Good Hamster mix from Rat Rations?

[RubyDG]

I have recently gotten some rats and am buying their food from the Rat Rations site. I usually get my Syrian hamster Axel the Rodipet mix but he doesn't seem overly fond of it and tends to leave a fair amount, my previous hamster Spike loved the Rodipet mix and ate it all . Since I'm ordering from Rat Rations anyway I'm wondering if anyone has used any of the hamster mix on there and if it's any good? The syrian mix is listed as only supplementary so I would be looking at Lavender's Hamster mix I think.

Axel gets a small piece of veg most nights plus Science Selective pellets in addition to his mix, I also add some flaxseed in. Plus his much loved mealworms now and then and occasional treats. I've tried reducing the amount he gets to encourage him to eat everything but he's a stubborn wee soul and only eats what he likes. I am not super concerned as he is eating his Science Selective pellets but I would prefer he had a mix as well .

[cypher]

I've never used the syrian mix from ratrations but I did use the dwarf mix at one time & the hams liked it although I used it in a combination of mixes not on it's own, I think they added the supplementary bit a while ago because the mixes don't contain any added vitamins like other commercial mixes do, not entirely sure that's why but it is a relatively recent change. So if you went with the ratrations mix then you might want to add in a supplement, I use Dr. Squiggles tiny animal essentials from ratrations.
I think the ratrations own mix has more variety & is less dependant on the dog kibble than Lavenders, personally I'm not too keen on mixes that rely too much on dog kibble.
I wouldn't go for the Mr.Johnsons mix as I'm very wary of the verm x being in a ham food, it's impossible to find all the ingredients but some of the ones I have found are in my opinion unsuitable for hams, it was originally made for horses!

[Pebbles82]

I am using the Rodipet syrian mix, half and half with the Bunny dream mix and some dried elderberries mixed in. Proportion is two mugfulls each of each mix and a dessertspoonfull of dried elderberries. Newt also tends to leave a lot of the very small seeds and herbs but he takes the rest. Both mixes have lots of small itty bits, but larger pieces as well. I'm also supplementing the protein as both mixes only have about 15%.

I would only want to use a tried and tested good quality mix I think. I was a bit concerned about the amount of small bits left by Newt initially, but he seems very well and healthy and it's probably no more left than with Harry Hamster - just the pieces are smaller.

I find the combination of the two is better than just the Bunny Dream on its own as the Rodipet mix has more larger pieces.

I like that neither have soya in. At least I think the Rodipet mix doesn't have soya as it's not listed.

I'm supplementing the protein with nuts and a weekly small piece of cheese and occasional piece of freeze dried chicken. I had to give up on giving fresh cooked meat to Newt as he pouches it and then I have to root around his nest trying to find it! Which of course he doesn't like. So I got some freeze dried chicken.

The elderberries also have protein (got those from Rodipet too) and vitamins and good for the immune system.

Newt has been on that for a couple of months or more and is a good weight and healthy and although a bit picky, not that much is left behind.

Personally I would be a bit wary of using a mix without the added nutrients. The Bunny Dream mix has the added nutrients.

[RubyDG]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I've been racking my poor brain trying to think of how to change things for Axel. I got into a set 'diet plan' with Spike but Axel likes different things, he loves his mealworms for example so it's always easy for me to add in some extra protein.

Cypher - I'm thinking about getting the Rat Rations Syrian mix and then adding the supplement you suggested but am not sure about what the dosage would be and how to give it? Axel drinks out of a water bowl so I wouldn't be able to put it in a bottle.

Serendipity - I looked at the Bunny Hamster Dream mix but the only place I can find it is Zooplus. With delivery it will be £9 plus then having to buy Rodipet mix (I usually buy through amazon as it works out cheaper than the horrendous delivery costs directly from Rodipet). Could you tell me where you get the Bunny Dream Hamster mix from?

At this point I just feel like I need to try something different with Axel but I want to make sure he's getting what he needs from a nutritional standpoint. I'm also not terribly keen on soya in mixes

[cypher]

The supplement is very easy to use Ruby, it's just a pinch (teeny bit!) daily, I usually put it on their veg so it sticks & gets eaten, I wouldn't put it in water, I never put anything in water as you can't give anything like an exact amount, you could just sprinkle it on dry mix too. Mine seem to like it so it must be palatable!

You can only get the Bunny Hamster Dream mix from Zooplus I don't think anywhere else in the UK sells it.

[Pebbles82]

I didn't realise it cost that much with postage - I bought it at the same time as some other things. I suppose buying in bulk would reduce the cost in postage maybe.

I think for Syrians there is only really Harry Hamster, Burgess, the Rodipet Mix or Bunny Dream. I'm not keen on all the itty bits in the last 3 but it mostly gets eaten and keeps them healthy. I prefer Harry Hamster but also wanted to go soya free this time.

[Lilac_Dreams]

I used the Lavender Mix for a time, now that I don't have rats I can't justify paying the postage for it so I no longer use it. It's got quite chunky biscuits in so a lot goes to waste with that one.

I know a few NHC Breeders use the Mr. Johnson's one mixed with stuff like Cat Biscuits, etc. And that went down really well with my lot.

[AmityvilleHams]

I don't think that Harry Hamster is an ideal food anyways,as it does contain artificial dyes(not labelled clearly but still proven).I'd just go with regular Burgess Hamster Harvest.Other food such as certain Bunny formulas(not the Dwarf Hamster DreamExpert which is good)have "animal" fat(no way to know the source therefore unsafe and could be any possible quality so I don't think it should be an ingredient for any pet along with digest,derivatives,meat and bone meal,etc),or in the case of the supplement mentioned it has vitamin K(likely the synthetic form which is known to cause health problems and is not identical to the natural vitamin K which would actually be safe).

As far as soy in mixes go,it is controversial but it isn't the worst ingredient either.It would be much worse to have something like synthetic vitamin K(aka menadione),artificial dyes or other artificial ingredients,vague biproducts(digest,derivatives,etc),or harmful preservatives(BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin)or additives like propylene glycol and sulfur dioxide.

[RubyDG]

So I ended up ordering the Syrian Mix from Rat Rations plus the supplement. I'll see how Lord McFluffypants likes it, I figure I'll try this first and switch to something else if I feel it's not working.