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Old 09-30-2017, 03:39 PM   #1
Lilac_Dreams
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Question Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

So, lately I've been looking into making a homemade hamster mix. Usually my Hams are fed a mix of Harry Hamster and Burgess with added millet and veggies and my diabetic ham is fed Science Selective pellets.

The issue I've found is my Diabetic Hamster dislike the SS food and takes forever to eat it, yet will gladly eat the HH-B Mix with the corn, peas, etc. Removed.

I've noticed as well that both my Diabetic Ham and my Syrians don't eat the "biscuits" in the muesli mix which wastes a lot of the food and also those sticks are made of roughage, so they don't offer any nutrition anyways.

The usual hamster mixes people use are just mixes of commercial brand food, but has anyone here ever made a completely homemade from scratch batch of hamster food? Similar to the shunamite diet that rat owners use, just with different ingredients.

I know the nutrition levels Hamsters need, so in theory it would work... But has anyone turned that Theory into practice?
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Old 09-30-2017, 04:39 PM   #2
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

In my opinion,Harry Hamster isn't a very good food anyways,as it does contain artificial dyes(not extremely obvious on packaging and ingredients lists,but has been confirmed).As far as stick parts in mix not providing nutrition,that's a myth!They often are the source of the fortified vitamins and minerals,and therefore not being eaten in that situation can be a problem.Removing any part of a storebought food or any formulated mix for that matter(even homemade,unless replaced by an ingredient with the same or extremely similar nutritional value)creates an imbalance.

However,if you could make one or more 100% natural and balanced homemade diet(s) it would be a wonderful idea.There would be many benefits,especially if you could have two or three different balanced mixes and rotate them to give the maximum spectrum of nutrients over time.

I know a lot of people fear homemade diets because it would be so easy to make a mistake and cause a harmful imbalance,but like homemade diets for other species if done properly it can be great.I'd measure everything by weight for daily batches rather than creating a big batch of a mix though,otherwise you can't be certain that you'll definitely get an exact amount which could potentially be a source of an imbalance!

Last edited by Fluffagrams; 10-01-2017 at 12:17 AM.
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Old 09-30-2017, 09:49 PM   #3
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

There area few of us here who make our own mixes from scratch rather than combining or adding to commercial mixes, it does take a fair bit of research & then a lot of calculations to get a balanced diet but it's certainly doable & well worth it if you have the time to do all the work.
There are a couple of threads here you might find helpful.

Has anyone ever made their own hamster food?

Larry-Jasper's homemade diet

I've found it works well, although I've made adjustments over time to improve on my original mix & it takes a bit of experimenting to find what they like or don't like but the hams have loved it, they have so much more variety & done well on it.
I like the flexibility it allows me having four hams with different needs, I keep protein in my mix fairly low at around 15% which allows me to add in extra depending on need, handy with a wide age range & one with kidney problems.
Sometimes they get a bit bored with certain things & if you're making your own mix it's easier to make changes now & then if need be.
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Last edited by cypher; 09-30-2017 at 10:09 PM.
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Old 10-01-2017, 03:48 AM   #4
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

I think there are a couple of good mixes for a diabetic dwarf hamster. Zooplus sell Bunny Dwarf dream expert, and Rodipet sell a hybrid specific mix. Both are good quality mixes. Personally I think it is hard to get the balance right when mixing your own. But one of these might be a start. I believe some people use half a conventional mix and half their own.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/futter/5...id-junior.html

Bunny Dwarf HamsterDream Expert | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

I think those two are pretty good and you could add extras in a separate dish to supplement.

Any change of mix would need to be done gradually over a week or two
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:33 AM   #5
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

It's not really hard to get the balance right just takes a little work

The Bunny mix is quite good & hams do seem to do well on it, the Rodipet mix has improved a fair bit now so that's not bad either but with most German mixes you have to bear in mind that there are quite a lot of ingredients that will be unfamiliar to them & they may not eat in any quantity, just a nibble now & then maybe which does mean the given GA isn't really that reliable if they don't eat it all.
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Old 10-01-2017, 05:07 AM   #6
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

Just want to weigh in a little on the subject of diabetes and mixes. There's more evidence to suggest that removing peas and corn from the mix doesn't actually help the hammy. It doesn't make diabetes any worse as the sugar content on the tiny amount of peas and corn in a mix is so so low. All removing corn and peas from the mix does is make it a slightly more unbalanced diet xx
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Old 10-01-2017, 07:09 AM   #7
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

Quote:
Originally Posted by GhostsInSnow View Post
Just want to weigh in a little on the subject of diabetes and mixes. There's more evidence to suggest that removing peas and corn from the mix doesn't actually help the hammy. It doesn't make diabetes any worse as the sugar content on the tiny amount of peas and corn in a mix is so so low. All removing corn and peas from the mix does is make it a slightly more unbalanced diet xx
With my personal Ham, it does make a difference. If I remove the majority of Corn and Peas, her pee smells less strong and she drinks less. I've had Diabetic Hamsters before where it's made no noticable difference, but with her, it does
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Old 10-01-2017, 07:10 AM   #8
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
I think there are a couple of good mixes for a diabetic dwarf hamster. Zooplus sell Bunny Dwarf dream expert, and Rodipet sell a hybrid specific mix. Both are good quality mixes. Personally I think it is hard to get the balance right when mixing your own. But one of these might be a start. I believe some people use half a conventional mix and half their own.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/futter/5...id-junior.html

Bunny Dwarf HamsterDream Expert | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

I think those two are pretty good and you could add extras in a separate dish to supplement.

Any change of mix would need to be done gradually over a week or two

Hey! I don't order anything from Zooplus, so, just buying the food would cost a fortune for the Food + Postage and the Postage on Rodipet as well. I'd much rather make from scratch
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Old 10-01-2017, 07:34 AM   #9
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

Perhaps a corn and pea free homemade mix would work especially well for your individual hamster,but removing ingredients is still a bad idea regardless of the impact on urine odor.

It would require prep work,but that's the hardest part Some ingredients within a diet would need cooking(such as beans and legumes,I'd also cook certain grains like rice or brown rice if those are incorporated)but others could just be weighed out as needed.This way to make it easier you could have four or more bowls of weighed and measured shelf stable ingredients rather than having to take time to portion things out every single day or risk having an imbalanced mix throwing everything into one container.

Making food yourself is still an investment of time,money,and lots of patience.The option for a rotating diet with maximum nutrition and the potential for using only high quality pesticide free ingredients is definitely appealing though!I'd probably do so myself if I'd have the free time
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Old 10-01-2017, 11:13 PM   #10
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Default Re: Completely Homemade Hamster Mix?

There really is no need to make mixes on a daily basis Amity, it's just the same as buying a bag of commercial mix, I always give mine a good stir to mix it up each time I get some out but if they get a little more of something one day & something else the next it balances out over time.
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