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Old 02-25-2021, 07:54 AM   #1
Norah
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Question Dwarf Hamster Diet

Hello!
I'm soon going to be the owner of a dwarf hamster, and I am currently preparing myself for the new pet. The breeder of the dwarf hamster (Campbells dwarf) has given me a lot of information on how to care for a hamster in the right way. When it comes to feeding the hamster, she recommends mixing about 85% of dwarf hamster pellets (like Beaphare Care+) with 15% dog food (!) with a high content of protein. Is it normal to give dog food to a hamster? I've never heard of it before.
She also recommends not giving any type of seeds (except millet) or fruit because of a high risk that the hamster can develop diabetes if they eat food with too much fat and sugar. Do these advices seem good to you guys?
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Old 02-25-2021, 11:12 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Dwarf Hamster Diet

The diet you’ve been recommended really isn’t appropriate or healthy for any ham.
It’s important to give a diet which contains seeds, grains & other ingredients in the right proportions & with enough variety to allow foraging & natural feeding as well as being a form of enrichment for them so pellets are far from ideal & best avoided.
A good diet would be something like the Rodipet hybrid food or the bunny dream expert mix from Zooplus. There aren’t really any dwarf hamster mixes available in the UK.
A good mix like these will provide all the nutrients needed without any sugars or foods that aren’t good for diabetes prone species.
Most seeds are fine in moderation & extra seeds like flax can be given as a healthy treat.
Just avoid store bought sugary treats (including those with honey) & give veg rather than fruit.
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Old 02-26-2021, 05:10 PM   #3
Norah
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Default Re: Dwarf Hamster Diet

Thank you for your advice. Do the hamster food types you recommend have the right amount of protein in them? I'm not sure if they are availiable in Norway were I live though.

Another advice I got from the breeder was that the hamster always should have access to food, that the food bowl should always be full. I know that some people scatter feed the hamster, and only give the amount of food that the hamster will actually eat. I can imagine that if the hamster always have access to unlimited amounts of food, it will store a whole lot of food around their cage and only eat some of it?
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Old 02-26-2021, 11:37 PM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: Dwarf Hamster Diet

The Zooplus food is available in Norway here
Bunny Dverghamster-drom Expert | zooplus.no
I don’t think Rodipet ship to Norway though.
The protein is a little low for a young hamster but that is easily supplemented with extra foods like a few mealworms, a little dried chicken, cooked egg white or tofu, overall it’s a good mix though, I wouldn’t give dog food as a way of providing extra protein.
I agree food should always be available, some hoard more than others but it is important that they have enough food available to create a hoard as hoarding food is a natural instinct & behaviour for them.
If they have enough in the hoard & enough to actually eat they mostly just leave it where it is, just give an appropriate amount, either daily or give more every two or three days.
It is hard to monitor how much food is there if you scatter feed but they do like to forage for i, you can do both scatter a bit & put some in a bowl or hide it around the cage where you can more easily see what’s left.
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Old 02-27-2021, 01:11 AM   #5
Norah
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Default Re: Dwarf Hamster Diet

Thanks, I'll go ahead and order that food mix.
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