I first started mixing hamster food about 13 years ago. Back then, I would simply mix together several commercial rodent mixes of the best quality I could find. A few years ago, I decided to try mixing more single ingredients. There are several aspects during food mixing that I took into consideration. They are: quality, balance, variety, and practicality. It had to be good quality ingredients that were good for the hamsters, but not break the bank.
First, I'll share the mix I've formulated. Then, I'd like to tell you a bit about it and why it is the way it is.
"Happy Hammy Hamster Food"
Ingredients: Grass Pellets (dehydrated alfalfa meal, processed grain by-products, roughage products, molasses products, vitamins, minerals, soybean oil, preservative), Wheat, Lentils, Seed Mix (milo, corn, millet, sunflower seeds, calcium carbonate), Green Peas, Barley, Oats, Brown Rice, Black-Eyed Peas, Chick Peas, Seed Mix (safflower seed, flax seed, red and white millet, canary thistle, vegetable oils, diatomaceous earth [mold inhibitor]), Seed Mix (white millet, niger seed, canary grass seed, finch millet, red millet, sunflower chips, flax seed, calcium carbonate), Kibble (chicken, chicken meal, peas, potato, poultry fat, carrot, celery, beet, parsley, lettuce, watercress, spinach, turkey meal, flax seed, tapioca, fish oil, vitamins, minerals), Edamame, Quinoa, Mealworms, Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, Walnuts, Chia Seeds.
Guaranteed Analysis: Protein - 18% Fat - 6.5% Fiber - 15.2%
Firstly, I know that having grass pellets at the beginning make it look horrendous. I actually didn't just add those for filler to make it cheaper, but I did add it for...filler. By which I mean, fiber. The reason the fiber content in this mix is so high is because of those grass pellets. It's certainly not the best quality item ever, but it does have added vitamins, and I do think hamsters need more fiber. I've seen them turn their nose up at fruit and root vegetables and in the same day mow down some grass (and even bark!). They go crazy for fresh grass and other fresh fibrous items (like kale), so I purposefully put a lot of them in there. The only thing that would make the mix better is if I got better quality grass pellets...but I think the quality of the rest of the mix evens things out. What do you think?
Beyond that, this is a compilation of the best quality items I can find easily and for a good price. I could vary the diet a bit further, but most other items I can find are similar to one that is already present, and usually more expensive.
I hope you guys like the guaranteed analysis. I started my proportions with some...educated, experienced guesstimation?
Then with a little bit of tweaking, I came to these percentages. I
Lastly, the price of this mix per pound is $1.25. Here's a pic. Would you feed this to your hamster? Or is it terrible?
