Russian Dwarf Hybrid Food in South Africa

[endearing little hammie]

Hello Hamster Central! I'm new here.

I have a question for South Africans on this forum:
Which daily seed mix do you feed your dwarf hamster? I have had my first hamster, a Russian Dwarf Hybrid named Cup Cake, for 2 months. She was 6 weeks old when I received her. Since owning her I have been feeding her Versele-Laga Mini Hamster Nature, but after reading some threads I think there may be better options . Unfortunately we don't have such a large variety available here, but I have seen Harry Hamster and Burgess nuggets (the Burgess seed mix is no longer available?) I do also feed her a bit of fresh vegetables every day.

Anyway, I would just like some advice please!

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to HC.
Congrats on getting Cup cake, sweet name!

I'm not really sure what's available where you are although I think it was discussed recently I can't really remember now but you're right thinking that the mix you currently use isn't a very good one, Harry Hamster can be fed to dwarf hams although not ideal & some of the pieces are a bit big, you an break them up a bit with a pestle & mortar if need be & the GA is fine.
If you can feed a mix rather than pellets it's far better for them so the new Burgess wouldn't be an ideal choice, they have unfortunately stopped making the old mix now.
Sorry I can't help more than that.

[endearing little hammie]

Thank you so much cypher! I really appreciate the warm welcome to Hamster Central! Thank you for your advice.

[alpacassei]

Congratulations on little Cup Cake!

Harry hamster is generally a good mix. Some dwarf hamsters won’t touch the large biscuit pieces unless they’re broken up but most will eat them( though they might not pouch them because of the size), and the protein can be a little low for a Russian Dwarf. It’s a good base mix though.

Since Burgess switched to pellets, I’ve been feeding Harry Hamster supplemented with millet, herb/flower mixes, and dried mealworms, shrimp, or chicken. Dried mealworms and shrimp can be found as bird feed, and freeze dried chicken pieces are usually sold as cat treats. Small amounts of plain cooked chicken can be fed as well.

[endearing little hammie]

Thank you so much for your advice alpacassei! I bought Harry Hamster today and broke up the large biscuit pieces like cypher suggested. I hand fed them to her to check if she liked them, and I think she did because she pouched them immediately.

Tomorrow I may look to buy her some mealworms, and I will look out for the other supplements you mentioned.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to me! I really love Hamster Central!