Kaytee Forti-Diet?

[BrainGirl]

I've been feeding Brownie Living World's Extrusion Diet for hamsters alongside her regular mixed food just because I was given a bag. She seems to prefer it so I was thinking of continuing with a complete pelleted food like it. When I went to pick up some food for my "temp" chinchilla I chose Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro-Health with DHA Omega-3's and probiotics. The chinchilla really likes it and hopefully, it's really good for him. Kaytee also makes similar mixes for other small animals and I wondered if anyone has any experience with them. What's weird though is that there are 2 different mixes that they claim are good for hamsters!

One is pelleted and contains 21% protein and 4.5% fat: Kaytee KAYTEE Forti-Diet Pro Health Mouse & Rat

The other is a mix of seeds and bits and contains 13.5% protein and 6% fat: Kaytee KAYTEE Forti-Diet Pro Health Hamster & Gerbil

They have wildly different nutritional make-up just glancing at the info but they're both recommended for hamsters.

Any advice?

[SammytheSyrian]

I buy kaytee products. I have Fiesta Max which claims to have "Omega 3's"

[WinterbellHams]

I would not reccomend these. The protein content is not high enough. Hamsters need 15-18% protein at least. Kaytee products also contain preservatives... One in particular called ethyoxyquin that has been linked to cancer in small animals. I would steer clear of any Kaytee products.. They are one of the worst brands imho.

[BrainGirl]

According to the website ingredient list, ethoxyquin is not an ingredient. I was warned about that on the gerbil forum and so I've watched for it ever since. I know I'd heard that other Kaytee products were bad but this new one looks pretty good. And it does have 21% protein!

What brand(s) do you recommend?

[BrainGirl]

Hmm...did some research on Ethoxyquin this morning to try to learn more about it. According to the short Wiki article, it's an antioxidant used as a food preservative and a pesticide! It was the pesticide bit that got me concerned so I did more research and discovered that it's labeled a pesticide but the only use I've been able to find for it is in a product called StopScald where it acts more as a preservative than as a pesticide since scald is not caused by a pathogen. It is however known to kill fish and on the MSDS I was slightly concerned to find that it falls under the category of "Agricultural Chemical Mutagen ".

The fact that the studies mentioned in the Wiki article that led to the FDA asking for a voluntary reduction in pet food levels were never published is frankly a little odd...but from everything I read, the toxic dose is ridiculously high and the cancer risk extremely low. But that doesn't take into account long-term, low-dose feedings so draw from that what you will

And then there's the fact of who developed and manufactured the stuff, which is reason enough for me to avoid it!

[WinterbellHams]

I would go with the Hazel/Harry mix or the Mazuri blocks. I feed a lab block diet, but I special order mine in 50 lb bags. I use Prolab RMH 3000. Same company that does Mazuri, but Mazuri is pet quality food whereas what I use it laboratory quailty for breeding colonies in labs and such. Mine also get a homemade seed mix though as well.

Edit: That is some interesting reseach you have found. I have never done the research myself; just gone by the research everyone else has mentioned time and time again..

[BrainGirl]

Yeah, I'm a great one for double checking stuff The unfortunate fact is that special interests can and do pay people to make certain findings. And the same fact can be presented in such a way as to make it seem that it supports something it really doesn't. I'm a bit of a cynic that way and I'm absolutely the worst person to watch TV with because I can't help but pick apart the claims made in commercials. My friends just mute the TV now during the commercial breaks

Then there's the fact that in almost every type of work I've done, I've had to take the MSDS course so I know I can get a lot of useful info out from that source right off the bat