Mix for Chinese hamsters

Petaleaf · 07-12-2015, 11:16 AM

Hiya! What is a good dry mix for chinese hamsters? I was thinking of using a dwarf mix, but they aren't dwarfs but they are still quite small? Hmm... Any help would be great! Thanks

souffle · 07-12-2015, 11:46 AM

I like the Burgess Dwarf Mix for Chinese as they enjoy the small seeds and the mealworms in it. Mine seem to do well on it. I do mix in some Harry Hamster as well and also add some linseed and millet to it.

Petaleaf · 07-12-2015, 12:54 PM

Thank you very much souffle

cypher · 07-12-2015, 11:57 PM

They not classed as dwarfs but from a food point of view you can still think of them as dwarfs!
I use the Burgess dwarf mix but none of mine are that keen so I rotate a few different mixes for lots of variety & add in a few things too.
The other mixes I use are JR farms, Bunny dream dwarf & ratrations although the last one isn't considered a complete food on it's own as it doesn't have added vitamins or other extras.

racinghamster · 07-13-2015, 12:21 AM

Agree with all the above. Chinese hamsters are fed the same as the other dwarf hamster species. Small grain mixes and they love variety.

cypher, that bunny dream food looks nice I`ve never tried that one only the JR Farm dwarf mix and my Burgess mix. Wish I could buy it elsewhere though as Zooplus are just too pricey for me given the minimum spend before you even qualify for the lowest postage.

I still have two bags of the JR farm mix for Chubs but when that`s gone, I`m just going to revert to mixed millets and add those to the Burgess food.

Petaleaf, you say `they`? Are your Chinese hamsters living in the same cage? x

cypher · 07-13-2015, 12:23 AM

I know what you mean RH, I used to try rotating mixes when I only had one ham & always ended up with way too much food hanging about!

racinghamster · 07-13-2015, 12:53 AM

I know, it would help if I had two, three dwarf hamsters but I only have Chubsters! He does enjoy his food though so I try to keep things enjoyable for him. Oh, I also have the science selective biscuits, forgot to mention those! x

Petaleaf · 07-13-2015, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Agree with all the above. Chinese hamsters are fed the same as the other dwarf hamster species. Small grain mixes and they love variety.

cypher, that bunny dream food looks nice I`ve never tried that one only the JR Farm dwarf mix and my Burgess mix. Wish I could buy it elsewhere though as Zooplus are just too pricey for me given the minimum spend before you even qualify for the lowest postage.

I still have two bags of the JR farm mix for Chubs but when that`s gone, I`m just going to revert to mixed millets and add those to the Burgess food.

Petaleaf, you say `they`? Are your Chinese hamsters living in the same cage? x

Oh no, I don't have any chinese hamsters and I would never ever have them together. I was just interested in what people feed them as I would like to get a female chinese hamster in the new year (I know, ages away. :/ ). But thank you for being concerned

Petaleaf · 07-13-2015, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

They not classed as dwarfs but from a food point of view you can still think of them as dwarfs!
I use the Burgess dwarf mix but none of mine are that keen so I rotate a few different mixes for lots of variety & add in a few things too.
The other mixes I use are JR farms, Bunny dream dwarf & ratrations although the last one isn't considered a complete food on it's own as it doesn't have added vitamins or other extras.

Thank you... I have always thought of any food mix (even the complete ones) shouldn't be classed as 'complete' as I always think a complete diet is with other foods as well, like fresh veggies and bits of cook meats, Phoenix really enjoys cooked pasta (he will ignore it if it isn't cook :P ). I always think a dry mix is the base of any hamster diet but I always give Phoenix fresh foods as well... To me, that is a complete diet. What are your views on this? Thanks for the links by the way, they have helped a lot

cypher · 07-13-2015, 05:23 AM

I do agree, I don't really think any one mix can really provide everything they need but I do think it's good to have a main mix that contains vitamins & minerals etc in the right amounts, it's hard to get things right just by adding other foods ourselves, I guess you could say there's a difference between a "complete food" & a complete diet, they definitely benefit from their fresh veg & some other additions but it's good to know that a mix covers all the basics, if that makes sense!