Thoughts on Burgess Dwarf Hamster Harvest?

[MissBubblegum]

Hey everyone!

So I'm used to having Syrian hamsters, and while researching dwarf hamster diets I noticed a lot of people reccomending Burgess Dwarf food. But I noticed here people recommend other foods. Living so far north postage is usually a killer but I can get Burgess from my local pet shop.

So, is the Burgess as good as it seems? Or am I actually feeding something bad?

My girls are 2-3 months old. Roborovskies. I currently feed them daily, and they get a teaspoon of the Burgess, some extra meal worms to bulk up the protein and because of their age, and I break in half a vita craft vitamin pellet and add that.

Is this a good diet for them?

[MissBubblegum]

Oh and they get fresh veg too but i have no set routine with that, they get a bit of whatever's for dinner before I cook it, as long as its safe of course lol

[dave123791]

I wouldn't give them more than 3-4 mealworms per week. I feed my robos the Harry Hamster mix. It's really great and they love it. Much better than the pets at home mix. I have no experience with Burgess food so can't help with that.

Robos are not prone to diabetes like dwarfs so i would feed them the same food you fed your syrians with.

[JBH316]

My 2 robos and my hybrid are fed on the dwarf hamster harvest. My 2 robos are tiny (both runts of their litters) and I found they struggled with the Harry Hamster when I tried them on it (I feed the syrians a mix of that and the normal burgess one).

All 3 love it and it also has mealworms in it so you should find that you don't need to supplement as much.

[MissBubblegum]

Ah, so I maybe over doing the meal worms? I will cut them down then, thanks!

My 2 are very small also, they do probably have a little more growing to go, but still small non the less. I thought the Burgess would be good as its smaller seeds so would be easier for them, because the harry/hazel hamster is quite large. Maybe I could mix the 2?

Since they are not diabetes prone would they be lacking anything by eating dwarf food? Are is it fine just less fatty/sugary bits?

[JBH316]

They shouldn't lack in anything as it is a complete food. You could certainly mix the 2 foods together and see how they get on with it.

[Munchalot]

I think it is a good food. :) Much better than most others on the market. Working in a pet shop, the two brands I always recommend are the Burgess SupaHamster and the Harry Hamster - both really good.

I feed my robo girl a mixture of both Burgess mixes (the normal one and the dwarf one) and she enjoys that. :) The normal Burgess doesn't have too big peices unlike the Harry Hamster, so she can still manage it. Plus it has banana and tasty things in it. ;) Its got good variety.

[racinghamster]

Hi MissBubblegum. Burgess used to label their normal mix as a `Syrian` mix, but they don`t anymore. Their `dwarf` hamster mix is basically Canary seed and nothing more! So my advice would be, feed the Burgess `normal` mix to your robos and just buy a bag of Canary mix from the pet shop and add a small amount into the Burgess for them to enjoy. :) Canary mix is a mixture of various millets and sometimes includes hemp seeds, which will add protein to their diet, just like the dry mealworms do. protein is essential for young hamsters. I have a male robo who will be three in August and I feed him all of the above.

Hope this helps. x

[MissBubblegum]

Thank you for the great advice! Lots of things to think about now! But I like the idea of the regular Burgess having more tasty treats in! Yum yum for dried banana, I love dried banana lol

[dave123791]

Yum yum for dried banana, I love dried banana lol

Who doesn't? ;)

[Silver]

* Disclaimer this is just my opinion *

I have a Robo. I feed her Burgess Dwarf Mix. The Mix is good & varied. The ingredients are:

Canary Seeds, Millet, Grass Pellets, Maize, Peas, Toasted Soya Flakes, Toasted Wheat Flakes, Sunflower Seeds, Meal Worms, Poultry Fat.

There are also vitamins & minerals added to make the mix a complete mix.

However

The vitamins & minerals are added to the long round grass pellets. I've yet to find a ham that will eat them so the ham does not get the added vits & minerals.

So

To combat this problem I also feed the Mr Johnson's Advanced Hamster & Gerbil Food:

Mr Johnson's Hamster & Gerbil FOOD (http://www.mrjohnsons.co.uk/mr-johnsons-advance-hamster--gerbil-food.htm)

These are small biscuits that are a complete food with all the vits & minerals needed to keep the ham healthy.

I add some of these to the burgess dwarf food & Rosey quickly pouches them when given them so because she is eating some of those & some burgess dwarf food then I know she is getting a more balanced diet than just the burgess mix alone.

Two things to note when buying the Burgess dwarf food is the use by date, some have a short use by date, so have a rummage to the back of the shelf of them & see if you can get a longer use by date. And I have had a bag I brought online before that turned up looking dusty, I blamed Burgess for not making a good mix, but have since brought a bag from a pet shop & it is not dusty at all, so it must of been bashed about in the post. So make sure the bag does not look too squished about when you buy it from a shop

xxx

[MissBubblegum]

Great advice Silver, thank you! Yeah I have never, ever had a hamster that eats those bits lol

[kyrilliondaemon]

We feed burgess dwarf as part of our usual hamster mix, its not a bad mix but its equally good for dwarf hams and syrians :)

[racinghamster]

Just to update, Burgess now call their (Syrian) mix `Hamster Harvest` now with no mention of Syrian on the bag. Not sure why, but I`m wondering if they just feel it`s more universal now for all hamsters? The banana chips I would ration! :mad: x

[Flamestriker]

Is the Mr Johnson's mix similar to the Science Selective? The yellow packet of heart shaped compressed food biscuits with a hamster on the front?

[Silver]

They are two different complete biscuits made by two different manufacturer's.

Selective Science ingredients:

Wholemeal wheat flour, soybean meal, barley, oats, linseed, soya oil, dicalcium phosphate, limestone flour, salt, Vitamin A 15000 IU, Vitamin D3 1500 IU, Protein 19.0%, Crude fibre 5.0%, Fat content 5.0%, Inorganic matter 5.5%.

Mr Johnson's Advanced Hamster & Gerbil Food Ingredients:

Wheat, Wheatfeed, Soya Bean Meal, Oats, Sunflower Seed Meal, Linseed, Calcium Carbonate, Vegetable Oil & Fat, Mono Calcium phosphate,Bio Moss ®, Sodium Chloride, Verm-X ® Herb Blend.Crude Protein: 19.00%; Crude Fibre: 5.00%; Crude: Oils & Fats: 5.00%; Crude Ash: 5.50%
Calcium: 0.80%; Lysine: 0.89%; Methionine: 0.30% ; Sodium: 0.08%; Phosphorous: 0.60%, it A: (E672) 10,000 iu/kg; Vit D3:(E671) 1,000 iu/kg; Vit E: 50 iu/kg
Trace Elements: Iron: (E1) 161mg/kg, Manganese : (E5) 89mg/kg, Zinc Oxide : (E6) 69mg/kg, Copper : (E4) 20 mg/kg, Iodine: (E2) 0.8mg/kg, Selenium : (E8) 0.44mg/kg

The Science Selective Biscuits are fairly big in size & the Johnson's Biscuits are a lot smaller in size

xxx

Edit, I have no idea where the smiley faces come from! so ignore them

[Flamestriker]

Hmm thank you Silver...looking at the ingredients you have listed, I think that I prefer the Mr Johnston one.

What is your take on it? Is one better than the other?

[Silver]

Well I have just started using it when I got Rosey Robo dwarf, so about two months ago. It's only been on the market since March.

So far so good, Rosey pouches them quickly so she seems to like them.

I like that they have a Pre-biotic aid which is a blend of natural herbs to aid digestion

Both have no sugar added so are level there & can be fed to diabetes prone hams as well as no diabetes prone hams.

So for me the smaller size for dwarf mouths (Rosey pouches three in one pouch at a time) & the Pre-biotic swung it for me, for Rosey


xxx

Edit to say the Mr Johnson's Muslie Hamster & Gerbil mix also has the natural Pre=biotics too

Edit again (Sorry!)

Here is info on the Pre=biotic:

http://www.mrjohnsons.co.uk/benefits-of-verm-x.htm

[Flamestriker]

Thank you again Silver.

Any idea where this food can be purchased? Amazon has it, but 6 bags for £15 plus £10.99 P&P. I only want one bag to try it with my dwarf hybrid

[Silver]

I brought mine from Viovet:

Mr. Johnson's Advance Hamster & Gerbil Food (http://www.viovet.co.uk/Mr_Johnsons_Advance_Hamster_Gerbil_Food/c19301/)

xxx

[MissBubblegum]

Thanks so much for the links silver! I think I will give it a shot too when my Burgess is almost done

[Silver]

Just a little update

When I cleaned Rosey out for the first time she had a stash of burgess mix but not one of the Johnson's biscuits were left which is great news she obviously likes them & it makes me happy that she is getting all the vits & minerals she needs.

So the two together for Rosey seems a good diet

xxx