Harry Hamster vs Pets at Home

[AprilPearl]

When I got Mushu from Pets at Home, he was being fed their own brand hamster muesli. I switched him onto Harry Hamster, because I know that's the best muesli around and it's what I always fed my previous hamsters.

Although the Pets at Home muesli and the Harry Hamster look very similar, Mushu was instantly more enthusiastic about the Harry Hamster. This got me thinking just now: how different are they really?

Here is the composition of each muesli for comparison. I was wondering if anyone could analyse for me whether they are in fact very different. To me, the most obvious and important differences would be that HH contains calcium and a number of other vitamins that the P@H doesn't.

I intend to keep Mushu on Harry Hamster, of course. This is just a matter of idle curiosity for me.

Harry Hamster Muesli


Composition

Wheat, torrified wheat, flaked peas, soya bean meal, whole maize, flaked maize, sunflower seeds, flaked soya beans, alfalfa meal, peanut kernels, soya oil, peanuts in shells, pumpkin seeds, soya bean hulls, wheat feed, extruded locust beans, calcium carbonate.

Analytical constituents
Protein 18.0%, Crude fibre 6.0%, Fat content 6.0%, Inorganic matter 5.0%, Calcium 0.8%, Phosphorus 0.6%.

Nutritional additives/kg

Vitamin A 20000 IU, Vitamin D3 2000 IU, Ferrous sulphate monohydrate 61mg, Calcium iodate anhydrous 1.5mg, Copper sulphate pentahydrate 20mg, Manganese oxide 32mg, Zinc oxide 87mg, Sodium selenite 0.3mg.


Harry Hamster Tasty Mix - Supreme Petfoods

Pets at Home Muesli

Alfalfa Meal, Flaked Peas, Maize, Extruded Wheat, Soya Pellets (Produced from genetically modified soya), Flaked Maize, Toasted Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Sunflower Seeds, Wheat Feed, Extruded Locust Beans, Extruded Alfalfa, Soya Oil (Produced from genetically modified soya). Additives: Protein: 17.0%, Crude Fibres: 6.0%, Crude Oils and Fats: 6.0%, Crude Ash: 5.0%, Moisture: 11.0

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...t%2bHome%2522#

[AmityvilleHams]

P@H are giving an incorrect GA for Harry Hamster It is unfortunate but sometimes it happens.

Harry Hamster Tasty Mix - Supreme Petfoods

It seems like all the information they show on Harry Hamster is just not right,including the ingredients.According to the manufacturer it is not alfalfa based but instead wheat based(which is much better),and they don't even include all the ingredients of the food!

[AprilPearl]

Thanks Amity. Ugh, how annoying of P@H!! I have half a mind to complain... It is almost as if they edited the HH info to make it seem more similar to their own brand mix.

I have now edited my original post to include the correct Harry Hamster info.

[chesca_27]

To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if they had changed the nutritional information on purpose. I would certainly complain, or at least ask them to edit it.

The main difference to me after comparing the foods is that the P@H one seems to have more processed, lower quality ingredients (extruded, toasted etc) with lower protein. Harry Hamster seems more natural with better ingredients.

[Pebbles82]

It is maybe the things that aren't mentioned in the ingredients list as well. Harry Hamster is sugar free and contains added vitamins and minerals.