Which is not only the best hamster food,but the most popular one

[hazeldenise]

Hi all you hamster lovers out there! Have recently bought our new male syrian hamster about a month ago,as our previous hamster died after 3 years.
So far have fed him the hamster food sold in our local petshop,but i don't know whether petshop bought hamster food would be very nutricious compared with a known brand such as Harry Hamster or Burgess hamster food or the Beaphar range of hamster foods.
Which hamster food does everyone out there feed their hamsters on?Which do you think is the best one on the market favoured by most hamsters,as there's so many different ones to choose from?Has anyone tried Beaphar hamster food?either ExtraVital or Care+
Care+ by beaphar i've heard is just nuggets for hamsters that are selective feeders,in other words will only pick out the seeds they like whilst leaving the rest,but with beaphar Care+ being as its nuggets they can't be choosy & selective-they either have to eat it or they'll go hungry if they fussy about what they'll eat.
I dont know whether its worth trying out a food like this for selective feeders or whether i'd be wasteing my money if the animal doesnt like the all nuggets food and refuses to eat it.Would it be best to just feed something like Harry Hamster,that you know the hamster will eat,or does anyone recommend a better brand of hamster food as our hamster doesnt seem to be too keen on Harry Hamster.
Also does anyone use things like hamster vitamin drops in their drinking bottle?I've bought one but it turns the drinking water bright yellow,& it tells you on the bottle to put in between 15 & 20 drops,but wouldnt the smell,colour and taste put the hamster off drinking its water?The vitamin drops i'm on about are made by Beaphar & i get them at Pets at Home.Do any of you use these vitamin drops and how many drops do you put in the drinking water?
I also have bought some Pro-C Probiotic powder,also from Pets At Home which is valuable for animals who might be stressed or changing homes etc,but arent all these things unessasary?Would'nt it be better just to feed a good palatable nutricious brand of hamster food & not use vitamin drops or these Pro-C Probiotic powders?Does anyone else use these & could these do the hamster more harm than good?
Finally,what about giving dog biscuits & various hard treats to keep the hamsters teeth worn down,but what if the animal doesnt use them?Ours will only use these occasionally,& he never climbs the bars of his cage or bites the bars,as he's addicted to just running on his wheel whilst he's in his cage,therefore he can't be wearing down his teeth or claws,as i know most hamsters like climbing the cage bars and their various toys etc but ours don't,and its not a small cage-its a savic cambridge which is quite a big cage-so i guess he just is'nt interested in doing anything but running on his wheel.If we left him in his cage he'd be running from 8pm till about 7 in the morning-as we found out recently when i was ill and did'nt feel like getting him out of his cage that night.
Anyway,i must go as its time to get Hammie out of his cage now for a few hours-as he is so addicted to that wheel-but at least it shows he's healthy.He has short breaks for ten minutes on & off & has a drink etc then its back on the wheel again-he loves it.
Hope to hear from you soon regarding hamster foods etc

[Iluvhamsters]

A lot of people here use Harry Hamster which is the most popular I think. I personally feel that the vitamin drops are just a waste of money, as long as your hamster is fed a quality mix and has a balanced diet then they should be getting everything they need without vitamin drops.

As for foods like the Beaphar Nuggets again I feel that as long as the hamster isn't over fed then there really isn't a need to feed things like that. With hamsters hoarding food, it can be hard to tell if they're getting enough or too little unless you can see their hoard so that you can keep an eye on how much is there. I personally give my hamster a large handful of food and when she has just a few bits left in her hoard, she gets another large handful, this means that she eats a lot of the bits that other hamsters won't eat. There are, however, some hamsters where no matter what you do, they'll only eat the bits they like so they might benefit from a nugget type food.

There's a couple of great lists of other things you can feed here: Safe and Unsafe Food and Plants - Hamster Central WIKI

Common fresh foods for your hamster - Hamster Central WIKI

Not sure about using the Probiotic Powder though, I've never used it myself.

[Gizmodo ^_^]

Most people on here would swear by harry hamster
and a lot make their own mix

[LocoRocoPanda]

I use a bit of harry hamster and then mix it with some extra bits and pieces. Rin also likes a Pedigree Milk Bone every once in a while too.

[amyXlovesXhamstersX]

I use harry hamster mixed with my local pet shops mix and i add other things like cereals and dried herbs Ruby also gets healthy treats every few days!

[Sammybingo]

Swear by Harry Hamster . I also provide some Woodlands salad mix in his bedding for foraging and he has an Odour Control Treatum most days, which he is pretty mental for too. Though now he has stopped being quite such a pungent piddler, I might reduce that to one every other day (you could smell when he was having a wee heh). x

[Ruby's Mum]

I bought care+ when I got Ruby as thats what the pet shop were feeding her on (luckily we have a v good pet shop locally who know what they're doing unlike some), I compared the nutrional analysis on the bag with a bag of Harry Hamster I already had a t home and they are almost identical, the only big difference being the price! I like Harry Hamster because it has a variety of shapes/textures/sizes etc etc and I feel it is good for the hamster to dig through it and take whatever they fancy. Ruby is leaving the pellets and the maize however. If she gets more selective than this I will buy some more care+ and feed mainly this so I know she's not missing any nutrients. I also give her banana coins, locust bean treats, various seed bars, dog biscuits, etc, and fresh stuff a few stimes per week.

[SnickersTheFirst]

I use Harry Hamster with extras added. Those extras are : crunched up crackers, millet, mealworms, kitten biscuits and porridge oats.

[Fidgetthefirst]

I use Harry Hamster, porridge oats, and he gets herbs every few days with it as well.
(I saw some millet in pets at home, £4 for one!! I walked away... LOL)

[SnickersTheFirst]

Does your P@H not sell it loose? Or do you have a shop called 'The Range'?

Both sell millet loose and it costs me like 60p for a giant bag, I must have well over 20 sprays in there.