known that the food they sell for pets isn't that good either.

There are no other pets in the house. Just the one hamster. I had no idea that store bought winter whites were hybrids. Does that mean they are more prone to certain illnesses? Anything in specific I should watch out for other than the diabetes?

I really want to give her the best quality of life as its really my first pet that I have bought in my own as an adult. I most likely won't give her any fruit due to the diabetes.

Yes, she seemed to like apple wood chews that I got and sun flower seeds. She didn't even give the basil a second sniff. So I probably won't buy her any more herb plants. As the basil was bought primarily for her.

Should the meal worms be dry? Or alive? I'd much rather buy them dry as I'm not to sure I even want to handle them.

Also is whimsies absolutely necessary? Would it improve her oral hygiene or is there other things that she can eat to aid in this? Thank you guys so much for your patience. I'm gonna go check out your comment on my other post. I really do appreciate everyone's kindness. I really just wanna make sure I give her the longest, happiest, healthiest life that I am able to.

[snow pony]

Originally Posted by Zireling

Where can I order the food from the UK for her? I'd like to order it as soon as possible as she has been eating this food for two days. Is it possible to make my own food mix? I know it would be more time consuming and that's OK. Does any member on here do that? Or have you seen any recipes for them? Human food isn't that great for people in America. I should have known that the food they sell for pets isn't that good either.

There are no other pets in the house. Just the one hamster. I had no idea that store bought winter whites were hybrids. Does that mean they are more prone to certain illnesses? Anything in specific I should watch out for other than the diabetes?

I really want to give her the best quality of life as its really my first pet that I have bought in my own as an adult. I most likely won't give her any fruit due to the diabetes.

Yes, she seemed to like apple wood chews that I got and sun flower seeds. She didn't even give the basil a second sniff. So I probably won't buy her any more herb plants. As the basil was bought primarily for her.

Should the meal worms be dry? Or alive? I'd much rather buy them dry as I'm not to sure I even want to handle them.

Also is whimsies absolutely necessary? Would it improve her oral hygiene or is there other things that she can eat to aid in this? Thank you guys so much for your patience. I'm gonna go check out your comment on my other post. I really do appreciate everyone's kindness. I really just wanna make sure I give her the longest, happiest, healthiest life that I am able to.

There are no other health issues you should look out for apart from diabetes (I have a WW hybrid as well). I've never used Whimzees, so they're in no way essential. Wood toys will be fine to wear down teeth. Viovet may sell the food, and Amazon most likely will too. Dry mealworms are fine, if you buy them live you must crush their heads first so they don't harm your hamster (so if you don't want to handle them I'd just stick to dried). Hope she's doing well, would love to see some pics!

[AmityvilleHams]

Making your own food is absolutely not a good idea It's just too risky to be safe,considering the serious health problems you'll cause with any sort of dietary imbalance(including deficiencies).

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Burgess_Dwa...arvest/c30803/

You'd want to do a decent sized order instead of just one item though,just to make the most out of the shipping cost.Luckily there are some decent treats to throw in with the food for the order,and possibly toys and other supplies as well!

Fruit is definitely a personal choice With her being the only pet you've got more options since wheat isn't a concern,which is definitely a good thing for practicality and variety.

For other illness there isn't much,just take precautions with diet and you should be fine.

Whimzees are extremely good,they keep teeth trimmed which is crucial to having a healthy hamster as you might already know(overgrown teeth quickly lead to other health problems and in very bad cases even death).I'd definitely buy them in bulk from Chewy,it's the most cost effective way to do so even with a single hamster.Sometimes you find sales at Petsmart for smaller packs though,like 8 of the smallest toothbrushes for less than $2,so look out for that if you're ever in Petsmart.

Mealworms are fine dried,but Burgess would have them already.I'd just stick with freeze dried chicken,turkey,etc as protein boosts rather than adding more mealworms,since they do tend to be a bit high in fat(reasonable amounts as with the daily diet are fine though,just don't add to it).Freshwater shrimp are great as well,dried once again,and aren't high in fat.

[cypher]

Making your own mix is very complex & a lot of work (I do it!) so not a good idea until you are very experienced & have studied ham nutrition in some depth.
Amity already gave you the link for the Burgess mix & she knows more about where to get things if you're in the US so that's probably best.
Mealworms should be freeze dried not live, you can give fresh ones but you have to kill them first which isn't pleasant! They usually go nuts for the dried ones.
Hybrids aren't particularly prone to anything other than diabetes, some can be prone to various neurological conditions but those are normally apparent at a very young age & not something you need to worry about unduly mostly.
Not only are whimzees good for them they generally absolutely love them & it's a joy to watch them having so much fun with them so well worth getting some, kept dry they keep for ages so if you can only get hold of a pack they last, get small ones, mini toothbrush is the most popular, small hedgehogs & crocs are ok too.
I am going to disagree with Amity & say giving fruit isn't so much of a personal choice unless you choose to take a gamble giving a diabetes prone species something that could play havoc with it's blood sugar, really best avoided & there are so many lovely fresh veg for them to enjoy why give them something they don't need.

[Zireling]

Thank you so much for the link Amity!!! I'll place an order today. Also gonna go to the store and take her saucer back. She doesn't seem to be able to stay on it for long and I think it's rather frustrating her by how she acts. I'm going to get a more traditional wheel for her and while I'm out I'll check into the whispers, cypher. I haven't seen her actually use any of her wood chews. She has nibbled a bit on the apple wood sticks, but that's all.

[cypher]

Many do ignore wood chews tbh, mine like a bit of a nibble on apple wood too but totally ignore other wood, unless it's something I don't want them to chew

[Zireling]

The store only has alligator shaped whimzees. So I'm gonna place an order for the small brushes as soon as I can.