Zooplus food and treats review

Pebbles82 · 08-12-2015, 10:01 AM

A few weeks ago I decided to get some treats from Zooplus for Charlie, along with some JR Farm Feast for Syrians. Charlie has now road-tested most of them so here are the results:

1) J R Farm Dandelion root (this is the woody root, not the leaves/herb - comes under 'nibble wood')

This has gone down a real storm. The first twig of dandelion root disappeared immediately about two weeks ago - might be buried or eaten I'm not sure, but definitely not ignored. The second one also disappeared immediately and was pounced on with glee.

100g JR Farm Dandelion Root + 50g Free| Free P&P £29+ at zooplus!

2) J R Farm Oat Bites. Mostly made of oats and other healthy ingredients. These also went down very well and were eaten/taken straight away. They are now a bit of a favourite. They are a nice size, not too big, not too small.

Great Deals on Small Pet Snacks at Zooplus: JR Farm Oat Bites

3) Steppenlemmings Taster Pack. These are not cheap and what arrived looked nothing like as interesting and colourful as the picture. All the treats are about the size and shape of a small lump of coal. There was one red lump of coal and the rest were browny grey. The first one I put out a couple of weeks ago was largely ignored although may have been nibbled at a tiny bit. The second one (I picked a different looking one) was mostly the same result. So that's a shame as they are supposed to be natural and healthy.
Wasted my money there.

Steppenlemming?s Taster Pack: Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

4) JR Farm Feast for Hamsters. I was looking forward to getting this and liked the idea it had no soya in it as just about all Hamster foods do. It's a bit low in protein so needs supplementing. I intended to gradually move Charlie over to it, mixing it in with his Harry Hamster. But neither of us like it at all! The first day Charlie left it all behind and picked out the Harry Hamster - and I am not surprised. It smells absolutely foul. The smell was still up my nose all next day. And I couldn't seem to get the smell off my hands. Something to do with the meat products in it I think - maybe the way they are processed. Definitely wasted my money there! I actually felt really bad about having put it out for Charlie as it was not pleasant! So didn't try him with it a second time.

JR Farm Hamster Feast. Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

racinghamster · 08-12-2015, 10:56 AM

That`s a shame about the JR food but Charlie will know what he likes best! I bought four bags of the JR Farm Dwarf food as I`d heard good things about it and after looking at it for a while, decided to take the plunge and buy some for my Russian hybrid. Don`t get me wrong, he eats it, but prefers to hoard it! It contains shrimp, so I`m guessing this is where the measly protein content comes from. It`s not a complete mix really but is fine for a supplement due to the various millets, shrimp and chopped bits and pieces within it. Although I must say when my final two bags have gone, I will be using only three foods together:

Burgess Supahamster
Burgess Dwarf food
Supreme Science Selective biscuits

Supplemented with millet spray, dry mealworms and other natural nuts and seeds. What I will do is mix both the Supahamster foods together and break up a science selective biscuit daily but keep these biscuits in their own bag. Chubs seems to really enjoy this and if I find he gets a bit bored with something, I withdraw it for a few days and then re-introduce it. Absence makes the heart (or the tummy!) grow fonder!

Coco61 · 08-12-2015, 10:58 AM

This is very helpful. I had not spotted the dandelion treats on zooplus. I went and got my bag of JR Farm feast but haven't opened it yet while I am trying to use up the Nature's Touch with the HH. I shall approach it with trepidation now! If I get a viovet order sometimeI was thinking about the Burgess supahamster instead and the dandelion sticks.
BTW I have the hemp mat now and need to cut it for the Sputnik. I thought about experimenting with making a hammock out of some of the leftovers.
Currently Mocho has been sulking after his cage clean at the weekend. Only the second big one he has had. So I am taking my time before another change!

Pebbles82 · 08-12-2015, 03:16 PM

I wondered about making a hammock out of the hemp too but bottled out and just lined the sputnik instead. I've actually taken the hemp lining in the sputnik out recently as charlie seemed to be trying to push it out through one of the holes. Maybe it's a bit hot for it at the moment. So I've filled the Sputnik with Fitch instead and will put a new hemp liner in when it gets cooler again.

cypher · 08-12-2015, 10:58 PM

I've tried all of those too & the dandelion root was very popular to begin with but they quickly got bored! The oat bites do go down well but I wish they did a smaller bag, there's a lot of treats in there but they are healthy.
None of mine past or present have been impressed by the Steppenlemmings treats, healthy maybe but not very appealing!
I don't know what happened with your JR food, I've only used the dwarf one but they all enjoy it & it actually smells quite pleasant, not a strong smell but certainly not unpleasant so I wonder if you got an off bag?

barley · 08-13-2015, 12:18 PM

Have you ever tried the Nibble Grass from Zooplus? It a mix which you tip in a tray and keep damp and it soon grows into a nice thick patch of grass!

I've had it a couple of times for Rupert and he loves it. I normally let it grow a few inches high (two weeks or so) and then put the whole tray in his cage. He loves picking it and eating it, and puts it in his nest too - as it's just grass, if it's not eaten, it doesn't go bad, it just dries into soft hay.

Pebbles82 · 08-13-2015, 01:00 PM

I did try the nibble grass once! I actually grew it! (And I am a disaster with all indoor plants). Charlie didn't seem that interested though unfortunately. I have a small pot of cress I got from the supermarket and was wondering if it's ok to put the whole pot in the cage. I'm not sure what it is grown in - looks like a layer of white at the bottom and then a bit of soil. Just wondering if the growing medium is safe to put in the whole cage in case he ate any.

Tildauk · 08-13-2015, 02:48 PM

Your reviews are so useful

My hamster loves the oat bites, I will have to give the dandelion and the growing grass a go.

I got JR Farm 'A Slice of Nature' Pack | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus! and to be honest I thought it would be equally divided between all the bits it contains (I want to make some nice decor in tiny plant pots when Lois is more used to her cage), a lot of the millet packs had grass/wheat sneaked in and it was a lot more stemmy than seedy than I thought it would be so it wasnt as nice looking as it could be. I will probably just buy the plain millet sprays they do next time.

racinghamster · 08-14-2015, 12:53 AM

Serendipity, the white thing at the bottom of the cress tray is usually paper like kitchen towel where the seeds grow when they are made damp and then they grow upwards into the pot. Some water cress can have a peppery taste, so best to stick to the plain one. I`ve tried a few pieces with Chubs my Russian dwarf and he doesn`t like it. x

cypher · 08-14-2015, 05:06 AM

I do have my doubts about those trays of cress tbh, as only the tops are meant for human consumption I wouldn't be surprised if the seeds & maybe the paper get a spray of pesticide or fungicide before they're grown, if I use those I just chop some of the top off & give it to them, easiest to grow your own then you know exactly what they're getting!
RH the spicy ones are probably mustard & cress which are sometimes grown together & shouldn't be used.

Mine have never been too keen on the nibble grass either, they've probably been spoilt with lots of tastier sprouts!