Syrian isn't eating her pellets, what's a good sub?

ljapaneseguml · 03-03-2016, 11:49 AM

Hello! My Callie (F, 6mos) eats Kaytee Forti Diet Pro Health Food for Hamster/Gerbil (1 tablespoon 2x/day) and every evening I'll give her a cheerio, a pumpkin seed or tiny piece of apple, in the morning she gets a bit of spinach leaf and egg white. I'm new to hams (she's my very first) and as I'm reading all of the different comparisons and review on Oxbow, Hazel Hamster, Higgins, fresh foods, etc., I'm getting really overwhelmed on what I should be feeding her and if it's enough/too much.

Right now, I've noticed she's throwing out her little pellets and green foods and eating everything else (including the treats I mentioned). Bad thing is, she's woken me up twice in the middle of the night because she's scratching and biting her empty food bowl (even though pellets are on the floor around her). I give her not even a tablespoon and she quiets down again. I'm tempted to give her half a tablespoon in the morning since she sleeps during the day anyway, then give her 1.5 tablespoons in the evening just so she has some throughout the night. Or would it be better to just keep her bowl filled and let her eat whenever she wants? But I feel like that's just asking for a chubby hams cause it seems like she loves to eat.

I'd love any help or advice!

(I tried to attach a photo or link to the food ingredients, but it keeps saying "post denied")

CMB · 03-03-2016, 11:53 AM

Maybe try scatter feeding so it takes her longer to collect/eat the food. She may be hoarding lots of the food rather than eating it.

When she is out of her cage have a look for her hoard, but don't remove it.

If she has a big hoard. Feed her less as the hoard could go bad if it gets wet.

ljapaneseguml · 03-03-2016, 12:10 PM

Thank you for the suggestion, CMB! I will try that. Also, now that I think about it, she didn't start her little tantrums at 3am with her bowl until after I clean out her cage for the first time (I adopted her last Wednesday). There went her stash

Should I stay with one tablespoon in the morning and one in the evening? Or give less in the morning and more in the evening?

CMB · 03-03-2016, 12:19 PM

I would feed more when she is going to be awake most (evening). Weigh her regularly to maintain a healthy weight.

Do the feed packets have a feeding guide? Use that, plus a small amount of veg and the odd treat.

ljapaneseguml · 03-03-2016, 12:28 PM

Her food bag just says "Daily Feeding Amount -- 2 Tablespoons"

CMB · 03-03-2016, 12:30 PM

That's right for their main food. Then add the veg and treats, but not too much.

All my hamsters threw out or didn't eat the green pellets. It is put in to fill the bag of food.

A good food has 18 or 19% protein. The best is a mix of vegetable and animal protein as wild hamsters eat insects/lava.

Mealworms are often liked by dwarf hamster, but can be ignored by Syrians.
Cheese in small quantities may be given. Plain chicken is also liked by most hamsters.

ljapaneseguml · 03-03-2016, 12:33 PM

Roger that. Thank you for the advice! I will try that today!

Pebbles82 · 03-03-2016, 04:25 PM

I think you're right, the cage clean will have thrown her habits. And she will be getting a bit confused and territorial. It's best not to throw away their hoards, unless they have been wee'd on, and then to replace the hoard with new food in the same place. As for Hamster mixes, you can't really go wrong with Hazel Hamster and most hamsters seem to eat that and like it.

Have a look at this cage cleaning tips video from Erin's Hamsters - it will help your little one settle in and make things easier for both of you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

ljapaneseguml · 03-03-2016, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I think you're right, the cage clean will have thrown her habits. And she will be getting a bit confused and territorial. It's best not to throw away their hoards, unless they have been wee'd on, and then to replace the hoard with new food in the same place. As for Hamster mixes, you can't really go wrong with Hazel Hamster and most hamsters seem to eat that and like it.

Have a look at this cage cleaning tips video from Erin's Hamsters - it will help your little one settle in and make things easier for both of you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

After watching a few videos, I feel so guilty

stressing her out for no reason. Well, I'm glad I know more now. Thank you so much for telling me about Erin's Hamsters! Side note, I didn't have nearly enough substrate in there either, so I went in sections of her cage, picking up what she's familiar with and putting new bedding under it to make it all thicker. Now, all I have to do is get her a bigger tank. Any suggestions on how the transition from cage to tank? Sadly, I took advice from the woman I adopted her from and got her a crittertrail

But payday is tomorrow so that won't be a thing soon! Lastly, watching her search for her scattered food was entertaining and she seemed to like it

I can't thank y'all enough!

cypher · 03-03-2016, 09:42 PM

I think scatter feeding would help too, it would encourage more natural behaviour & keep her occupied for longer.
Egg every day is way to much, once a week is probably enough, twice at most.
Also try to give as wide a variety of veg as you can, some fruit is ok but stick mostly to veg & try lots of the different safe veg, one at a time, to see what she likes.