Dog biscuits in hamster food

[HamsterNewbie]

Hello! I was in my local pet shop looking at branded hamster foods and was quite suprised to see the lack of protein in some. However, I spotted some dog pellets that had 21% protein and relatively low fats ect. I was wondering if I could supplement a low protein hamster food with the pellet/biscuits to increase protein and to keep teeth trimmed too, of course in proportion due to fats ect. That may be bad. Could I even make my own mix based on those?

Thank you x

[AmityvilleHams]

It depends on the ingredients and to some extent brand.Making your own mix isn't the best idea,since it is very difficult to calculate an analyses based on straights alone.However,getting food depends on where you are and there are lots of single ingredient protein boosts that are also low in fat like,for example,freshwater shrimp

As for teeth trimming,try a vegetable dog chew.Whimzees or Antos only,Greenies aren't very good quality in comparison and are loaded with unnecessary ingredients.

[freyashamsters]

If you just added three or four of the pellets to the regular hamster mix every time you refill the bowl then it would add enough protein whilst creating no vitamin imbalances

A more natural source of protein would be adding a few mealworms to the mix every time you refill the bowl. If your ham doesn't like mealworms then you could try the Dokas chicken cat treats from Zooplus

[cypher]

It would depend on the ingredients to some extent, a lot of dog biscuits/dry food contain things that aren't good for hams such as garlic among other things.
It can be quite hard to judge the overall nutrient content of your hams diet if you rely on additions like that, if you can get hold of a good quality mix like Harry Hamster you could be more confident that your ham was getting everything it needed from the mix.
Young hams do need a little extra protein but I agree a small amount of plain cooked chicken once or twice a week or a couple of mealworms is a better way to go really.
Older hams need less protein so it can be easy to overdo it if you're not careful.
A good ham mix will wear teeth down anyway but most do enjoy a dog chew like the antos or whimzees & a safe dog biscuit to chew on now & then too.

[barley]

I always add a little bit of dog kibble into my hams mix. They like it, nice little boost of protein and helps to keep teeth trim, I obviously use one that has all ham-safe ingredients Although I have a dog so buy dog food anyway, I wouldn't bother buying it just for the hams.

[Fluffagrams]

Originally Posted by HamsterNewbie

Hello! I was in my local pet shop looking at branded hamster foods and was quite suprised to see the lack of protein in some. However, I spotted some dog pellets that had 21% protein and relatively low fats ect. I was wondering if I could supplement a low protein hamster food with the pellet/biscuits to increase protein and to keep teeth trimmed too, of course in proportion due to fats ect. That may be bad. Could I even make my own mix based on those?

Thank you x

It's possible to make your own hamster mix and some more experienced keepers prefer to make their own mix. It can take a while to work everything out and get the balance just right but there's probably going to be some recipes online that could give you a starting point. Alternatively there was a discussion about making your own mixes here which might be worth a read.

[Kissa]

Originally Posted by HamsterNewbie

Hello! I was in my local pet shop looking at branded hamster foods and was quite suprised to see the lack of protein in some. However, I spotted some dog pellets that had 21% protein and relatively low fats ect. I was wondering if I could supplement a low protein hamster food with the pellet/biscuits to increase protein and to keep teeth trimmed too, of course in proportion due to fats ect. That may be bad. Could I even make my own mix based on those?

Thank you x

Originally Posted by Fluffagrams

It's possible to make your own hamster mix and some more experienced keepers prefer to make their own mix. It can take a while to work everything out and get the balance just right but there's probably going to be some recipes online that could give you a starting point. Alternatively there was a discussion about making your own mixes here which might be worth a read.

I quite like this article as a starting point for making your own mix, it's pretty straightforward and easy to follow. (Though personally I stick to mixing a couple of hamster mixes together and supplementing with high protein foods for those that need it.)

[Vicki]

Originally Posted by barley

I always add a little bit of dog kibble into my hams mix. They like it, nice little boost of protein and helps to keep teeth trim, I obviously use one that has all ham-safe ingredients Although I have a dog so buy dog food anyway, I wouldn't bother buying it just for the hams.

I am the same. I feed Wellness Simple to my dogs, limited ingredients. There is salmon, potatoes, peas, and things like oils/ vitamins that animals require. I give Patro'n a couple pellets a few times a week. I also use dry mealworms & tomorrow will be a bit of hard boiled egg. I tried offering a dog treat that is a small round biscuit, but she refused it.

[AmityvilleHams]

My dog is currently on Canidae dog food,which is as far as I'm aware hamster safe.However,there are tons and tons of brands out there who have some products which just aren't safe and then there are brands which in general aren't safe as well.It varies a lot depending on brand mostly because there are good brands and there are bad brands,like some brands who use unsafe preservatives or lots of unhealthy ingredients and then those whose ingredients are unsafe or unsuitable.

[freyashamsters]

My dogs are on a food which has some un-hamsafe ingredients in it so the hams can't be fed that but I use mealworms as a protein source anyway When I did feed them dog kibble for protein they had their own special ham safe box of kibble