Has anyone ever made their own hamster food?

[Jenibelle]

Oh boy, I can't weight everything because it's already mixed all together!

The newest foods I added aren't high in fat, though, right? (the oats, buckwheat, millet, the barley, and the popping corn) - I was trying to find lower fat foods.

[cypher]

You've added some really healthy foods so I wouldn't worry too much, you just won't be able to work out exactly what he's having but not everyone wants to be that precise!

[AnyaAndLyra]

I thought about it as well and I actually fed my Syrian, Hugz a homemade mix in edition to his commercial food for a few months and he was my longest lived hamster. (He died because I took him to the beach and got worms) I don't know why he loved so long (about 4 or 5 years such is a lot longer than usual and he was healthy up to that point)..

I used a mix of natural oats, probably some dried corn, maybe a few sunflower seeds every now and then... haha I don't even remember much but personally I never fed him anything homemade as his base diet because I wasn't sure exactly what to put it how to factor everything's protein, fiber, moisture etc into the mix I made. Instead I always just fed him his pellets, veggies and fruits when I had them (very small amounts of anything with too much water content) some bread every now and then etc

[chesca_27]

Hey cypher

I finally created a base mix for when I get my hamster. The total recipe is: 19.03% protein, 6.24% fat and 8.23% fibre. I'm so happy

Could you have a look. The Mixerama base is: https://www.mixerama.de/detail/index/sArticle/4911
Then I added 50g Applaws chicken with beef in jelly, 20g Pedigree Biscrok milky biscuits, 40g Dokas chicken with rice snack and 80g Thrive chicken.

Without these treat extras, the mix is: 14.6% protein, 6.69% fat and 9.44% fibre.

Does this sound about right and is everything in my recipe hamster safe? Any ingredients I should add? Are there too many treats? Should I order it (and the extra treats)? My last question is: Do I actually need to supplement this mix (excluding fruit or veg) with things like pasta, eggs and mealworms or can they just become healthy treats?

Btw, your method sounds about right for working out the mix. I was working mine out wrong so I had funny percentages. It was really helpful!

Thanks

[cypher]

Your mix looks good, well done, getting the balance of protein, fat & fibre right isn't easy at all so you've done a good job there.
I can't see anything that isn't safe for hams.

It would be ok to use those extra sources of protein although it might be worth trying to see how it works if you add in more shrimps & maybe some mealworms to your mix?
If you do use those extras have you worked out how much to give daily as you will have to keep them separate from the mix?

Any extras like egg, or extra mealworms would just be a treat to be given occasionally if they're getting what they need from the mix.

The only concern I would have is that until you've tried them you don't really know if your ham will eat the dried veg or pellets & if they don't it an throw the balance out. That's why I've just made a base mix to add veg & protein separately that way I can vary it & be more sure they eat it all & get the right balance.

I have, (finally ) come up with an alternative mix that doesn't contain the tiny seeds which they seem to ignore & is better balanced being lower in fat, again without the veg & protein which will be added when I feed them.
It's here if you want to look. Not quite such a huge variety of ingredients but enough I think!

ETA just a little update to show my original mix passing the germination test, in spite of it being really cold on my windowsill it's doing pretty well after only a few days!
Must be fresh

[chesca_27]

Hi cypher

Thanks for the advice! I did roughly calculate what the mix would be without any of the vegetable/herb/fruit things and all that really happens is the protein jumps up to 20% and if that happens I can always lower the amount of protein treats. I did choose common vegetables which are normally popular with hamsters like carrot, cucumber and red pepper so fingers crossed my hammy will like it. Also, there is so little compared to the amount of mix it shouldn't make too much of a difference.

I did look at changing the mealworms and shrimp before I finished the recipe and I found it became too high in fat or I would have to use ridiculous amounts of shrimp. However, I will probably add about an extra mealworm every few days. How many grams do you recommend to feed a dwarf hamster each day? I kinda need to know to work out the amount of extras.

Good luck with your new mix and thanks

EDIT: just seen your germination test - it looks so cool and it's reassuring to know how fresh the products are.

[cypher]

The average recommended amount for a dwarf ham is about 2 teaspoons a day, they all vary a bit so you have to go by what they actually eat & how active they are but I've found mine probably eat a bit less & it works out around 6g a day, not that I weigh it every day but that seems to be about what they actually eat each day, a bit more than that to begin with so they can make a little hoard too.

[chesca_27]

Hi cypher

Hopefully, I'm going to order all my hamster food things today or tomorrow. I should have around 175 portions with 1410 grams I worked out it should cost 13 pence a day. Thank you so much for all your help.

[cypher]

Your welcome.
I'm sure your ham will appreciate all the effort that's gone into your mix

[chesca_27]

Hey cypher

Just a quick question. I know this is suitable for a Winter White, but would a Syrian be ok eating this? Hopefully going to order later. Thanks