Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Feeding/Nutrition

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-12-2017, 07:32 PM   #1
September
Hamster Addict
 
September's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 901
Default Feeding a Hybrid in the US

Hello everyone!

I've been reading a bit about dwarf hamster nutrition, and I was hoping for a little help.

I understand that they're prone to diabetes and can't have mixes high in sugar for this reason.

I've seen Burgess Dwarf recommended on here, and while it is available on Amazon, it's quite pricey, shipping would take forever, and it contains sunflower seeds, which I was under the impression were bad?

So if Burgess were not an option, I suppose the next best option would be a homemade mix, but it seems to me that could get very sciencey, what with needing to know percentages and measurements, plus you can't be sure that your hamster is eating everything in the mix in a proper amount, and seems a bit dicey to me. That could just be because I don't understand nutrition very well.

I suppose my question boils down to this: to those in the US, or those elsewhere who feed homemade mixes, what do you feed your hybrids, and why?
__________________
RIP Aine, Aisling, Dessen, Algernon, Fagan,and Ronan <3
September is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 08:11 PM   #2
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

Burgess Dwarf Food is available from Viovet as well,which would be even better

Sunflower seeds are completely fine in the amounts supplied by a daily diet(unless of course that is a lower quality food which isn't good to begin with)and are extremely nutritious.The old myth of sunflower seeds being unhealthy persists for whatever reason,but it's definitely not accurate!

Homemade food is not a good idea,as you know.You'd have to figure out vitamin/mineral balances,exact nutrients,and other things that just aren't easy if at all possible.More often than not a homemade diet would result in serious malnutrition which takes time to show up,and it just isn't worth it

You'd need to order Burgess only every 3-6 months from Viovet,so shipping might seem a bit pricey at first but it isn't something you'd pay every month for example which would be horrible.You can also take advantage of the shipping and get some natural toys,hideouts,etc from Viovet at the same time

It's possible to save money in other ways to make up for a more expensive main diet,especially if you're ordering things from Chewy(a $50 order gets free shipping,so while they don't have a main diet there are certainly plenty of wonderful food and treat options).

I don't have a complete list of diabetes friendly dog biscuits however you want to stick with all natural,no unspecified biproducts(including digest and liver from an unspecified source),no BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin(known to cause cancer),etc.Just keep in mind that if the biscuits are being shared with dogs,they should not have corn or wheat,but if they're for hamsters only those things are fine.The treats should also not be from China or irradiated(this can be found on the back of packages).
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 09:20 PM   #3
September
Hamster Addict
 
September's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 901
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

Thanks, Amityville, for your thoughtful and informative answer!

I've actually been reading through some other, similar topics on here and had found the link to Burgess Dwarf on Viovet in a different thread. I've found quite a bit of info on treats and such, which has all been very helpful.

But back on the Burgess issue, I see that it's a 700g bag (a pound and a half roughly, I believe) Would it be better to just order three or four bags at a time and reorder when I'm on the last bag? Or to set up a recurring shipment, one bag at a time?

Another thing I'm wondering about are which vegetables might be a bit longer lasting? I live alone and work in a restaurant, so I very rarely if ever cook. When I've bought vegetables for my past hamsters, since they're only for the hamsters, they tend to go bad before they're completely or even mostly used. While this isn't a large problem by any means, it'd still be nice not to waste so much.

And I've been seeing a shift recently from people using freeze-dried mealworms as a treat to using freeze-dried freshwater shrimp, citing less fat as the reason. To anyone who's used them, how did your hamsters like them? Personally, none of my small animals have every really cared for mealworms, so I stopped even buying them. I'm wondering now if shrimp would be worth a try.
__________________
RIP Aine, Aisling, Dessen, Algernon, Fagan,and Ronan <3
September is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 09:44 PM   #4
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

You'd want to order one bag at a time,otherwise you'd take a risk at the food going bad even if frozen.I think if you could get a shipment set up for when you should run out it would be nice,but at the same time it may last longer than you expect so perhaps figure out how long a bag lasts but before the last few weeks of food are used up order a second bag(you can do this by measuring exact amounts out and portioning them into the smallest possible plastic bags or containers).

If you can find a way to get small portions of vegetables that would be helpful,but if not the next best thing is frozen thawed vegetables(except with some vegetables and fresh foods that need cooking like any sort of potato and for other fresh foods beans would need cooking too).It isn't always easy to find a local farmer's market or produce stand,but when you can it's always nice especially if the produce is in some way better than regular supermarket produce(such as non-GMO organic produce,and the minimal carbon footprint of something grown locally compared to things shipped from further away when applicable)!

Mealworms are in the Burgess,but dwarf hamsters generally love mealworms considerably more than Syrians.I've tried two types of dehydrated chicken cat/dog treats myself(Pure Bites and Simply Nourish,with the second being exclusive to Petsmart)and those are very good.It's equally nutritious as raw compared to cooked meats,but luckily the process essentially eliminates concerns of salmonella(not really a concern if the food is handled properly and the animal in question is omnivorous or carnivorous by nature with a healthy immune system).

You can get a lot of different freeze dried meat treats from Chewy,along with quite a few other wonderful things(their small animal section isn't that good,but the dog and cat sections are almost perfect and luckily quite a bit of that is safe for hamsters).

I can say that of the biscuit selection Chewy offers I know at least Sojos and Chicken Soup have diabetes friendly hamster safe options,however they're fairly different in price.Of course,Sojos is more of a human-grade product than Chicken Soup which makes a huge difference with pricing,but I would still suggest Chicken Soup!I'll definitely try and make a list of diabetes friendly biscuits from Chewy though I also forgot to mention that unspecified fat is also an issue,which shows up quite a bit(mostly with lower end foods and treats though,but still not acceptable even in "high end" but low quality foods).
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 10:03 PM   #5
September
Hamster Addict
 
September's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 901
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

If I'm being honest, I've never thought about portion control for a hamster before--I just filled the bowl when it was empty! If you did portion out a hamsters food, I'm thinking it would be something like a tablespoon/day?

I've actually already looked into the Chicken Soup chicken flavored treats on Chewy.com, and since I have a dog, it wouldn't be hard to get the free shipping for $50 (basically, one bag of his food does that itself lol)

On the subject of dog treats, would soft grain free training treats ever be good for a hamster? My dog has a grain allergy, so those are the only sorts of treats I buy for him. Barring the ingredients you listed above, would there be any reason a hamster couldn't have one of those occasionally?

I also saw a wooden dog chew at the pet store on my most recent visit. While I wouldn't give it to my dog (wood? for a dog?) I thought it might be good for a hamster. It's 100% wood, but doesn't say what kind of wood, and says on the back it is non edible, and not intended for consumption, however I assume it's referring only to consumption-by-dog. Thoughts?

If you do make that list, I'd love to see it!!
__________________
RIP Aine, Aisling, Dessen, Algernon, Fagan,and Ronan <3
September is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 10:28 PM   #6
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

A tablespoon might be a bit much for a dwarf hamster,I'd say around 2 teaspoons actually for a larger hybrid.Or,roughly 10 ml,which would mean a tablespoon and a teaspoon if you give two days' worth of food per feeding.A lot of bowls are much too large for that amount,but scatter feeding can be introduced gradually and is a very good form of enrichment!

It definitely isn't hard to get free shipping from Chewy with a dog!Very rarely you might get a better deal elsewhere,but that's if you either go to a discount store(such as Home Goods,I found Yumzies soft treats and some other really nice things there but selection varies)or if you use coupons at places like Petco and Petsmart to get decent deals(such as a free bag of Whole Hearted dog food if you get the puppy starter guide from Petco,which is a decent food although I will admit my dog is stubborn to try new things).

I think it depends on the ingredients of the treats.If the ingredients are hamster safe and there's no form of extra sugar in them(essentially diabetes friendly,in other words)then they'd be fine as a treat.

I wouldn't use unspecified wood,since it may or may not be a toxic variety to hamsters.I know some dogs love chewing on wood and carrying wood around,but I'd still worry about using it for any pet I do know antlers if good quality ones that are naturally shed are supposed to be fine though,but at the very least they work wonderfully for dogs when you get good antlers(I've had one antler for more than two years now with a dog who destroys almost anything despite only weighing 15 pounds).

I'll be sure to make that into a thread and link it here then!
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2017, 10:41 PM   #7
September
Hamster Addict
 
September's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 901
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

After a bit of googling, I've found the dog chew online, and it says it's made from Java wood. I'm not sure whether or not that's hamster safe?

Thank you so very much for letting me pick your brain! I'll be anxiously awaiting that thread!
__________________
RIP Aine, Aisling, Dessen, Algernon, Fagan,and Ronan <3
September is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2017, 01:56 AM   #8
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

Diabetes Friendly US Dog Biscuits and Crunchy Treats(From Chewy)

Personally I wouldn't use java wood,but you could find some grape driftwood in reptile sections of pet stores which is definitely safe as long as you freeze it first(as you should with any wood).Natural cork pieces from the reptile section can also be good,once again with freezing.Reptile half logs are nice too,as long as they're made from a safe wood(you might need to check with the company,sometimes they'll say this on their website if there is one).

It's finally done!It would've been even more difficult if I made the same sort of thing but with biscuits suitable for Syrians as well,or with different types of treats as well.The more information that can be shared and the more knowledge gained the better
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2017, 01:48 PM   #9
September
Hamster Addict
 
September's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 901
Default Re: Feeding a Hybrid in the US

Wow Amity!! What a wonderful list!! Thanks so much for making that, you'r right, the more information shared the better
__________________
RIP Aine, Aisling, Dessen, Algernon, Fagan,and Ronan <3
September is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
mixes, burgess, understand, feed, mix, option, suppose, homemade, dwarf, bit, nutrition, hamster, measurements, sciencey, percentages, needing, boils, hybrids, question, proper, eating, amount, dicey, sunflower, high

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:51 AM.