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Old 07-11-2019, 11:49 AM   #1
NewHamOwner
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
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Question Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

Okay so I just got my first hamster a couple weeks ago. She’s a winter white dwarf and they didn’t know her exact age but said all the hamsters were around 2 to 3 months. At first I bought the VitaKraft VitaSmart complete nutrition. She didn’t seem to like this very much and was also picking through it and only eating certain pieces of the food mix. I returned it and bought the All Living Things Power Of 5 pellets for hamsters/gerbils. The pet store was feeding her Kaytee pellets which looks pretty similar to the pellets I’m feeding her now. I also thought this would be better because she wouldn’t pick through it since they’re all the same instead of a mix. I’m not sure what’s good and what’s not. But she seems like she dislikes this food even more than the vitakraft. She does eat it but it seems like she’s only eating it when she absolutely has to, and then she only takes a few nibbles. I give her treats every now and then like a few little pieces of lettuce or cabbage (which she LOVES) and I’ve given her a blueberry or a piece of mango (not all at once obviously) and I think it’s making the problem worse because it seems like she’ll wait for me to bring her a treat instead of eating her food. From now on I’m not going to give her any fruit at all besides a super small piece every once in awhile like once a month or something. I’ve given her a few pumpkin seeds which she likes too. I also have the vitakraft strawberry drops and i give her one or two a week, at first I gave her like once a day but I’ve cut back on giving them because the first ingredient is sugar and I know that’s bad for hams. Besides that, I have the Wild Harvest Mini Treat Sticks (honey flavored.) It came with 4 mini sticks and I break one stick in half and leave it in her cage. She absolutely loves these as well. But these have positives and negatives. The positives are that
-she gets nutrients from them
-she likes them
-provide some entertainment
-she won’t chew on wood (I’ve tried multiple different kinds of chews for her. She just doesn’t want them.) so these help because I know they need to chew stuff to keep their teeth worn down and since they’re so solid she has to chew at it for awhile to get the seeds off.
But the negatives:
-it doesn’t provide all the nutrients she needs for a complete/healthy diet, so I’m worried that she will choose to only eat these since she seems not to care for her actual food.
-they have sugar in them and I’ve seen a few people say these aren’t good for your hams. But besides the honey/sugar, they have different kinds of seeds including sunflower seeds so I don’t see why these would be real bad??

So my questions are:
-What do you recommend to feed my winter white dwarf hammy?? I’m looking for something that is healthy and provides all the necessary nutrients and vitamins/minerals that she needs, but also that she is going to enjoy. Also something preferably affordable. I do think she enjoys mixes more than pellets but I don’t want to enforce her habit of picking through and only taking the good stuff because then she’s not getting all the needed nutrients. I also don’t make much money so I prefer something under 20 dollars.
-Does anyone know anything about the wild harvest treat sticks?? Are they fine for her to have in her cage at all times, or should I only give them to her every now and then and if so, how often? Or are they that bad that I should toss them?
- how often can I feed her fresh vegetables? Does my hamster need to be eating other things everyday as well or will she be fine eating JUST the food in her bowl? I enjoy giving her other foods n treats and stuff, but if I did go a few days without giving her anything besides her pellets will she be okay or does she need to be fed vegetables and stuff everyday too?
-any recommendations on healthy but delicious treats to buy? As I’ve said I have the vitakraft strawberry drops and she literally LOVESSSSSS these but sadly those are only for “special occasions” or every once in a blue moon since they’re filled with sugar, so what are some treats I can buy for her that I can actually give her a few times a week or maybe even once a day, that she will love but don’t have sugar??
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Old 07-25-2019, 11:37 AM   #2
carrie strutt
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Talking Re: Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

Hi there!
I am a new dwarf winter white owner as well and I have just recently joined this community.
I have learn't a lot about them as I spend time with them every day and i watch them closely. The two that I bought we were told were females but after a year I caught them mating and ta da, we now have 5 babies, 4 girls, 1 boy.
I feed them a hamster & gerbil food made by a company called OXBOW. This is a nutritionally complete food for them, made with hand selected timothy hay, includes vitamins & minerals, has no seeds or fruits, no artificial Ingredients.
I also fed the mum before & after she gave birth some scrambled egg (she loves the yoke part) I gave her every day to give her protein to keep her strong as she is the best mum ever. I still feed her and the babies egg but only twice per week. If i were you, I'd throw away anything with sugar in and only feed her real fruit with natural sugar, like apple or carrot, cottage cheese, even small slice of chicken breast. Do research on the Internet, i learn a lot that way too.

Hope this helps. I'll post a pic or vid of my lovely lot soon, take care xxx
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Old 07-26-2019, 06:59 AM   #3
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

Hi. An all pellet diet is entirely inappropriate as a hamster food regardless of whether you supplement it here and there with a few seeds, bits of veg etc. At least the vast majority needs to be a seed mix with variety. They are foraging animals who thrive off variety. I really don’t like the argument that pellets are “nutritionally complete” as they are forced to eat them because that’s all there is - which doesn’t solve anything in the long run as it just makes them miserable. A large part of their enrichment and purpose is to find and collect food, deshell it etc so it is essential to find a food that they like and thrive on.

That rules out Oxbow too Carrie, there is also too much grassy materials in there (on top of the fact that they are pellets) so it really isn’t a good food at all.

So a food mix with enough variety is the way to go and ensure it has enough protein by adding insects (can be dried) such as mealworms, crickets, shrimp. I don’t know too much about food mixes as I assume you are in the US - but look at Higgins Sunburst or Vita Garden. The latter has less variety but also less in the way of sugar as they’ve cut out the dried fruits and stuff in there. I don’t advise feeding fruits to hybrids so would be inclined to try Vita Garden myself, and supplement with healthy treats.

Healthy treats are great, not yoghurt drops or anything filled with sugar/fat. There are plenty of seeds - sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, linseed etc. Also nuts - walnuts, Brazil, cashews, peanuts in the shell, hazelnuts. Those go down just as well if not better than the store bought treats.

Some chew sticks are ok once in a while but I would stay clear of the ones with lots of sugar or bound by honey and filled with fruit. I’m not sure what you can get but really with a good seed mix, their teeth should remain more or less ok so I wouldn’t worry too much about keeping them down. Like I said nuts in shells also help with teeth so give those a go. Can you get whimzees dog chews? I like the small alligators for dwarfs and they tend to love them - again good for the teeth.
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Old 07-26-2019, 12:55 PM   #4
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

I would use Vita Garden and stay away from Sunburst. It's loaded with fruit which isn't very natural to a hamster's diet, and has the bonus of being versatile enough to actually be dwarf appropriate too(even diabetes prone species).

Whimzees as mentioned are a great chew option, they even come in smaller sizes than the alligators so you would be able to get more for the amount you spend on them. I'm not sure if Petsmart has done it since, but they at one point had small packs of the alligators and other Whimzees chews on sale for a low price so I would check Petsmart if you can to see if you might find a good deal on smaller packs.

Stay away from the seed sticks. They're not healthy in general, and even the better ones out there pretty much always have some form of added sugar which is not okay for diabetic prone species. Whimzees are great for the teeth anyways without all the added junk food, and they can be very cute shapes too!
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Old 07-27-2019, 03:32 PM   #5
carrie strutt
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Red face Re: Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

Well thank you for the help guys Great information and I must admit my hammies definitely look bored with the pellets and i do feed them almond and brazil nuts, scrambled egg twice per week and pumpkin seeds, organic of course
I will look at other sources that you mentioned. At the end of the day, we only want whats best for our fur babies and the more valid information the better we can help them live a longer healthier life
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Old 07-27-2019, 03:47 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Having issues with food, what should I feed her?

As the others say - just use a good mix (the Vita Garden seems recommended in the US). Hammies do tend to pick bits out and leave quite a bit, so don't worry about that. They don't eat very large amounts and most of what they take is hoarded - and they then eat from their hoards usually. Our syrian is the same but has been healthy. Supplementing with fresh food (ie a piece of daily veg and extra protein treats like half a walnut or half a brazil nut - shelled) will help ensure the nutrients.

But sometimes they just don't like a mix. Personally I think Harry or Hazel Hamster (both are identical contents even though labelled differently - Harry is Uk labelling, Hazel is US labelling) - are an option for a hybrid dwarf hamster - if the hamster likes it - and many do. It is one of the few sugar free mixes. The pieces are more syrian sized but dwarf hamsters can enjoy it too. It contains all the protein and vitamins needed. So it's a simple option if your hammy likes it and you can give fresh veg daily too (just a tiny piece - thumbnail sized). And pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, the odd nut etc, as treats - they love those too.

Although your hammy is a winter white, she will almost certainly be a hybrid and not pure winter white (unless you got her from a breeder who knew the genetics). Hybrid dwarf hamsters are part Winter White and part Russian campbell and these two species have been interbred for a very long time. The hamster may look like a winter white but will be a hybrid of both species.

They are lovely little pets - but do have a predisposition to getting diabetes. So diet is important and it is best to avoid sugar in the diet - to try and help prevent any diabetes. That includes fruit really and no yoghurt drops or honey sticks either.

Very occasionally, maybe once every couple of months eg, a blueberry as a special treat is probably ok. But there are plenty of non sugary treats, and as you say, they love any fresh food.

So you'd be looking at

1) A good basic hamster mix/muesli - for variety and to give the nutrients and vitamins.
2) A tiny piece of fresh veg daily - broccoli, cucumber, carrot are all fine - they also all keep well in the fridge so you don't have to buy too often or waste too much. Cabbage and lettuce aren't really recommended. Some people think they're ok occasionally - I just don't give them as there are plenty of other veg.
3) If the mix is low on protein (they need about 18%) then you can supplement that with fresh food too - nuts have protein or you can get freeze dried chicken. You can give them leftovers from your dinner (eg a tiny bit of roast chicken or beef) but only plain cooked meat - no gravies or sauces. Or a tiny bit of scrambled egg on a teaspoon.

If you get the Harry Hamster you don't need to supplement the protein so can just give that, a bit of fresh veg each day and the occasional healthy treat.

As mentioned by others, whimzees are good chews - also sugar free and vegetable based. The mini toothbrushes are popular here. You can stick sunflower seeds in the bristles so they have fun getting the seeds out.

I've yet to meet a hamster who likes chewing wood chews! Although they will sometimes chew at wood that isn't intended for chewing! eg a wheel or their house.
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