Filler's In Hamster Food

[Silver]

I've seen many threads about food recently with people saying that manufactured hamster food comes with "cheap fillers"

I hope no one minds me saying there are no cheap Fillers added to hamster food.

I've had experience in the past with finding out about what goes into hamster mixes & how much each ingredient actually costs.

ALL hamster food ingredients are very cheap to bulk buy which hamster food manufacturers do. We are talking pence for each individual ingredient, even the mixes that have mealworms in when bulk brought are no more than pence.

So in fact every ingredient in hamster food is cheap.

As for the "fillers" there are no fillers. Each ingredient has been chosen to provide what % of Protein, Fat & Fibre, Vitamins & Minerals the hamster needs to keep the hamster healthy, even the brown alfalfa sticks!.

Not many hamsters eat the brown Alfalfa sticks or much of them as we can not tell if our hamsters have secretly been nibbling them when we are not around.

The only thing you need to add to a complete manufactured hamster mix is fresh veg, this gives the hams a boost. Some people say 2-3 times a week some say every day. You must introduce veg slowly to not cause tummy upsets to begin with.

[cypher]

Good idea to clear that up Silver.
With any good food all the ingredients will be on the pack so I'm not sure what people imagine "fillers" to be anyway.

[Thin Lizzy]

I'm not doubting you but, I've still to hear of a hamster who likes every different piece that makes up the hamster mix. I would love to look in my hamsters bowls and see they've eaten the whole mix and I doubt they will.
I feel that I waste quite a bit. I've tried several Hamster Mixes and with each one I throw out the stuff mine won't eat.
I have tried and I will put some of everything in their bowls everyday but, they still leave the same stuff.
It would be great if the makers of these products produced a survey for hamster owners to complete, it would provide the makers with the facts.
It may be cheap to bulk buy for the makers but I feel I don't get value for the amount I throw out.

[Silver]

Yes Unfortunately hams are like people & we all have our loves, likes & dislikes in food. But unless you have access to watch your ham 24/7 including what they have in there pouches & stores you don't know your ham is not eating any of the ingredients that get left.

They may just be eating less of that than other things, because they don't think they need more of those ingredients to keep pooping, peeing & feeling well.

[racinghamster]

The only way to be sure is the `tough love` method. Only feeding enough until the hamster has eaten even the remaining pellets left in the dish, but I don`t think any of us would want to do that as it could cause malnutrition/weight loss. If they don`t eat the rubbish? Throw it away.

Hamsters don`t live long lives and a friend and I were just discussing this the other day and we basically feel that placing too much emphasis on worrying about whether they should be fed `this` amount daily or a weeks supply in one go, doesn`t really matter. It`s all about variety and not whether the balance is 100% correct.

Most people describe `fillers` as grass pellets or pea flakes and such because most of the time, that`s what they are. Bulking up the weight of the bag in favour of lessening the better ingredients.

If we were to compare a bag of the Zooplus JR Farm Dwarf mix for example with a bag of basic pet shop mix and placed them out on a table to view the contents, it would be obvious that the JR Farm mix would be the better mix as it has less waste. So it all comes down to research. Look at what`s in the bag and decide whether your money is well spent or wasted. x

[cypher]

Peas do seem to get a bit of a bad press!
The pea flakes are actually a good source of protein & some fibre, combined with the corn, wheat or other grains that will be in the mix peas make up a complete protein so they are there for a reason, not just as fillers.

[Silver]

Sorry to disagree with you RH, but there is no Rubish or fillers.

Pea flakes are very nutritious & grass pellets are often not just alfalfa even if they were just alfalfa they make up the % of fibre & protein.

Remember pea flakes & alfalfa pellets are no cheaper to bulk buy than corn, wheat, or sunflower seeds

[Silver]

Just to emphasise what cypher was saying about peas being a good source of protein & fibre, look what else the common pea has to offer:

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 339 kJ (81 kcal)
Carbohydrates
14.45 g
Sugars 5.67 g
Dietary fiber 5.1 g
Fat
0.4 g
Protein
5.42 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
beta-carotene
lutein zeaxanthin
(5%) 38 μg
(4%) 449 μg
2477 μg
Thiamine (B1) (23%) 0.266 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (11%) 0.132 mg
Niacin (B3) (14%) 2.09 mg
Vitamin B6 (13%) 0.169 mg
Folate (B9) (16%) 65 μg
Vitamin C (48%) 40 mg
Vitamin E (1%) 0.13 mg
Vitamin K (24%) 24.8 μg
Trace metals
Calcium (3%) 25 mg
Iron (11%) 1.47 mg
Magnesium (9%) 33 mg
Manganese (20%) 0.41 mg
Phosphorus (15%) 108 mg
Potassium (5%) 244 mg
Sodium (0%) 5 mg
Zinc (13%) 1.24 mg

How can the pea flake be a filler

[POLAR WHITES]

silver I add to my mixes mealworms and a few sunflower seeds, these are added directly to the hamsters food dishes couple of times a week, what is your opinion please,

[Silver]

Personally I wouldn't add them to the hamster food, I would keep the hamster food pure.

That being said I would give one or two sunflower seeds & mealworms as treats through out the week, so if you do not feed treats just the hamster mix & veg then I can't see any difference.