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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
Diet issues tend to bring up conflicting views sometimes! I think on here it has been mentioned before the Oxbow should be a supplement rather than a main food and that protein needs supplementing a bit in Harry Hamster. I think it's Hazel Hamster in the US. In the Uk it's recommended by the NHC as having all the nutrients required. It has had a slight formula change recently and the protein is a bit lower, so protein does need supplementing a bit. We usually recommend supplementing with fresh food such as plain cooked chicken, the occasional piece of cheese or nuts, and other fresh food, plus fresh veg.
I give our Syrian some fruits from the safe list in moderation, but I thought it was not recommended for diabetic hamsters. Cypher or Souffle probably knows more about that. Souffle has been breeding hamsters for many years.
Useful info about US mixes there, as people often ask what to feed in the US. I think it's generally agreed that hamsters need variety and not an all-in-one feed, but some members have had hamsters who do better with an all-in-one feed like Science Selective.
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A lot of the not so good but highly recommended diets such as Carefresh Complete Menu have those pellets.Not sure if Higgins does,but I'll be finding out in a few months.Of course,if your absolute only option is Carefresh Complete Menu or a diet that does have the little pellets it is wise not to remove them just for the sake of not messing with minerals and fiber and such.
I think it's very hard to figure things out when you're in the UK and someone from the US needs diet help,but overall it is extremely confusing.I'll probably be able to offer more information on the ingredients that are entirely up to date for the Higgins mix,same with Mazuri,and just give an overall opinion on them but it's an extremely good mix that offers tons of benefits.
All-in-one feeds generally provide only half the benefits of a combined diet,but that being said I would say that the primary diet is a good quality mix with a lab block or high quality pellet as a nutrient supplement with those two combining to make up about 80-90% of the total diet.I'm personally not fond of the all-in-one diets for their lack of variety and how unnatural they are though.
As for fruits,there is absolutely nothing wrong with using them as a treat in moderation.Everything must be fed in moderation and as long as someone uses common sense there is no problem feeding small amounts of fruit to a dwarf hamster that is diabetic or is a species that is diabetes prone.Like with rabbits and guinea pigs I would view it as more of a special treat though to get fruit,as far as dwarf species are concerned.You can generally be more lenient with Syrians though,but that is no excuse for loads of unhealthy foods or way more fruit than necessary!