best hamster food on the market?

msasa19 · 07-28-2013, 09:07 AM

My hamster has currently got harry hamster, I used to feed her a petshop make one, I took all her favourite pieces out of the pet shop one and mixed it into the harry hamster, since then she has gotten really fussy and doesn't eat a lot of it unless tip it back and get her a new scoop of it? shall I try her on something else?

racinghamster · 07-28-2013, 09:20 AM

Hi. Is she a Syrian or a dwarf hamster? I`m presuming Syrian, but all hamsters can become bored and picky if they see the same food day in, day out. So once you find a good quality hamster mix that you can get locally or online, you can add a few things to the mix but only with certain additions that don`t dilute the nutritional values. Syrians for example may not appreciate really small seeds like millet, while all dwarf hamsters love millet. I can recommend the Burgess Supa Hamster Harvest (Syrian version) if you currently have a Syrian hamster. This mix has plenty of variety and is one of the few mixes that are easy to buy in local pet shops, or to have a bag ordered in. Many shops do stock Burgess products though as like Supreme who make Harry Hamster, they both seem to be the biggest sellers.

Also, try only feeding her what she will eat and not store. Feeding too much can make them picky. Does she get any fresh raw vegetables in her diet like fresh sweetcorn, broccoli, cucumber or a little piece of apple as a treat?

msasa19 · 07-28-2013, 10:51 AM

she has fresh fruit or vedg 2 times a week, yesterday she had a grape, today she had some broccoli, she tends to leave the biscuit bits of the food, takes the nuts, mealworms I mixed in and the bigger seeds like sunflower seeds. I am going to try her on something else for a while and add some dry fruit in maybe. and yes she is a Syrian.

Anthorn · 07-29-2013, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msasa19

My hamster has currently got harry hamster, I used to feed her a petshop make one, I took all her favourite pieces out of the pet shop one and mixed it into the harry hamster, since then she has gotten really fussy and doesn't eat a lot of it unless tip it back and get her a new scoop of it? shall I try her on something else?

Your hamster is feeding selectively which means she is eating the parts she likes the best. If you keep on replacing the food then she is going to carry on feeding selectively because she has a continuous supply of the parts she likes best.

You could be ruthless and only refill the food pot when it's empty but I don't really like doing that.

In muesli type mixes I've found that Burgess Supahamster is the most successful and much more successful than Harry Hamster with my hamsters. But buy from a reputable supplier and make sure you get the new version with the "New" flag on the front of the pack: There is a lot of old packs about.

If your hamster continues to feed selectively then you have to assume that she is not getting all the nutrients she needs in which case you might like to try an all-in-one feed such as Pets At Home Nuggets, Beaphar Care + or Science Selective. I have had to do this with my newest hamster.

When you change the main feed you need to do it gradually. Personally I do it at the rate of 1g per day.

JonasB · 07-29-2013, 08:56 AM

I started to feed my hammy on Science Selective mix when I first got him, and I could see he became quite selective (no pun intended) after a while, leaving the most healthy bits. Now I feed him the pellets from Oxbow and fresh vegetables. I was a bit worried that he would not like the pellets since I started with a mix, but he loves it!

POLAR WHITES · 07-29-2013, 10:19 AM

I really like harry hamster I have tried others and still go back to this. I do add things to it like dried dandelion leaves, extra mealworms, and for my nursing mothers they get extra peanuts and sunflower seeds, I do this as my choice but as a pre mix I think its prob one of the best out there to feed just as it is.

**Pompompoms** · 07-29-2013, 10:40 AM

I'm a big Harry Hamster fan, but only as all my robos like it and munch it all up! I personally believe that a complete mix that has been stringently tested and verified is the best option for hams of all species. I do add extras through the week for the poms in terms of fresh food, but am happy that the mix they are getting is good for them and keeping them healthy

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-29-2013, 01:22 PM

What we feed depends on the ham at the mo, not much help I know lol

We use science selective for our diabetes prone hams cause it seems the most logical choice for them - and it might be a big help with your selective eating problem.
But we also feed a mix of a few properly tested hamster mixes to our others (currently harry hamster, burgess dwarf, jr farm hamster and jr farm dwarf) as we find it gives the hams variety without risking compromising on quality or anything.
Harry hamster is still my favourite stand alone food though

(The diabetic ham and his cagemate don't have either of the above, but their mix is one that I'd never use for the other hams anyway)

AJ Hamster · 07-30-2013, 05:34 AM

When my last hamster got like this i got the P@H premium (i think) nuggets which has poultry fat in and mixed it with muesli - as long as he eats some of the nuggets he's getting nutrition. My current hamster is on the nuggets alone and if he starts getting bored i either mix seeds, add water (makes it smell) or add some dog biscuits.