Being Picky

Fluffagrams · 07-26-2015, 01:23 AM

May has decided to be picky with her food again.

She's picking out the seeds and the mealworms from her Burgess Dwarf Hamster Harvest and refusing to eat the rest. I delayed topping it up to see if she'd eat it if her favourites were gone but she wasn't interested.

I'm a little bit worried as she's been a little less energetic since this fussy spell has begun so I've been giving her Science Selective biscuits. She's eating one or two a night.

Pebbles82 · 07-26-2015, 01:45 AM

That sounds like a good idea giving her the Science Selective biscuits. Maybe you could be picky too! Pick out some of the tasty bits from the Burgess and she'll have to eat the rest, then give the mealworms as treats. Also supplement with veggies each day and other supplements and this will help with the nutrients. I give Charlie a small piece of fresh veg each day and something extra as well - a piece of cheese, half a brazil nut, a raisin - obviously different for dwarfs as low sugar required.

cypher · 07-26-2015, 01:56 AM

Mine never eat the grass pellets in the Burgess mix, it doesn't have the widest variety of ingredients really but it does sound as though she's picking out some of the healthiest bits! Have you thought about trying her with a different mix to see if she prefers it? The Burgess does seem to be the least favourite with all of mine.
The science selective should ensure she's getting some balanced nutrition so I wouldn't worry too much, you could also try giving her some vitamins for a short while if you're concerned about her energy.
What veggies does she have? A good variety of small pieces of veg will add to the vitamins, minerals & fibre in her diet.
Oats are a good addition too & make a healthy treat most seem to enjoy.

Fluffagrams · 07-26-2015, 02:55 AM

She hated the food that the pet shop gave me when I first got her. They sell loose foods and it was from that so I have no idea what brand it was as it only listed the ingredients.

Are there any food brands that you'd recommend?

She likes cucumber so she gets given that every other day or so and now I know she likes broccoli she's being given that every so often too.

cypher · 07-26-2015, 04:14 AM

As far as veg are concerned I would just keep experimenting, all mine have different favourites & there are so many to try that she may like.
I like the Bunny Dwarf HamsterDream Basic & JR Farm Feast for Dwarf Hamsters from Zooplus & the Ratrations dwarf mix, the only downside with that one is that it doesn't have any additives, so no extra vitamins or minerals, mine only get it once every four days so I don't see that as a problem, they also get their veg & a few extra seeds, mealworms etc so I doubt they're missing out on any nutrients somehow.

cypher · 07-26-2015, 05:50 AM

I don't if this helps, I know I find it a bit frustrating reading ingredients but not knowing what a mix looks like so these are the three I use along with the Burgess, from L to R it's the Bunny, JR farms & Ratrations, it might give a better idea of what the variety & size of pieces is like in the different mixes.

Pebbles82 · 07-26-2015, 06:24 AM

I think the JR Farm one is supposed to be good, as cypher says - they do one for Syrians as well.

JR Farm Feast for Dwarf Hamsters. Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

The animal protein is included but there are no meal worms - might be best to feed those separately as a treat and let an allinone hamster mix give the required nutrients.

racinghamster · 07-26-2015, 08:04 AM

Looking at the photos cypher kindly posted for comparison, it shows how similar mixes can be with the odd variation. I stopped using the Burgess `dwarf` mix a while ago because I personally thought it was all canary seed and too many grass pellets. I know I shouldn`t call these `bulking agents` because they are supposed to form part of the overall diet, but how many hamsters ever eat or like these?

Chinese being one of the diabetes prone species, it can be tricky wondering what the best mixes are. I`ve been there myself when I had my female Chinese Prinny. Now I have a Russian hybrid male and do you know what? Although I`m aware of what he eats, I don`t overly worry about diabetes or picking anything out of his food because it`s now widely known that this just dilutes the minerals/vitamins and nutrients, which can be dangerous in itself and because hamsters rely solely upon us for their every need, their diet should be enjoyed and not endured! That`s the way I see it now.

I use three mixes. Although I won`t be buying the JR Farm dwarf mix again when my two bags run out due to high p&p costs on Zooplus unless your order exceeds their limit for cheap postage. I will replace with a bag of mixed canary seed from the pet shop and just add in with the other two mixes.

Burgess Supahamster (normal mix)
Supreme science selective
JR Farm dwarf mix (Zooplus)

Added to these can be fresh raw veggies, millet spray cut up into smaller sections, black sunflower seeds and selective nuts and pulses that are on the `safe` list on the WiKi pages.

My Chubs is now in his 16th month and eating well, doesn`t drink hardly at all except when I hear the bottle going early in the morning! So my advice would be, look for a few commercial mixes like the ones above without the added dried fruits, added sugars/syrups/molasses and let May enjoy the corn, the maize, the peas and at times (if in the mix like the Supahamster) a little tiny piece of dried banana as a treat a few times a week.

x

Fluffagrams · 07-26-2015, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Looking at the photos cypher kindly posted for comparison, it shows how similar mixes can be with the odd variation. I stopped using the Burgess `dwarf` mix a while ago because I personally thought it was all canary seed and too many grass pellets. I know I shouldn`t call these `bulking agents` because they are supposed to form part of the overall diet, but how many hamsters ever eat or like these?

I agree that there's a lot of canary seeds and grass pellets in the Burgess and these are some of the things that May always seems to be leaving out.

Whilst my previous hamsters have had food preferences, I've never had one as fussy as my little madam. The JR Farm food looks like what Sooty is being fed at the moment so I'll see if I can scrounge some off my sister for May to try gradually before I fork out for another batch of food that she ends up not liking.

It's a shame that there aren't any rodent rescues nearby, I'd have plenty of food to donate.

Thank you so much for the photo of the foods Cypher. That's really helpful to know what each mix looks like as I can't tell a great deal from an ingredients list.

Coco61 · 07-26-2015, 11:31 AM

This is very helpful as I am looking for something to mix with the Harry hamster as I am not sure about the Natures Touch I had to get from P@h. I followed Serendipity's link as I am currently putting a zooplus order together. There are 2 for adult hamsters JR feast and JR Farm Food. The latter is more expensive so is it worth getting?