Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Feeding/Nutrition

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-19-2015, 11:28 PM   #1
ribeye
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 5
Default Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

I'm getting a hamster about a month from now, and I was wondering what food to give it. I want to be as prepared as possible before I get the little angel.

Being in the Philippines, I've only seen a lot of really commercial hamster mixes that are too high in sugar content and have a lot of unhealthy elements like freeze dried corn and peas which are the biggest hassle to remove and I feel it wastes a bit of my money, since the food doesn't come cheap here.

I was looking around and saw on another thread here that it's alright to use bird seed since the dwarfs love the little seeds, so I'm wondering if it's okay that I just give them that instead. I'm thinking of buying Versele Laga Premium Prestige Tropical Finches seed mixture. It has 13% protein, 5% fat, and 6.5% fiber. I feel like adding maybe two or three freeze dried meal worms will help make up for the lower protein content. The bird seed does, however, contain oystershell. I don't think it's in chunks, since I've seen pictures of the mix and all I see are seeds, I assume it's powdered. But is that okay to give my hamster?

Just hoping somebody could help me out! Thanks so much!
ribeye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 07:58 AM   #2
racinghamster
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
racinghamster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Central Scotland
Posts: 13,415
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

Hi ribeye, welcome to the forum. Could you give some brand names of the hamster foods you can buy locally or online? That way members can identify any issues with them or whether they are, in fact, not too bad as a base food. If your new hamster is to be a dwarf Russian hybrid for example, they shouldn`t be fed fruit or dried banana or any `added` sugars like honey, syrup or molasses added to things.

What your looking for is a hamster mix that has varied grains and nuts. Some have poultry/chicken meal added or dried mealworms. Some are very dull and not very nutritious, so your right to be looking into this now rather than later.

Seeds sold for caged birds can be fed to hamsters, but you need to be careful not to feed parrot food which might have dried fruit added or other thigs that may not be suitable for a hamster with soft pouches.

Canary milliet seed and budgie seed are okay. Canary seed is added to a hamster food here in the UK called Burgess Dwarf mix, so you would be safe with canary seed mix. Millet spray sold for these finches are also enjoyed by dwarf hamsters.

Syrian hamsters don`t much care for tiny seeds, so y won`t really need miller seeds for a Syrian, just a good couple of hamster mixes you could combine and look for safe mixed nuts and add those in. You can crush nuts up smaller too or use them as treats. Monkey nuts (peanuts in shells) or sold loose are a nice addition, as are walnuts, brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds sold naturally.

What species of hamster are you thinking of getting? Look at the caging size and also the wheel size before deciding as Syrians need larger accommodation and wheel. x

Edited to add: Sorry, just noticed you said "bird seed for DWARF hamsters!
__________________
Get A Life, Get A Rodent!
racinghamster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 08:34 AM   #3
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

Hi & welcome to the forum.
We have had other members from the Philippines & I know that finding a decent hamster food can be difficult but I don't honestly think you can provide adequate nutrition for a ham with just bird food even if you add in a few mealworms.
I don't think a small amount of oystershell grit is harmful if they are given some bird food as an addition to the main diet but it could be a bit much if a ham was fed entirely on bird seed.
Don't worry about corn & peas in hamster food, they are actually a healthy part of the diet, even if you're thinking of getting a dwarf ham & may need to avoid sugars.
Can you let us know what mixes you might be able to get hold of? As RH says if we can see them we might be able to suggest which would be ok or not depending on the ingredients & analysis.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 09:33 AM   #4
ribeye
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 5
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

Hi, racinghamster and cypher! Thanks for the warm welcome, I'm learning a lot here. It's all really helpful. (:

I'm actually able to get a hold of:
- Ecotrition Essential Blend for Hamsters and Gerbils
- Jolly Multivitamins Hamster Food
- Q-nni Hamster Fortified Daily Diet
- Versele Laga Cripsy Muesli Hamsters & Co.

I know for sure that Ecotrition contains onions and leeks; I remember reading that hamsters can't have any onion or garlic in their food. The next two, I can't find any information on in English, it's all in Chinese.. VL Cripsy Muesli seems like the best bet but I'm not entirely sure. Thanks for the help!!
ribeye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 09:37 AM   #5
ribeye
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 5
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

Quote:
Originally Posted by racinghamster View Post
What species of hamster are you thinking of getting? Look at the caging size and also the wheel size before deciding as Syrians need larger accommodation and wheel. x
I'm getting a single Campbell, and the cage I have is 450 sq. inches. A bit larger than the US/Canada minimum of 360, so I assume it will be good enough? I'm also getting a 7-inch flying saucer. (:
ribeye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 09:42 AM   #6
racinghamster
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
racinghamster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Central Scotland
Posts: 13,415
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

Your right about the onion & leek to be avoided. Not quite sure why they add it to hamster food at all.

I`m sure I read another thread about the Crispy Muesli food on here but can`t remember why? Hopefully someone who uses this will reply and post the analysis and ingredients in English! x
__________________
Get A Life, Get A Rodent!
racinghamster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2015, 10:27 PM   #7
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Bird seed for dwarf hamsters

I've come across a couple of hamster foods with onion & leeks which is both perplexing & frustrating, no idea why they put it in when it's generally accepted that it's bad for them!
I checked out the other foods you mentioned & the Jolly one looks ok for a dwarf, protein is low at 12% so would definitely need some supplementing but that's not too hard with things like mealworms, boiled or scrambled egg, tiny pieces of chicken or things like soya flakes, I only found one link for the Q-nni Hamster Fortified Daily Diet with no info just a photo that looks highly dubious, lots of fruit including orange, very strange! The Versele Laga Cripsy Muesli Hamsters & Co. would be ok too, again protein is low, but a bit better at 15% so there are at least a couple of foods there that would be ok for a dwarf & better than trying to feed bird food.
Hope that helps.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
bird seed, campbell, diet, versele laga

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:18 AM.