Wagg Hamster Gerbil Mouse Munch

evel_lin · 11-23-2013, 09:57 AM

Normally I feed my syrians a mixture of various commercial mixes such as Harry Hamster, JR Farm Hamster harvest, Burgess etc.

Today I've adopted an older syrian, aged approx 20 months (intro post will come later when she's settled in) who came with an unopened bag of the Wagg Hamster Gerbil Mouse Munch as well as some in her food bowl. I've scattered the food bowl food and some of my own mix around the cage so it's not an abrupt change.

What I'd like to know is, is it worth continuing to feed her on the Wagg food and wean her off it over a period of days or just move her on to my normal mix.

From what I've read about this particular mix and from the smell and composition of it in her food bowl I'm not really that impressed with it

SmallPetLoverUK · 11-24-2013, 01:01 AM

Hey!
This feed mix is an okay food, but a lot of people would change it because they are unsure. I currently feed my hamster a range of different mixes (including this one) to vary her diet. Many owners would avoid this but my hamster enjoys it. You could mix Wagg and your preferred brand together and your hamster might eat both, then you could slowly remove the Wagg all together (over a period of 5-10 days). If your hamster is particularly fond of the Wagg you could give it to them as a treat every so often.
Hope this helped!
xxxxx

ChocolateCream81 · 11-24-2013, 04:18 AM

My hamsters mainly rely on wagg and Harry Hamster! For my dwarfs i pick some of the more fatty stuff out. But the good thing is that it is high in protein!

**kyrilliondaemon** · 11-25-2013, 03:49 PM

Personally I'd wean her off slowly, Wagg isnt one I personally think much of at all but if she's been on it for a while already then its probably not going to do much harm to let her eat it for a bit longer. If she turns her nose up at it in favour of your food then I'd give up on the wagg straight away though

No doubt that you've decided by now but figured I'd comment anyway

evel_lin · 11-26-2013, 12:43 AM

She's turned her nose up at it after seeing my mix so I think I'll just bin it I think. It just didn't look that nice as a mix, seemed to be mainly peanuts and biscuits on the top. When I gave her a whole monkey nut that was slightly cracked she didn't know what to do with it

She's got a few behaviours like that which are a bit sad

racinghamster · 11-28-2013, 06:09 AM

Hi evel_lin. Regarding the WAGG, my wee robo when I rehomed him (and he`s now over two years old!) was fed on WAGG and still is, although I now feed WAGG and Burgess Dwarf mix together and he eats both. All I will say is, be guided by what the hamster likes and wants, but try not to change things to drastically in favour of smaller seeds or what you may feel is a better food. End of the day, any commercial mix is balanced and a hamster can live on it happily, regardless if we think it doesn`t look very appetising. I agree that WAGG is more biscuits and some smaller grains, but it has three types of biscuit shaped as well as corn, peanuts, pea flakes and black sunflower seeds. Hamsters often don`t eat the alfalfa pellets. Because they are fed something tastier like treats too often, which is why we often think the hamster doesn`t really like the mix!

I learned this over the years of keeping small animals and now I buy the WAGG and the Burgess dwarf mix and only feed my robo a small piece of fresh apple and he gets a very small piece of Pets At Home apple drops as a treat only. That`s it. Tesco`s own brand hamster mix is very similar to WAGG and isn`t half bad either. Not their value one, the better one.

evel_lin · 11-28-2013, 06:23 AM

I've given her the option of both mixes and she prefers "my" mix vs the Wagg. I leave the food bowls until they get empty to discourage selective feeding but even so none of mine have showed much interest in the alfalfa. I offer them dried herbs and dandelions to try to make up for the lack. They all have some Science Selective pellets too which are preferred to the alfalfa so figured that will help if there is something missing in the diet.

I'm happy with the mix I've got and try to feed a wide range of supplements as well. I've never had robos but the food my hamsters are on seems to work well for them

I think I'd disagree about any commercial mix being balanced as there seems to be quite a variation in nutritional composition. I think finding a mix your hamster likes and does well on is the best idea

It's lovely seeing Nancy come out of her shell. She's still not as confident being handled as my boys but will take treats off my hand and sit still for a little fussing. I don't know if she was on heat last night or whether Hamish had suddenly detected her scent but he was charging round his cage like a mad thing. He's not been around a girl syrian since he left his breeder and was puffing himself up to show how gorgeous he is lol

**kyrilliondaemon** · 11-28-2013, 12:27 PM

Poor ham, I'm glad she made the choice for you in the end

racinghamster · 11-30-2013, 10:29 AM

Definitely agree with choice and variety if that`s what the hamster prefers. The balance thing does vary from mix to mix so your right about that. With little Fred, I didn`t want to swing too drastically from what he was already used to for fear of causing any allergies and he`s been great with staying on the WAGG and the additional Burgess dwarf food. x