Does anyone else only feed once a week?

**Pompompoms** · 02-19-2010, 05:44 PM

Hi all

I thought I'd start a thread as I reading through all the others in this section, I seem to be the only one giving a weekly feed, so I thought it might not be the best thing to do.

I clean my robo's once a week, and replace all the food then. I fill the food bowl, and they get one yogurt drop, half a hamster muffin, and a large raisin.

They take all week to eat it, and don't just stuff all the treats, they just nibble a little each day so it lasts till the next clean out day. They tend to stash food, eat from the bowl, and eat the treats which are scattered round the cage. The ynever run out, but I also throw very little away too. I used to change it every couple of days instead, but it seemed so wateful, and the dry food isn't going off at all.

They also have a treat ball, something minis, which they take about three week to get though one.

They get fresh veggies about three times a week, and are 25g and 30g respectively so I am happy with their weight.

It seems to work well for my hammies, but it seems a different approach to most.

Sammybingo · 02-19-2010, 09:19 PM

*puts hand up*.

I normally give a full bowl (at the moment, trying Jollyes Fruity Mix - usual stuff but with a bit more fruit) once a week when I tidy and clean the housey. Fresh treats as and when I have them in (sometimes I have no fresh food, ewwww @ being a student!!). He really likes asparagus, baby corn and brocolli. Not fussed about carrots all of a sudden. He generally eats half a blueberry whenever I have some in. He's so good - he doesn't pouch and hide the fresh things. I check!

The occaisonal grated peice of cheese (I'm so mean, I hate to share my cheese, lucky I can't give him much). If I have toast he tends to get a little corner to nibble on - maybe once a week. And I only eat seeed wholemeal bread, but only a nibble for him as bread is pretty salty. Maybe a yoghurt drop most nights. An hour or two here and there with either the carrot log or the honey banana stick thing.

I try to mix things up a bit, just because I'm obsessed with food, and finding ways of spoiling him! I looked at Bonios in the pet shop, but the boxes were huge, and didn't want to run the risk of him not being arsed. I'm quite wary of most treats in petshops as I wouldn't eat things I don't understand myself, but the woodlands ones are pretty awesome. Though he hates the Rodents Marbles, if anyone wants half a bag! My old hammy loved them millions.

I've found my hamsters have always perked up and become very active when they can smell me eating cheese puffs, which I find most amusing and generally do an evil cackle. Not for you!

Oh and to add, as he was a growing lad, he probably got spoilt slightly more than I would normally, but now he is around a healthy hammy size, he gets what I deem as a healthy diet most the time with the odd naughty thing. Don't want a fat rug staggering around.

suga · 02-20-2010, 12:19 AM

I usually only put in a full bowl once a week. But will say it depends on the hamster. Lilbear would leave the food in the bowl and just take out what she wanted, so i could constantly see how much was left. FuzeeFi would empty the bowl and move all the food to a corner and I could never tell what was happening so I would give her food during the week.

Each hamster would have breakfast of some description. Either porridge, bit of apple etc.

I suppose in reality i have always done in that way - since i had hamsters as a child. The only time i have provided a specific food mix is when a hamster is ill.

fluffymunchkins · 02-20-2010, 04:09 AM

i used to feed everyday with a couple of tespoons. But now i've changed to every other day. With treats on the other every other day (if that makes sense).
Fresh food i aim to give 2-3 times a week an things like yogurt drops and unhealthy treats are kept to at least once a week or less.
I tend to give more like crackers, millet seed, porridge oats, bread and those rodent marbles sammybingo mentioned! not the most popular but Peggy likes one every so often as a variety. Not sure about Porridge yet. I think i will start breakfast a couple times a week aswell. But it would be more of a supper as them being nocturnal and limited time in the morning.

Katty_Sheldon · 02-20-2010, 05:40 AM

Hmm. I used to put new food for my winter white every day. He is now so fat, that im ashamed to take him to the hamster show in two months, and now he is on a diet. I put him new food every 2 days, but just a little bit, and he always leaves some of his not-favorite seeds in the bowl. I give him chinese cabbage and carrot low fat treat every day. I hope he will loose some weight!

Tish36 · 02-20-2010, 08:42 AM

I feed when the bowl/the store is nearly empty

annie81 · 02-20-2010, 10:45 AM

yeah i do the same. herberts bowl is normally getting empty after 3 days and carlo takes almost a week to finish his bowl...

Smysha · 03-07-2010, 04:59 PM

Today seems to be my day of resurrecting threads that are done and dusted. However I would like some help as I'm not sure if what I am doing is right or not.

I used to give Jenga a daily supply of a generic hamster mix of about a tablespoon (sometimes and then some) her bowl was never empty when I went to refill it for the next day so sometimes I just used to add to it or chuck it out and give her a fresh amount. This seems really wasteful and after reading this thread I decided to just fill up her bowl and top up as needed. So far this is going well and I'm not wasting as much.

This isn't the only thing I give her. I also give her treats every day. These can be stuff I have bought and give her, things like milk drops, chocolate drops, egg biscuits, rodent balls and alfalfa chips. I also sometimes give her nuts, extra seeds, grapes, apple slices, dried fruit and a bit of carrot. As well as this she usually (nearly always) has a suspended food stick. First I had tropical fruit sticks, then corn cobs and now I'm down to my last vegetable stick. I like these as I love watching her trying to reach them (and I really love it when she falls). Over the last few days I've noticed her shunning some of the treats that aren't sweet. She shunned her rodent balls (for the first time in my experience - sometimes I hand feed her and sometimes I leave it in her treat bowl) so I gave her chocolate drops and today she shunned her alfalfa chips! So I gave her milk drops.

Today I've given her more than I usually do. There's still hamster feed in her bowl so I haven't topped that up. I gave her a tiny amount of dry weetabix in the morning. She's had her milk drops and I also popped two alfalfa chips into her treat bowl in case she changes her mind. I also made a treat toy for her where she has to chew her way through a toilet roll to get at some nuts and seeds. Annoyingly at some point this evening she tore off all food off her vegetable stick and has hoarded it somewhere - and I only hung it up Friday evening! She did that with her last corn cob stick too and I had to throw it away only a couple of days after as I needed to change her bedding.

Sorry for the essay but I guess I'm just worried that I'm doing something wrong. I don't want her to get fat! She is, as always, a hyperactive hamster and I don't want her to get too porky. I'm not sure if this is important but Jenga is also three months old.

Smysha · 03-07-2010, 04:59 PM

I am so sorry for the essay!

kazmac · 03-08-2010, 12:16 AM

Why do you hang her sticks where it seems she can't reach them? And why do you enjoy it when she falls?? I find that quite bizarre, I'm afraid.
In response to your saying that you give her shop bought treats most days - I would caution agaist that due to their very high sugaer content and very low nutritional value.