Anyone else make their own food?

[mouseandstrawberry]

Originally Posted by HollyHamster

Its not that we are anti-homemade or anything. Its just that we've seen far too many hamsters become deathly ill, or worse, on such things and its left is very wary of such things.

I find that not every one of my hamsters eats all the Hazel Hamster mix I provide. However, I've never seen any indication of them having a nutritional deficiency (aka being very sleepy all the time, loosing hair, etc.) from doing so.

Sure, my Holly is exhibiting these symptoms, but that is because she is quite elderly, and very possibly has Cushings Disease. Something completely unrelated to nutrition, I believe.

Anyways, my point is that commercial mixes are always going to have something a hamster might not like about them, but you shouldn't just toss it because of that.

Im not tossing anything, i've been working with them for years now and as a pet owner have never seen a muesli mix be fully eaten so i'm exploring different methods. I know many people who it works well for on the other hand.

Could you please link up any threads with these hamsters dying from it or becoming ill due to it? I mean, for a young hamster to die/become ill through a homemade mix it can't have been very well made thats all im saying.

Other animals will not always find something in there diet they don't like. I have worked with many animals who never leave parts of their mix (bigger farm animals, poultry etc) so this is another reason i am exploring homemade as it seems to be something specific to rodents. Which makes me thing mixes could be improved on.

Again pet care is changing so fast, C&C cages with guinea pigs for example, some owners had to try it, trail and error and thats how new and improved ways are found

I would never put the health of my pet at risk, that is why i have done sooo much research and like to see evidence based on facts .

Anyhow im not arguing, just pointing out all the best advances made in pet care in the last 25 years have been looked on in a negative light when the minority start doing something different.

I'm a great believer in 'if its not broke don't fix it' as i feed my rabbit a complete nugget and she eats it all, has a healthy coat and is very happy. Unlike past rodents i've kept who never ate a full mix. . .

i'm repeating myself i think now! lol! I just wanted to add some food for thought (excuse the pun) and explain why people are using homemade mixes or why they look into it.

[HollyHamster]

I don't want to point fingers and make cruel accusations so I won't go into much detail about this, but long story short, there was a very popular homemade mix available in the UK and Europe through a popular site. It was later decided that it was better as a supplement to a commercially complete mix, rather than a stand alone mix due to some unforeseen, er, problems with nutritional deficiency.

That's all I'll say, and I've probably said too much already. If you want to know more, search the forums with the keywords "homemade" and "mix" and the answers might crop up.

[mouseandstrawberry]

Originally Posted by HollyHamster

I don't want to point fingers and make cruel accusations so I won't go into much detail about this, but long story short, there was a very popular homemade mix available in the UK and Europe through a popular site. It was later decided that it was better as a supplement to a commercially complete mix, rather than a stand alone mix due to some unforeseen, er, problems with nutritional deficiency.

That's all I'll say, and I've probably said too much already. If you want to know more, search the forums with the keywords "homemade" and "mix" and the answers might crop up.

Can you inbox me a link or something, i've searched but way too many come up and nothing sticks out!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Unfortunately its a rather sensitive subject to say the least and I'm not anywhere near awake enough to try and write something at all detailed on the subject that the mods'd not be forced to edit unfortunately.

Suffice to say that one of my own hamsters had to see the vet and be diagnosed with a dietary deficiency at a fairly young age (I believe around four months) and that was after being fed a diet that was made from scratch (not by me) and advertised as nutritionally complete. She and her sisters are permanently smaller than they should be and are on vitamin supplements for life and given that the symptoms went when we changed food and gave supplements, it does look highly likely that the food was the cause.

Theres a heck of a lot of history but it involves a lot of people, and sadly a lot of hamsters and vets too. If you search for a hamster called Sanibel (not mine) and read the entire thread on her health issues, you'll see that a vet believed that to be a dietary deficiency from a home-made mix and unfortunately Sanibel did really suffer as a result. She's not the only ham by any stretch of the imagination, she's just the best documented case that I can think of.

There are much more serious cases but yeah, writing about them requires a lot of effort and thought to write a post that the mods can safely allow to stay and I'm really not up to the effort right now.

[Isabel]

I just think that's its a whole lot easier to keep to brands such as Harry/Hazel hamster and just adding to it, and also better for your hamster because they will reach the required amounts of vitamins etc. in their diet.

[Pinkchi]

I use burgess hamster harvest and dwarf hamster harvest mixed together for my russian dwarf. I have previously followed
Hamsters - Mad About Hamsters - Make Your Own Mix! (Or Adding Bits!)!)

With good results but found the pieces in harry hamster a bit big for him.