Up To Date Diet Tips!

[AmityvilleHams]

As an extra concept,I did find information for the Higgins Vita Garden which is similar to Sunburst but different ingredients and may be better for dwarf hamsters.It does have slightly lower protein,but overall it seems like a really good option!

Ingredients:
White Millet, Wheat, Red Milo, Oats, Corn, Flaked Beans, Flaked Peas, Sunflower Seeds, Peanuts, Yellow Peas, Timothy Hay, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Hay, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dicalcium Phosphate, Flaxseed, Lignin Sulfonate, Salt, Soybean Oil, Algae Meal, Hemicellulose Extract, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative), Potassium Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product.

GA:
Crude Protein ...……….…………..………..............Min. 12.0%

Crude Fat ................…...…..…….……….............Min. 6.5%

Crude Fiber …………………………………………….Max. 11.0%

Moisture …………………….………….……….………Max. 11.0%

Vitamin A …………………….………………….Min. 8,000 IU/kg

Omega-3 Fatty Acids ...………..……….…………..Min. 0.40%

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) ..………………...…..Min. 0.03%

Total Lactic Acid Bacteria ………….……….Min. 2 x 105 cfu/g

If someone could just figure out what percentages of Mazuri and what percentages of that Higgins and the GA for it though,it would be awesome.I'm definitely not that good at math though,I'd just end up ruining the whole GA and getting everything wrong!

[cypher]

That's really useful to have more info on some of the US mixes in one place, saves going all over the place trying to find details when people ask about them.

I do still have to strongly disagree with your comment that some sugar is necessary & beneficial & think that may be confusing to people who don't have a fuller understanding of nutrition, no animal needs sugar unless it's hypoglycaemic, complex carbs, proteins & moderate fats are the best source of energy, complex carbs with the fibre that is usually present in the same source are definitely beneficial & an important part of the diet, diabetes prone of not but sugar is neither needed or beneficial.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by cypher

That's really useful to have more info on some of the US mixes in one place, saves going all over the place trying to find details when people ask about them.

I do still have to strongly disagree with your comment that some sugar is necessary & beneficial & think that may be confusing to people who don't have a fuller understanding of nutrition, no animal needs sugar unless it's hypoglycaemic, complex carbs, proteins & moderate fats are the best source of energy, complex carbs with the fibre that is usually present in the same source are definitely beneficial & an important part of the diet, diabetes prone of not but sugar is neither needed or beneficial.

It will be useful to have them all combined,and a more up to date view on them as well compared to opinions that could be several years old and now entirely incorrect!

[Pebbles82]

The Higgins Vita Garden sounds good. I'm not good at these maths either, but was reassured to hear that hamsters will tend to eat what they need, if it is provided. It surprises me sometimes what small amounts they do eat. Even if I give Charlie a small piece of chicken, which he loves, he will just eat a little bit and leave the rest. I know that's not very scientific, but even if the exact right amounts of each food were put out, we don't know how much of it they will actually eat.

The problem with any processed food - either pet food or human food - is there is always going to be something in there which isn't good for us, but they are usually small amounts. Short of only giving fresh food or making your own organic mix I don't think some of the not so good preservatives can be completely avoided. It's all a bit of a balance I guess.

Syrians are quite easy really! They can eat just about anything on the safe list. But because of the risk of diabetes with dwarf hamsters, then a bit of a balance does need to be considered and maybe the nutrients and fresh food, outweigh the negatives of the odd ingredient that isn't ideal (as long as it isn't sugar). It does sound like the US need to get one good mix going though!

And I would like a manufacturer to make an organic hamster mix - there seem to be far too many hamsters who get tumours - but usually in old age and old age can cause all kind of things to go wrong. Some of it could be genetic though.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

The Higgins Vita Garden sounds good. I'm not good at these maths either, but was reassured to hear that hamsters will tend to eat what they need, if it is provided. It surprises me sometimes what small amounts they do eat. Even if I give Charlie a small piece of chicken, which he loves, he will just eat a little bit and leave the rest. I know that's not very scientific, but even if the exact right amounts of each food were put out, we don't know how much of it they will actually eat.

The problem with any processed food - either pet food or human food - is there is always going to be something in there which isn't good for us, but they are usually small amounts. Short of only giving fresh food or making your own organic mix I don't think some of the not so good preservatives can be completely avoided. It's all a bit of a balance I guess.

Syrians are quite easy really! They can eat just about anything on the safe list. But because of the risk of diabetes with dwarf hamsters, then a bit of a balance does need to be considered and maybe the nutrients and fresh food, outweigh the negatives of the odd ingredient that isn't ideal. It does sound like the US need to get one good mix going though!

Higgins is an amazing company overall!Lots of great things,just have to be mindful of the ingredients if you're offering their bird mixes as treats since some aren't very good.A few forage options and berries and things are available too,unlike most US pet food products.I did try the math earlier and just couldn't figure it out

Finding a perfect mix is relatively impossible,but luckily there are some very good ones out there that just need a bit of work to make suitable daily diets out of at least in the US.I'd love to work on an organic mix eventually,but it's just all so confusing and then some ingredients have a different nutrient value when sourced differently and things like that so nothing is set there.

We can avoid BHA and such quite easily,and Higgins strictly uses natural preservatives such as citric acid(so no BHA etc).Lots of storebought cheaper low end treats contain BHA and other not so good things though,but then human grade freeze dried vegetables and fruits and even certain other human grade foods do not.There is freeze dried meat even in the US,and I do not recommend using foods that just say "dried" or "dehydrated" without saying the exact process used to do so.

We do have access to some UK forages and treats and such in the US which are better quality but overall our foods and such aren't often that high quality.There are more options than just pet food ones,but of course not everyone thinks to pick up treats at a grocery store of all places!

As for Syrians and their diet being easier,yes that is entirely true!There is so much less worry about if something is going to be too sugary or not,and things like that,and they tend to have a lot more luck getting foods and treats that are okay for them than the dwarf hamsters do.I love dwarf hamsters as much as Syrians,but there is a lot more work as far as diet is concerned so despite having had the urge to get a Chinese hamster for example several times I personally couldn't handle it

[cypher]

Serendipity it is surprising how little they eat, well you can imagine if Charlie only eats a little how tiny an amount dwarf hams eat!
I think the main problem with knowing exactly what they eat is just not wanting to interfere with the hoard too much so it can be hard to know what's being stashed but maybe not eaten, even so given the most exact diet you can manage & a bit of tough love they do usually eat most of it & seem to know what's good for them on the whole too!
I think you'd be hard pushed to source all organic ingredients for a good hamster mix but it might be worth your while having another think about Mixerama at some point, maybe a bit late in life for Charlie to take to a new diet but at least there the ingredients are if not organic responsibly sourced & going by how well my mix sprouted a lot fresher than something that's been sat on a shelf somewhere for who knows how long!

[AmityvilleHams]

The tough love method definitely deserves acknowledgement!I'd love to be able to have access to tons of German hamster products in the US and just have that level of caring towards small pets in general here.It's so sad that small pets aren't as important as dogs and cats to some people,and in the US hamsters sadly tend to be a joke of a pet to some people.Of course,those people have no idea what they're missing out on!

[Pebbles82]

Thanks Cypher I still have my organic mix recipe I was just concerned about the amount of vitamins as couldn't work it out. Charlie is used to HH now and seems to like it more than anything else, and as you say he probably wouldn't like a change now - he gets a lot of fresh food too, and organic veg, so I think that's good for him.

I actually think that for dwarf hammies, preservatives are maybe less of a risk than sugar. Even mixes that use Vitamin E as an antioxidant use an artifical vitamin E, not from natural sources, I believe, and all processed food has some degree of chemicals in them I think. Overall, even if a dwarf hamster developed some condition as a result of eating a chemical in their food in later life, it would be better to have a long healthy happy life than to suffer serious illness with diabetes at a young age.

I think it seems there is quite a dilemma with food mixes in the US at the moment - Higgins is one of the better ones but has dried fruit and molasses in (and on Amazon reviews some owners said Syrians found it too bitty with too many seeds). Hazel Hamster was very popular until the protein was reduced and now there is this scare on the internet about BHA. I think a sugar free mix with slightly less than required protein is better overall as protein can be supplemented.

I am still not sure whether the BHA scare is really what it seems - and TBH I wouldn't be surprised if all pet foods had it in. If it's in the oils it wouldn't need to be listed as an ingredient.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Thanks Cypher I still have my organic mix recipe I was just concerned about the amount of vitamins as couldn't work it out. Charlie is used to HH now and seems to like it more than anything else, and as you say he probably wouldn't like a change now - he gets a lot of fresh food too, and organic veg, so I think that's good for him.

I actually think that for dwarf hammies, preservatives are maybe less of a risk than sugar. Even mixes that use Vitamin E as an antioxidant use an artifical vitamin E, not from natural sources, I believe, and all processed food has some degree of chemicals in them I think. Overall, even if a dwarf hamster developed some condition as a result of eating a chemical in their food in later life, it would be better to have a long healthy happy life than to suffer serious illness with diabetes at a young age.

I think it seems there is quite a dilemma with food mixes in the US at the moment - Higgins is one of the better ones but has dried fruit and molasses in (and on Amazon reviews some owners said Syrians found it too bitty with too many seeds). Hazel Hamster was very popular until the protein was reduced and now there is this scare on the internet about BHA. I think a sugar free mix with slightly less than required protein is better overall as protein can be supplemented.

I am still not sure whether the BHA scare is really what it seems - and TBH I wouldn't be surprised if all pet foods had it in. If it's in the oils it wouldn't need to be listed as an ingredient.

As Higgins uses no chemical preservatives,it is pretty much impossible for BHA to be one of them.A lot of the big brands such as Kaytee,Browns(the Tropical Carnival foods,very unhealthy and not suitable at all and fruits have sulfur dioxide in those mixes),some Vita Kraft products I believe at one point,and more have had ethoxyquin or BHA or BHT or still have it as an ingredient.

To me the one extra risk factor for cancer is better to be avoided,so that is why I personally wouldn't ever feed products I know contain BHA or BHT or ethoxyquin to any pet.It's funny though,my hamster is probably going to end up eating even better than I do!I'd like to see a mix with no sugar at all,not even aspartame or another artificial sweetener.

[Pebbles82]

The second Higgins mix might be best then. Do you have a link for it and I'll bookmark it Yes I think our hamster eats better than I do