A few obligatory questions :)

[newham]

Originally Posted by Hamtastic

Yeah, Brighton's a common name... along with many other British names.

Could you order the food on-line with some other stuff? Not sure what Walmart has. You don't really need Ecotrition Organic, you could supplement Hazel Hamster with grains from Whole Foods and such.

hamtastic I tried to respond but it says your message boxes are full

[Hamtastic]

Yes, extra protein is good. Mealworms (live or freeze dried), crickets, tofu, some alfalfa hay. I wouldn't overload on it, but like a bit of tofu or a small mealworm a day is great (the size of Petco's/Petsmart's "regular" live mealworms).

[Mikayla]

Okay I'll try and find some tofu sometime. I gave her alfalfa hay and tiothy hay and orchard hay today.

I'm going to start taming. :\ Wish me luck!

[Hamtastic]

Good luck!

A note on storing tofu that a very kind lady who runs a hamster shelter taught me. Take a fresh package of tofu (I use extra firm), drain the liquid, and cut the tofu into small cubes, say 1.5" cubes. Wrap each cube into a small piece of nonstick paper (like baking sheet paper) and put into a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer. The tofu will turn a yellow color in the freezer, but it's only until it defrosts--then it will be creamy white again.

My defrosting technique for serving: take out one cube and rinse it quickly (to get rid of ice crystals on the surface). Place on a dish and into your microwave. Microwave for 20 seconds or so until soft. Cut up into bits and serve to your hams! The rinsing part is because the ice crystals on the surface of the cubes are reflective for microwaves and will cause some sparking and surge sounds.

This really helps, because tofu goes bad quickly, and one package will last a long time this way.

[racinghamster]

Your in the US so Hazel Hamster (or Harry Hamster mix as it`s known over here) is probably the best mix for her. The extruded biscuits might be a little on the large side so give those a tap in a pestle & mortar or inside a bag with a hammer to break them into smaller pieces. I`m not too sure what is in the extruded coloured biscuits but my chinese never eats them (I use Burgess Supahamster Harvest mix though).

You should pick out the yellow corn, flaked maize and pea flakes. You can add-back things like:

Budgie millet/canary seed
Dry oats (porridge oats/jumbo oats)
Buckwheat
Hemp seed
Wholegrain puffed or flaked rice (most healthfood shops have this)

Mealworms (dried are best) as hand-fed treats. These are high in protein so only a few daily. I don`t particulary feed things like Tofu and it is a processed protein (not a natural source) so given that it`s something that has to be tampered with, it`s not something I would use.

Chinese hamsters do fine on seeds and grains (natural carbohydrates) and added protein in the form of Hemp seed and Mealworms. There`s no real need to be too concerned about other foods as long as she gets a normal hamster mix with the `sugar` taken out and these other seeds and grains added.

She looks very young still and a little tired? Did you wake her up for the photo shoot? Chinese are usually very bright eyed and active.

[Mikayla]

RH- No I didn't wake her up She had just woken up on her own though.

What kind of bedding do you guys use? I always 'lose' her in the carefresh/eco bedding mix. She burrows deep and I can't find her which scares me as I HAVE to check and see if she's there, it scares me to not be 150% sure she's there as I'm scared she might try to escape (It's an open bin, but it's like 18 inches tall)

So, I went downstairs to weight Maia (My chinchilla) and I decided to look in on HollyJia. She wasn't in plain site so I moved her see-saw. She wasn't there. I ruffled her bedding and waited for her to move. She didn't. I moved more bedding and she wasn't there. Then I started to become scared and started flipping bedding a little frantically. NOTHING. Then I moved her to the chin room and started sifting through the bedding really thoroughly. NOTTA. Then I started moving bedding and moaning, "No, No, No, NO." I started praying silently and removing bedding and she still wasn't there. I was about 2/3 throught hte bedding before I found her.

I hate that I scared her but I panicked too

[louisbs]

My two like to bury themselves as well

I did exactly the same one day.. Except the little booger shot off under my bed when i found him.

[Gamina]

Robin is always burying herself in deep. I know it can be a little bit scary when you can't see them in there but thats what comes natural burrowing for a bed so I personally encourage Robin to do it. I have found the best way to check her other than digging her out of her amazing tunnel network is scatter feeding. Whenever Robin hears new food being put in she runs out to check its so cute

[louisbs]

Ya I scatter some sunflower seeds.. doesnt take them long to appear

[Hamtastic]

Eco Bedding + Carefresh is what I use! Tap on the wall of her bin lightly, talk to her, and offer a strongly-smelling tasty treat (like a nut). Talk to her. She should learn to come out eventually