Too much protein? Higgins/Mazuri mix

Caro97songs · 07-19-2021, 07:12 PM

Hey guys.

I have been feeding my robo hamster Pancake a mixture of Higgins Sunburst seed mix and Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet lab blocks. I broke up the Mazuri blocks into smaller pieces and then mixed the whole bag of each food in a large container. When I refill his bowl, I then break the Mazuri blocks into even tinier pieces (until they are basically the same size as some of the items in the seed mix).

I'm worried that he's been getting too much Mazuri lab blocks (and consequently too much protein). I scoop 2 tablespoons whenever his bowl is empty and it appears that I mainly scoop the Mazuri pieces. There's definitely food from the seed mix in the bowl but just way less than the Mazuri pieces. I shake up the container before I scoop (which makes it easier to get more seed mix) but it still seems like his bowl is primarily the Mazuri. How much of an issue is this? Is him getting too much protein detrimental to his health?

I attached a PDF with a photo of his food bowl for reference.

Thanks!

AmityvilleHams · 07-19-2021, 09:59 PM

You should honestly be feeding Higgins Vita Garden on its own with Pure Bites added, not Sunburst & Mazuri. While robos aren't prone to diabetes fruit still isn't generally a natural part of hamster diets and can be very unhealthy at the levels Sunburst would have in a daily diet. Mazuri also isn't a high quality food - Pure Bites are a much higher quality source of protein though there's also the option of plain boiled egg for example but that's much less convenient and can be messy.

Caro97songs · 07-20-2021, 12:33 AM

Hey there.
Thanks for your input. So many people on various hamster forums were recommending the Higgins Sunburst seed mix and the Mazuri lab blocks so I assumed it was a high quality diet for my robo and went with it. I didn’t realize it was so unhealthy for him. Wow. His previous owner had him on oxbow pellets and some random seed mix and I thought I was improving his life by changing him to a healthier diet- Now I guess not! Lol

I’ll definitely purchase the Higgins Vita Garden mix and Purebites. Could you please tell me how much Higgins in weight and how much Purebites in weight should be added each time I refill his food bowl?

Thanks again! I really appreciate you letting me know that I wasn’t feeding Pancake correctly.