Moving and food

pinkneon · 06-18-2016, 04:58 PM

Am FINALLY moving! It's happening quicker than we thought because my daughter is coming back to live with me and that can't happen until I have somewhere to live! Don't have a date yet, but should hopefully be before the end of Sepetember
So I have some questions ...

1) What is going to be the best way to move Sweep? It's just over 2 hours from here to there but will probably move over a couple of days - would I be better moving him on the first day and then just feeding him over the next few days I am moving to give him time to settle in? Or move him last of all? There shouldn't need to be any painting done except maybe my daughter's bedroom, but if there is it will be done before the moving!
2) I don't want to stress Sweep out, but am wondering whether a move that far will stress him a lot? I mean, he will firstly have to travel 2 hours in his carrier, then get used to a new place, and then get used to the sounds of a child in the house! Because no place has been confirmed yet (have several options) I am not sure exactly where his cage will be going, but most likely in the living room. One of the houses has quite big bedrooms so if we go there he can stay in my room
3) This question is to do with food ... Sweep is fed Harry Hamster and Science Selective. However, my daughter has a nut allergy so this will need to change. Ideally I'd liketo start switching him ASAP so that once we have moved he is used to the food. But what food can he can have that doesn't contain nuts? I must say that just removing the nuts from the Harry Hamster will NOT be enough for my daughter's allergy which is why he needs to be switched over completely
4) Treats are going to be affected. He's not going to like that he won't get walnuts, but what will he be able to have that keep his protein levels high enough without including any type of nut? I rarely eat chicken, and don't eat any other meat!

Pebbles82 · 06-19-2016, 01:12 AM

That sounds exciting! Woo hoo. I think some people recommend moving the hamster first and putting the cage in a quiet room in the new place that will be the last place to have stuff moved into and unpacked, while all the upheaval is going on. When I thought about it I thought maybe leaving him where he was until the last minute might work better because he would be better being in the same place as us wherever we are and with us around after his change of location.

It maybe depends on how the move takes place. If it's all going to be done over a couple of days I'd say move Sweep last. Get everything set up so you know where his cage is going to be and can just move it there.

If you're having say, a couple of weeks of changeover, where you are doing up the new places and moving in gradually, then again he's probably best staying where he is until the day of moving in fully.

But if it's going to be - pack up and move over one day or a couple of days, then maybe move him first, put the cage somewhere quiet where there won't be lots of coming and going (eg your bedroom). Have all the upheaval at both houses in that short space of time while he is quiet somewhere.

I think personally I would move a hamster last of all and leave his cage in a familiar position and in the place where I was sleeping so I could keep up a normal routine with him at night. If it's 2 hours away, then the journey with him might be best done after everything else is done.

The food thing sounds a bit tricky but not impossible, just something to organise. I think Science selective would be the way to go. However, I just looked on my pack, and like so many products it says "may contain traces of nuts". I think they say that to cover themselves, so not sure if you think this is an issue or not. Just about every commercial product would say that. If you think Science Selective is ok, you could supplement with fresh food and extras for variety. If it is an issue I think the only thing to do would be make your own hamster mix, which would be a bit time consuming. Oxbow Essentials doesn't say "may contain traces" of nuts, but it is not sold in the Uk and is a US product (if you buy it in the Uk it's an American import) so it may just be that their regulations don't mean they have to say "may contain traces of nuts".

I doubt that Science selective would be a problem. As for walnuts - that's nothing really - there are plenty of treats Sweep could have instead.

As with most of these dietary allergy things, the easiest way usually is to avoid buying processed food and packs of food and just buy fresh food and cook things yourself - then you know what's in them. Meat and two veg or fish and two veg are fairly safe.

I'll have a think about the Hamster mix (or someone else might have a suggestion) as making your own could be an expensive and time consuming business and difficult to get right possibly.

Pebbles82 · 06-19-2016, 01:19 AM

Different countries have different legislation for what they have to put on food packets re ingredients. In the Uk they have to put "may contain traces of nuts" or "may have been produced in a factory where nuts may be present" or similar. I don't know if this is really an issue or just to avoid being sued. But other countries may not have such stringent requirements for labelling, so buying a German or US food might not mean it is free from nuts even if they're not stated on the packaging. Even if Oxobow is entirely nut free, Charlie didn't like it (and I suspect my moth problem came from that pack! So if you did get some, freeze it!)

As he already has some Science selective (and most of them seem to like it) that would be the best solution to make sure he gets all his nutrients and there are no nuts. If you think the "may contain traces of nuts" isn't an issue.

Pebbles82 · 06-19-2016, 01:22 AM

As an aside, there is a very good allergy testing clinic at Guy's hospital in London where they can test for every single nut. It may be that she is allergic to some but not all of them. It's the only place in the country where they can do the latest allergy testing (I had to go there a couple of years ago to be tested for anaesthetics). It's NHS and free but the waiting list can be a few months and you need a GP referral (or a referral from a current specialist).

pinkneon · 06-19-2016, 01:23 AM

Thanks. Will take a look into the Science Selective

Pebbles82 · 06-19-2016, 01:44 AM

In this blog someone made up a peanut free mix for her daugher who has a peanut allergy. Although it is just peanut free, it could be useful or slightly adapted. Interesting that they found a seed mix as a base that included vitamins and minerals, as that's the hard part about working out a mix.

Our Syrian Hamster Toffy & His Peanut Free Healthy Diet