How much do you give your adult Syrians - veggies?

[Christine Yule]

I wish I knew how to make the quote in the blue box thing...!

Anyway, If your hamster doesn't eat those yoghurt drops, he's a pretty smart hamster!!!

It sounds like you are doing a great job of taking care of your hammy!

Hamstermama

[Bailey-Benji]

Originally Posted by Christine Yule

I wish I knew how to make the quote in the blue box thing...!

Anyway, If your hamster doesn't eat those yoghurt drops, he's a pretty smart hamster!!!

It sounds like you are doing a great job of taking care of your hammy!

Hamstermama

Thanks

In the top right hand corner of every post there is a small box that says "quote", this takes you to the reply page with the quote and you just add on what you want to say

P.S I have 2 hammies, a 18 month old female - Bailey (you helped me with her colour and although its not 100% it seems most likely taht she is a yellow banded) and 8ish month old Benji (video of him being a menace in the Behaviour board )

[SnuggleHam]

This was very informative!

[Dollheart]

I have puzzled as to why my 2 hamsters refuse to sample the fruit/veg I have tried to tempt them with.

Having throughly read through safe lists and starting them with tiny portions, they act as though fruit + veg doesn't exist.

the only thing they have ever eaten was small pieces of dried banana slices :/

*brain explodes*

xlaniex

[Christine Yule]

Some hamsters like veggies and fruit more than others. Mine LOVE dried banana too! It might take some time for them to start to like veggies but don't worry. They don't need fresh food to be healthy. If they have an excellent quality dry food and fresh water, those are the essentials.

I would keep trying little bits of different kinds of veggies and fruit to see if there are any kinds that become favorites. Try bitter veggies too. Some hamsters prefer bitter greens to sweet fruit.

[Spuds Mum]

Originally Posted by Christine Yule

I have noticed that the posts from folks in Europe feed their hamsters Harry Hamster Seed Mix(?) I don't feed my hamsters a seed mix. I have had trouble with their teeth becoming overgrown when I used to feed them seed mix. Now their main food is called an Extrusion. It is ground up seeds that are baked into hard nugget "cookies". I don't know if anything like that is available or popular in Europe.

Ive found that it is so hard to find an extrusion food over in England Christine. I have finally found one by searching the internet but had to travel 130 miles round trip to get it to try! I have one hamster who was only eating his sunflower seeds and peanuts,out of his hamster mix, everything else was just thrown - so I searched for an extrusion and found Pascoes Hamster Health extrusion food. He is still on early days of having this exclusively and until he accepts it readily, we are feeding him no extra treats etc. so at the moment he is very unhappy with us!

[Christine Yule]

I find it kind of odd that Extrusion food for Hamsters isn't a big hit in the Hamster Mecca of the World (the U.K.)

It has been readily available in Canada for quite some time. Hagen distributes it. I am a fervent advocate for it and since it is available at all pet stores, most people buy it and only give the gourmet seed mix as a treat.

The reason I recommend it is because I have trouble with the teeth of my Syrians over growing if they only are fed seed mixes. I still constantly check their teeth every few days to make sure they are even and not getting so long that they interfer with their eating. I don't know why it doesn't seem to be a problem in the U.K.

[Jane]

I've never heard (or very rarely) heard of hamsters having overgrown teeth from being on a mix..however, if good quality pellets were available over here I think my hamsters would have them..afterall, I would never feed my piggies a mix yet I feed my hamsters one.

[Spuds Mum]

Hi Jane - well I saw the Pascoes extrusion on a recommendation site - apparently it is made (I think) in Driffield Yorks but I couldnt find anywhere in Yorkshire that sold it!
My local petstore sells other Pascoe mixes and when I asked said they could get some in but only in bulk and as it wasnt likely to sell they wouldn't do so!
Are you going to the Rotherham show? If so and you are interested in what it is like I am more than happy to bring you a sample to test your guys on!

The analysis can be found on the firms website, but though you can order dog/cat food online not hamsters bah!
http://www.pascoes.co.uk/hamster.php

[souffle]

I'm not sure... we have never had teeth trouble either and having seen how much enjoyment the little guys get out of rifling through the food bowl and choosing something they fancy each time they feed I can't imagine that the compound food would be so interesting. It seems to me like having 'complan' cardboard food every day! Full of nutrition but very boring. Animals seem to instinctively eat a balanced diet and if they are happy and healthy I will stick with the seed mix which seems healthier and more natural for our hamsters. They love to shell the seeds and peanuts. I think that Babyboos uses the extrusion food and likes it. Perhaps a bit mixed in would be good though to see if they choose to eat it then you would know if they like it. I'm sure it is nutritionally excellent as it is designed for easy maintenance of laboratory animals.