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Old 06-13-2019, 06:11 AM   #1
lucyhope
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Join Date: May 2019
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Question Beginner feeling totally overwhelmed!

Hello,
I'm looking to be getting my hamster in August, I'm now leaning towards a robo. I'm trying to plan what on earth I'm going to feed them, but I don't know where to begin.
My current thought is to feed a diet that consists of some pelleted or muesli mix; some seed mix such as the ratrations mix or bird seed; fresh greens and veg; dried proteins (mealworms, dried chicken cat treats, dried shrimp etc); and some fresh stuff like egg, chicken, sprouted seeds or yoghurt if I have it around.
This just seems like an awful lot to balance and still come out with the recommended percentages. I'm comfortable with maths and have a fairly basic understanding of nutrition, but I could calculate protein percentages etc of all this food in total but that would require me to weigh everything I'm feeding which seems massively inconvenient.
I'm tempted by the idea of picking out filler from a store mix but surely that's where most of the fibre and roughage is?
I live in the UK but am reasonably happy to import things if necessary, this just feels like quite a lot to deal with and it seems that there is no correct answer.
I wonder what the simplest, safe thing to start with is and then I'll make improvements from there.
I'm used to keeping Guinea pigs so I have the formula of a mix plus hay plus fresh food plus water plus treats in my head and was wondering if there's a similar thing I can keep in mind.
A lot of the masterlists seem outdated, for example the science selective (I think) has changed its formula now? It's very confusing.

Thank you for any help.
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Old 06-13-2019, 08:36 AM   #2
alpacassei
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Default Re: Beginner feeling totally overwhelmed!

I highly recommend the Rodipet dwarf mixes! They’re more expensive than UK mixes but more cost efficient than creating a homemade mix and you dont need to worry about getting the levels right (which can be difficult).

Hamsters dont need pellets, and bird seed is also not an appropriate diet. I’d stick with the rodipet dwarf mix with an added mealworm or shrimp wach day, fresh veggies, and dried flower or herb mixes for foraging.
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Old 06-13-2019, 01:15 PM   #3
Willow_1029
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Default Re: Beginner feeling totally overwhelmed!

Of course every hamster is different and will dislike and like differnt foods but here is what I feed my hamsters :
I feed dry food every 3 days which consists of - Harry hamster mix, this is from pets at home for only about £2 I think.
2 or 3 mealworms/shrimps , I got a bag of mealworms and shrimps from the bird section of pets at home for £2
1 monkey nut in its shell( this provides extra inrichment as the hamster has to break the shell)
1 plain dog biscuit

I also give fruit/veggies once a week but you can do it 2-3 times a week - the veg I give them really depends on what we have at the time but some things I give them often are : kale,broccoli, carrots( small amounts) parsley, spring greens, pepper, strawberries (small amounts).

I also give them treats such as cheese, unflavoured popcorn,boiled egg, cooked chicken. But this is only when I have these things available if I’m eating them.

I hope this helps !
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Old 06-13-2019, 01:38 PM   #4
Shannonmcn
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Default Re: Beginner feeling totally overwhelmed!

Harry Hamster is a decent mix. Basic, easily available. So you could start there. Or yes the rodipet mixes have an excellent rep. I mix a big of Harry Hamster with a bag of the syrian bunny dream (pieces too small to really feed on its own) with one tube of thrive freeze dried chicken and I can't remember exactly what the GA is but I did calculate it and it's fine. That's all weighed and in a box and then everything else on top of that is surplus. So I don't calculate anything I consider a treat or any fresh veg. I deal with my own diet the same way tbh.

You're correct that you shouldn't pick things out of commercial mixes or all your numbers are useless. If you're determined to have them get the Perfect Balance you don't feed more until they eat the bits they like the least. Some people get very concerned with the Perfect Balance and I get that a good diet is important but... Every ham is different anyway, I don't believe every ham is going to do best on the same nutrient %s, they will still feed selectively to an extent no matter how tough love you get and getting a mix that's good for them that they'll eat, that's affordable and convenient and reliably available is a lot of variables. It's never going to line up perfectly so try not to get too stressed! Perfect is the enemy of the good!
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