Making my own mix?

[amyyxj]

So I was thinking about making my own hamster mix, I've never made one before but I think Doris would benefit from it a lot it. Right now she is on Harry Hamster, but I add fresh veg and critter cocktail everyday. She also gets a boiled egg every so often if she's lucky! I was thinking about adding in some quinoa, flaxseed golden linseed, millet, and other things like that into her diet. I'm very new to all this and I'm not sure what would be best. In summer I might start doing a little foraging but I really wouldn't know where to start with that.
If you could suggest some good mixes etc it would be very appreciated! :)

[WinnieTheHam]

It's very complicated to know how to make a balanced mix to fit a hamsters nutritional needs. You need to know the % of nutrients and vitamins in each ingredient and then add proportional amounts of each ingredient to get the correct % protein, fibre, fats etc... for the entire mix. You can feed those foods as additional treats but make sure you keep Harry hamster as her staple diet.

[AmityvilleHams]

Make a treat mix instead of a main diet.Harry Hamster is perfectly fine on its own and doesn't need anything other than occasional animal protein added,and while it may seem nice to make your own mix it is incredibly expensive and the risks involved including causing a hamster to become malnourished are just not worth it :( However,making your own treat mix is much safer!

You could order a few different safe seeds,grains,nuts,etc at a time from Rat Rations instead of buying seeds in bulk,since it would only be suitable to make your own treat mix.This will be a lot better for treat making,but still gives you the option of adding a rich variety of seeds and other foods to your hamster's diet without risking their health and safety!

[cypher]

It is complicated & not something to do without a lot of work & consideration, having said that is very satisfying once you've done all the work!
I make my own mix, it took me hours of research & calculations but my hams are all doing really well on it & love it.
Here are a couple of threads worth a read if you do consider it.
http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/feeding-nutrition/64320-has-anyone-ever-made-their-own-hamster-food.html
http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/feeding-nutrition/68318-larry-jaspers-homemade-diet.html

If you were to make a treat mix or just something to add to your current food you would still need to be sure of the nutritional value of that mix unless given in tiny amounts or you could still end up with an unbalanced diet.

Foraging sounds like a nice idea but you would have to be sure that plants are safe, not close to roads, anywhere that could possibly be sprayed with anything or areas frequented by other animals (including wild mice which carry diseases which can kill hams) & if you were happy things were safe it would probably still be worth freezing them just to get rid of any bugs, mites etc.

[Drago]

I definitely agree with what's been said above. Many people recommend making their own mixes, but no general person has the knowledge, time, and technology necessary to create a well balanced mix. As others have said Harry/hazel hamster is an excellent mix with all necessary nutrients (minus a bit of protein supplementation and fresh fruits/veggies weekly) and should instead be used. Though it would definitely be fun to make a treat/foraging mix for your little one to go through and find!