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AmityvilleHams · 05-03-2017, 07:22 AM

I wouldn't feed Oxbow or All Living Things at all.ALT has several dyes(including red 40 which is known to cause cancer),among other things.However,Petsmart has apparently started carrying Higgins Sunburst so with robos that would be an option to mix with another high quality food(Carefresh or Mazuri rat and mouse lab blocks,there aren't really any other good choices but Carefresh would be more species-friendly in terms of size).

For Higgins and Carefresh,it's two thirds Carefresh to one third Higgins.On its own it's just barely not good enough,but you can add flax seed as well as freeze dried(not cooked as cooked meat is far less nutritious)chicken or turkey or similar hamster safe meats.

As for teeth wearing,stay far away from Biscrok biscuits and other low quality biscuits.You need high quality all natural biscuits with no digest,derivatives,meat and bone meal of any sort,unspecified liver,or any other unspecified biproducts.The ingredients of course aside from that must be completely hamster safe(no BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin known to cause cancer,no artificial ingredients either,and none of the standard unsafe foods of course).I currently use Wet Noses which are an excellent choice for hamsters which aren't prone to diabetes including robos,and luckily those are dog friendly(no wheat or corn,so they can be shared with dogs too if you wanted!)but also come in small trial boxes at Petco.They just happen to be organic which is a bit of a bonus,and while that may not be essential it definitely helps

I'd stay away from Greenies as well,they really aren't that good for wearing down teeth and have fairly poor quality in general(not as bad as some,but still not worth using when there are tons of other perfectly safe options).

Order dog and cat treats that are hamster safe through Chewy when possible,as it does tend to be a lot cheaper than buying things in stores.They carry quite a few high quality products,and as long as you stick to safe ingredients and good brands(no Evanger's or Diamond for example)as well as consider dog suitability where applicable(mostly no corn or wheat as these two things are horrible for dogs and cats even if safe for hamsters,but again if the treats are strictly for hamsters and will not be given to dogs or cats you can have a little more wiggle room)you should be fine.

05-03-2017, 07:22 AM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Using oxbow pellets? I wouldn't feed Oxbow or All Living Things at all.ALT has several dyes(including red 40 which is known to cause cancer),among other things.However,Petsmart has apparently started carrying Higgins Sunburst so with robos that would be an option to mix with another high quality food(Carefresh or Mazuri rat and mouse lab blocks,there aren't really any other good choices but Carefresh would be more species-friendly in terms of size). For Higgins and Carefresh,it's two thirds Carefresh to one third Higgins.On its own it's just barely not good enough,but you can add flax seed as well as freeze dried(not cooked as cooked meat is far less nutritious)chicken or turkey or similar hamster safe meats. As for teeth wearing,stay far away from Biscrok biscuits and other low quality biscuits.You need high quality all natural biscuits with no digest,derivatives,meat and bone meal of any sort,unspecified liver,or any other unspecified biproducts.The ingredients of course aside from that must be completely hamster safe(no BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin known to cause cancer,no artificial ingredients either,and none of the standard unsafe foods of course).I currently use Wet Noses which are an excellent choice for hamsters which aren't prone to diabetes including robos,and luckily those are dog friendly(no wheat or corn,so they can be shared with dogs too if you wanted!)but also come in small trial boxes at Petco.They just happen to be organic which is a bit of a bonus,and while that may not be essential it definitely helps I'd stay away from Greenies as well,they really aren't that good for wearing down teeth and have fairly poor quality in general(not as bad as some,but still not worth using when there are tons of other perfectly safe options). Order dog and cat treats that are hamster safe through Chewy when possible,as it does tend to be a lot cheaper than buying things in stores.They carry quite a few high quality products,and as long as you stick to safe ingredients and good brands(no Evanger's or Diamond for example)as well as consider dog suitability where applicable(mostly no corn or wheat as these two things are horrible for dogs and cats even if safe for hamsters,but again if the treats are strictly for hamsters and will not be given to dogs or cats you can have a little more wiggle room)you should be fine.