A few questions before getting a hamster

yandere · 03-16-2016, 08:07 PM

So I think I finally convinced my parents to let me get a hamster

But I still have a few questions..

We have no good hamster food where I live, I'm thinking about buying Harry Hamster food off Viovet but my parents are kinda turned off by the idea of online shopping. What should I do if my parents say no to buying food online?

I live in the middle of nowhere so my house runs on well water. Would it be okay for my hamster to drink it? My cats drink it and don't have never had any problems associated with it.

We have a boxelder tree in our backyard and therefore we have a lot of boxelder bugs wandering around our house. I'm wondering if it would be okay if one got into my hamster's cage and the hamster ended up eating it (Which is very plausible knowing some of the places I've found them). They are not poisonous and don't bite, the most they'll do in reaction is flare up their wings (They do this when they're angry) and try to fly away. My cats often eat these and don't get sick from them.

Thanks, I hope I don't sound too paranoid

xbuttons94 · 03-16-2016, 10:24 PM

Hi

There are some threads on here that I have seen aboout making your own hamster mix so if you are unable to shop online then they might help. I'm not sure about well water, someone else might be able to answer that. If they can't have it then some bottled water might be okay. If the well water is safe for drinking then it should be okay but again I'm not sure. Also, feeding hamsters bugs from outside should be avoided. They could carry something harmful as you don't know where they have been. Dried meal worms are great and the risk of the meal worm biting the hamster is 0. I hope this helped

AmityvilleHams · 03-16-2016, 10:35 PM

Well water can contain sulfur and other not so nice things,so I would suggest trying to buy gallons of purified drinking water instead which can be fairly cheap.If you have very small bar spacing such as 1/4 of an inch,bugs shouldn't be a huge issue but overall I would strongly recommend taking precautions against the hamster eating bugs from outside as they can contain many different pesticides and chemicals and internal parasites.Hopefully someone else can help with good Canadian hamster food options,but for now take a look around Walmart's website since you might be able to find something and also I can share some links to prove that even Canada can get Mazuri!

https://www.amazon.ca/Mazuri-Nutrion...eywords=Mazuri
and you can also mix that in a 60/40 ratio with the following link for a really good diet
https://www.amazon.ca/Higgins-Sunbur...ter+and+gerbil

So if anyone says those foods are unavailable in Canada,they are wrong.

yandere · 03-17-2016, 08:39 AM

Ok, thank you both for explaining, it helps a lot!

**Cinnamon Bear** · 03-17-2016, 08:58 AM

I can't stand bugs! I have minor pesticides problem when the weather gets warmer. That's one good thing about the winter where I live, no bugs! I would go for the bottled water too! There can be dreaded spiders in my place so I don't know if that's much better?
Bug problems can be a nightmare!