good sources of protein ?

DwarfHammie · 07-26-2015, 08:04 AM

i usually would just give mealworms to my previous hamster which was a russian hybrid on riday i got a robo an i already know does not like mealworms i offer them to him (in a bowl) and he just refuses so any good sources of protein

barley · 07-26-2015, 08:08 AM

Plain cooked chicken or turkey is good, or dog/cat kibble. He might like the mealworms after he's settled in a bit more, everything is probably still a bit daunting for him if you only got him on Friday.

racinghamster · 07-26-2015, 08:09 AM

Hi DwarfHammie. Sometimes when offered too many they feel overwhelmed, so what to do is, take a one mealworm and break it in half. Place both parts around the cage where you can see them and wait to see if they disappear.

If they are not eaten, then don`t worry, but most will be once the hamster is alone during the night and foraging about.

The protein of your hamster food will cover the protein content anyway, so you shouldn`t really need to add more. What mix is he on and read the analysis on the bag to find out what the protein amount is? baby/young hamsters and breeding mothers benefit from extra protein, but a maintenance diet should be around 18/19% protein. x

cypher · 07-26-2015, 08:13 AM

It is a good idea to go slow introducing new foods so don't give up on the mealworms! I find if they don't like them they may well like dried shrimps or even crickets & silk worm.
I use a little cat or dog kibble too & find it goes down well with all my hams.
Plain chicken or a little tiny bit of scrambled egg are also worth a try but I would give him a bit more time to settle & just experiment with tiny bits of new food at a time.
What mix are you using, the protein varies from one mix to another but he probably doesn't need too much extra & will get some protein from other treats too like seeds, nuts or even veg.

DwarfHammie · 07-26-2015, 09:41 AM

i feed him dwarf hamster harvest and the syrian hamster harvest and he loves the food he also has a science selective pellet and on a night i give him a tiny amount of romaine lettuce

racinghamster · 07-26-2015, 10:04 AM

Sounds good to me.

He has a nice variety already. Notice that the Syrian hamster harvest has poultry biscuits in it? The greyish/brown coloured round biscuits? I always tap these to break them up smaller for dwarf hamsters. It makes them easier to pouch or nibble on. These are protein biscuits. x

DwarfHammie · 07-26-2015, 10:23 AM

so it is a good diet for mr pip?

DwarfHammie · 07-26-2015, 10:24 AM

in his cage he also has a mini antos dog chew toothbrush he is not eating eitheer but that could just be something that he does not like?

cypher · 07-27-2015, 12:06 AM

His diet sounds fine & he may take to the chew at some point, I really think you just need to give him some more time to settle in, don't worry so much for now, you'll soon get to know his likes & dislikes once he's had time to make himself at home!
Not too much lettuce btw, a little a couple of times a week is ok but try a few other veg too, just tiny pieces to begin with & don't give up on them if he doesn't seem to like them the first time just try again another day.

peasypea · 07-27-2015, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwarfHammie

in his cage he also has a mini antos dog chew toothbrush he is not eating eitheer but that could just be something that he does not like?

I found that Nelly prefers certain colours of the chews - I got her a brown one first time and she loved it, but then second time I got her a green one and she isn't as keen. It gets very slowly nibbled at but nothing like the brown one!

I've never tried her on meal worms but she has rejected chicken, tuna and egg. Turned her nose up completely. She loves tofu, I think its her favourite food treat! Nothing else gets eaten as quickly :P