[tinypixiexoxo]

Having been a dwarf hamster owner for about 10 years, I have bought practically the same food over the years, and have gotten to know which seeds and treats are eaten and which are rejected. It has come to the point that I throw out about half of the weight of the food or more due to rejected food. So I have 2 wonderings:

1. Am I teaching my hamsters to be picky and only munch on their favorites because I refresh their food daily? The food says for hamsters and mice, and I wonder perhaps mice or other kinds of hamsters do consume the other ingredients my dwarves do not?

and 2. Could I potentially buy food that contains only these few ingredients and supplement the rest with fruits, veggies and mineral pellets (which i supplement their current food with anyway)?

The ingredients that I know they love and instantly load up on are those really tiny white seeds, look like sesame seeds, and the sunflower looking seeds (both white and black, and smaller, just black ones). They also like the perfectly round beige pea ones and peanuts. They usually reject the red round seeds, the small pellets and the tiny oblong beige seeds.

Now, sometimes when I'm in the grocery store, or at the pet store, I see BIRD SEED BAGS that have 95% teeny white seeds and 5% sunflower looking seeds. Are these safe for my hamsters if I bought this bird seed? Is there perhaps some kind of coating on the seeds (they look particularly shiny) that could harm my dwarves?

I suppose a good google search is in order, but if any one has any thoughts, that's why I post here

 

[Jess]

I've heard that it's healthier to feed them lab blocks with only a little bit of that seed mix, so that they don't just pick out their "favorites". I think my sister just feeds Theo the seed stuff though. When I has my hamsters, I just did the same thing you did.

 

[punkinseed14]

Lol my syrians have been the opposite and wouldnt touch te tiny stuff, I decided it was filler to make it seem like u got more but apparently its all up to the hamster's taste! They say its best to dump and refill their food anyway, but after some experiemtning Ive found a brand that Daisy eats more stuff out of.

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

interesting! thanks!

 

[Lacrima]

I think it would be a very nice change if you chose another type of food to prevent this finicky behavior that is wasting your money. What I do is purchase a few different kinds of foods and mix them all together in a large container. It lasts for very considerable amount of time for the money and you can pick out the corn and such you don't want them stuffing on and save them for treats.

Sunflower seeds are actually VERY healthy and don't really need to be taken out unless there are tons of them in the same bowl. (Too much of anything is bad blablabla hahaha.)

A good mix would need a lot of fiber, less sugars, some protein (Like meal worms or boiled chicken.), of course fruits and vegetables and some dairy like cheese and yogurt drops which provide vitamins and minerals.

I prefer to use Hazel Hamster (Harry Hamster), Carefresh Complete (One of the healthiest choices as it has Omega 3 and no dyes.) and Mazuri (Blocks that are the best in nutritional value.). Sometimes I add some bird seed mix, so no it is not dangerous to feed them this but only in small portions (like treats on the food) rather then the food itself since they have a lot of sugars.

I usually just mix all of this and it lasts me almost 3 months as I portion food to my Hamsters every other three days.

If you just want to focus on one food that is usually pleasing to most Hamsters, I would go with Carefresh Complete or Hazel Hamster. These are also great with Diabetic Hamsters, just pick out most of the corn and you are good!

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

thank youuuuu!!!!!!!!!