# Trying to decide on a hamster mix



## Lottie2002 (Dec 10, 2019)

I’m trying to learn about hamster nutrition in order to find a good hamster mix.
Would this be a good diet or not?

•50% Harry Hamster mix

ingredients:
Extruded wheat, soya bean meal, toasted wheat, flaked peas, alfalfa meal, whole maize, flaked maize, sunflower seeds, peanut kernels, peanuts in shells, pumpkin seeds, soya bean hulls, soya oil, wheat feed, extruded locust beans.

Nutrition: protein- 18%, fat- 6%, fibre- 6%

•50% RatRations dwarf hamster basic - no shrimps

ingredients:

Buckwheat
Canary Seed
Yellow Biscuit
Flaked Rye
Flaked Soya
Groats
Hemp
Brown Lentils
Linseed
Mealworms
Milk Thistle
Mixed Millet
Niger
Paddy Rice
Peanut Granules
Pumpkin Seed
Sunflower
Safflower
Whole Wheat
White Dari
Whole Barley

nutrition: protein- 19.3%, fat- 6.1%, fibre- 8%

Along with some fresh fruit/veg and a forage mix I have.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

I mean it's not terrible but not the best either. Some good balanced mixes to look at are bunny dwarf, getzoo and rodipet. High quality and organic ingredients which are more biologically appropriate as it's based off their natural diet


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## heidii (May 5, 2019)

Engel98 said:


> I mean it's not terrible but not the best either. Some good balanced mixes to look at are bunny dwarf, getzoo and rodipet. High quality and organic ingredients which are more biologically appropriate as it's based off their natural diet


Really depends on the hamster type their intending on getting. I don't like Harry Hamster because it doesn't have a whole lot of things in it despite hitting those nutritional requirements. And, you can't always know what your hamsters eating because they can take it to their burrow and whatnot.

Rodipet and bunny dwarf are fine foods but the issue is that they are fine, fine grains. I found they are especially good for the smaller types of hamster, but for Syrians, not so much. Even the Rodipet Syrian/Teddy is incredibly fine and I wouldn't really recommend for Syrians. My boy is fine with it, but since you do need to supplement Rodipet regardless, I'm not sure it's really worth the hassle for these larger types.

I think if you're really getting into what the best foods are, make your own! There's lots of tutorials out there to hit those nutritional requirements. You could also get it on Etsy, for a much higher price & you won't have the knowledge of how it's made and if it's hitting those requirements.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

heidii said:


> Really depends on the hamster type their intending on getting. I don't like Harry Hamster because it doesn't have a whole lot of things in it despite hitting those nutritional requirements. And, you can't always know what your hamsters eating because they can take it to their burrow and whatnot.
> 
> Rodipet and bunny dwarf are fine foods but the issue is that they are fine, fine grains. I found they are especially good for the smaller types of hamster, but for Syrians, not so much. Even the Rodipet Syrian/Teddy is incredibly fine and I wouldn't really recommend for Syrians. My boy is fine with it, but since you do need to supplement Rodipet regardless, I'm not sure it's really worth the hassle for these larger types.
> 
> I think if you're really getting into what the best foods are, make your own! There's lots of tutorials out there to hit those nutritional requirements. You could also get it on Etsy, for a much higher price & you won't have the knowledge of how it's made and if it's hitting those requirements.


The rodipet one is based on what they eat in the wild hence why it's considered one of the best! Pet hamsters don't have any biological differences to the ones in the wild. They're designed to eat grains and some insects.

I really discourage making your own as it's not easy. Yes it's easy to hit the macro nutrients but not the micronutrients. You'll need over 30 different ingredients and a lot of maths. So many pitfalls I'm afraid.


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## heidii (May 5, 2019)

Engel98 said:


> The rodipet one is based on what they eat in the wild hence why it's considered one of the best! Pet hamsters don't have any biological differences to the ones in the wild. They're designed to eat grains and some insects.
> 
> I really discourage making your own as it's not easy. Yes it's easy to hit the macro nutrients but not the micronutrients. You'll need over 30 different ingredients and a lot of maths. So many pitfalls I'm afraid.


So many pitfalls for it but that goes for making any animals food. I did mention they'd have to do a lot of research, but in the long run it would be a lot healthier than shipping Rodipet to UK.

And yes, Rodipet is good because it is similar to the wild, it is why I use it. However, I still wouldn't say it's the best. The best you could do is your own research, and make your own food. Rodipet isn't a full diet, so can be a bit of a hassle on its own. I never said making your own food is easy, but I'd argue if done properly, could be the best option you have.


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## UnderThePaw (May 15, 2021)

I’m not an expert on balancing and haven’t tried mixing my own for hamsters (though used to do it for my rats and worked really well) but a vote for bunny dream here… don’t know if yours is a dwarf or a Syrian but the dwarf mix is excellent. I have recently not been able to get it zooplus due to stock but someone in a local Facebook group of the rescue our hamsters come from gave me a heads up it’s available not too expensive on eBay just now!


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