Final diet check

[Black_Inky_Eyes]

So after weeks of research, I'm finally getting my hamster in a few days time. Whoo!

This thread is just a checkup to see if my hamster's diet is okay and as always I'm open to suggestions as I'm going to a local pet shop which has a Syrian that's up for adoption. I'll be feeding it the mix three tablespoons around 2-3 times a week.

-the main mix is Harry Hamster (18% protein: 6% fat: 6% fibre) and I will be using a food bowl
-1/2tsp of flax seeds scattered around the cage for foraging (fed same time as Harry Hamster)
-pinch of Brewers Yeast sprinkled over mix once a week
-A Whimzees toothbrush (small) in the cage at all times
-Mealworm fed every time mix is renewed
-Two roasted monkey nuts a week for a puzzle toy
-a treat (complete crock, yoghurt drop, pumpkin seed, Rotastack yummy fruity shapes) fed once a day
-Fresh fruit/veggie fed daily

[mangoandmimi]

It’s fine, personally I’d be looking into better mixes than Harry hamster as it isn’t the best but if you can’t then not to worry. I’d also ditch the yoghurt drops or anything by rotastak or similar companies - they’re really high in sugar and there aren’t any benefits of feeding them. Seeds & nuts as treats are fine and much healthier.

[Black_Inky_Eyes]

Okay, thanks! Good to know, I think I'll pick up some black sunflower seeds. These any good? I'm trying to look for seeds/nuts that are large and that I can feed in my hands and fingers rather than laying some seeds out on my palm as the hamster probably won't do that until its tame.

[cypher]

Black/white/striped sunflower seeds are all good, you could use pumpkin seeds for hand taming too, you can take some of these out of the mix if you don't want to overdo the amount of seeds your ham has, you could also try pieces of veg for hand taming, when you ham is new to veg especially this is a real treat! You could also use small pieces of nut or something like dried chicken.

[Black_Inky_Eyes]

I seem to have forgotten something. I'm also going to be scattering some herb mix for foraging. Are the Naturals Rosewood Herb Plus Small Animal Treat 500g or the Rosewood Boredom Breaker Natural Treat Natures Salad okay or are these too high in sugars too?

I'm unsure how often I'll be feeding this so any info on quantity will be appreciated too

[Pebbles82]

All sounds good as per first post I would also use pumpkin seeds as well as sunflower seeds. I get the sunflower seeds from the supermarket which seem to be hearts and no skin outside. I get pumpkin seeds from the supermarket too! Sold with human snack/foraging or on the baking goods counter.

I would stay off the herb mix and natures treat salad - hamster probably wouldn't be interested in the herb mix - the nature salad is a bit iffy. I sometimes get the rosewood little hearts (biscuits) as taming treats, or I get dried coconut flakes from health food store. You'd be as well just scattering a bit of the main food mix, as well as putting it in the bowl.

[mangoandmimi]

Herbs are good - some hamsters like them but either way they make foraging for food a lot more interesting. I like JR farm more than rosewood for those, there are some on amazon. They smell really nice too. I always have them in the cage and just top up whenever really.

[alpacassei]

Herb/flower mixes are good but my Syrians don’t show much interest in them, my Russians love them though! You can add dried herbs and flowers to the cage as enrichment in the same way you’d add hay though

[Pebbles82]

Our Syrians hate herbs ha ha. I did used to sprinkle 5 or 6 marigold petals and 3 or 4 cornflower heads (dried ones) but those got ignored too. I think they can smell a bit too herby for them. But hamsters vary.

[cypher]

No idea about Syrians but both my Russians & Chineseys get quite excited by their flowers, herbs & leaves & enjoy having a nibble on them.