Is this a healthy diet for a Russian dwarf?

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ggaabs19

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I am a first-time hamster owner. I've had my little hammy baby for less than a week, and I know there's a learning curve, but I am so worried that I'm doing so many things wrong. But let's start with diet. I've been doing a lot of research and I just want to make sure I'm doing things right and also clarify a few things:

1. I'm feeding my dwarf hammy 1 tablespoon of 50/50 Higgins Sunburst and Mazuri Rat and Mouse diet every other day. Does that seem like an appropriate amount for a dwarf? Also, the protein blocks seem really big. Should I cut them into smaller pieces or just feed one block per feeding?

2. I heard it's important to have a feeding schedule for your hamster but my hamster is very irregular with his sleep schedule and I don't want to wake him up. Do I just feed him when he's awake or is it ok to wake him up for feeding?

3. How much fresh veg is appropriate for a hamster each day? I saw on this forum one "thumb nail" size but that seems really small.

Anyway, thanks for being patient with a nervous newbie! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Oops one more thing: can anyone recommend a hard dog treat that is hamster-safe, apart from Whimzees?
 
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Hello ggaabs19 and welcome to the forum. Am I correct in thinking you are in US? I ask this as this will help members with advice on what food to buy. :)

I can understand you feeling nervous. I have my first hamster and I am always worrying about making sure he is happy. It is so lovely you care so much.

With having a routine for feeding, you can put out food even if your hamster is asleep. That way they can choose if they want to eat or carry on sleeping. I would put my hamster food in his bowl every day at the same time. You do not need to wake your hamster. They can eat when they feel like.

I know the veg portion sounds small but dwarf hamsters really do not need very much vegetables. :)

Does the Higgins sunburst contain fruit? I think this one contains fruit and the Higgins vita garden does not. As you have a dwarf hamster I would switch to the vita garden.

I personally would feed other things then the lab blocks such as meal worms and a small piece of walnut. I do not believe hamsters need lab blocks myself. :)

It would be lovely to know your hamsters name. Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of hamsters. :)

I do not know any other dog treats but hopefully somebody else will.
 
This is a link with more information about food:
www.thehamsterforum.com

Currently available Hamster mixes

Like many other things, different brands of hamster mix have become harder to come by since the pandemic. Zooplus in particular, no longer sell the Bunny Dream mixes for Dwarf and Syrian hamsters (they don't ship to the Uk anyway). I now get these from ebay or Vetsend who stock them. Current...
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
Oops one
RainbowBrite said:
Hello ggaabs19 and welcome to the forum. Am I correct in thinking you are in US? I ask this as this will help members with advice on what food to buy. :)

I can understand you feeling nervous. I have my first hamster and I am always worrying about making sure he is happy. It is so lovely you care so much.

With having a routine for feeding, you can put out food even if your hamster is asleep. That way they can choose if they want to eat or carry on sleeping. I would put my hamster food in his bowl every day at the same time. You do not need to wake your hamster. They can eat when they feel like.

I know the veg portion sounds small but dwarf hamsters really do not need very much vegetables. :)

Does the Higgins sunburst contain fruit? I think this one contains fruit and the Higgins vita garden does not. As you have a dwarf hamster I would switch to the vita garden.

I personally would feed other things then the lab blocks such as meal worms and a small piece of walnut. I do not believe hamsters need lab blocks myself. :)

It would be lovely to know your hamsters name. Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of hamsters. :)
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Oh wow thanks for such a quick reply! His name is Edmond and he is just cutiest little cutie. I’ll attach a photo. And yes, I’m in the US.

Thanks for the suggestions on mix and blocks. They did seem quite big. Do you know what is an appropriate ratio of seed mix to mealworms? I’d like to have it mixed in one container for east serving. I just checked the bag and it seems I just have the regular Higgins mix not the vita garden so I will purchase that ASAP.

Seriously, thank you so much for your reply and for being so friendly!
 
Aww Edmond is sooo cute! He has lovely markings. I like his name too. That is a nice name. :)

I actually do not know which ratio to meal worms you would do. If you wanted to do it precisely you would look at the protein in the mix and then work out how many meal worms were needed to get up to a good level. I am clueless with maths so have no idea how to do that but I am sure another member will know.

You are so welcome.
It is a bit quiet on here due to it being Christmas and New Year. :)
 
I just read the vita garden has 15% protein and it is suggested hamsters have 15-18% protein. I do not know if that is of any help to you.
 
Hello and welcome :-) Your hamster is absolutely gorgeous! Such a lovely colouring. Rainbow has given you some good tips. I think the idea with the US foods is using lab block to supplement the protein. But as Rainbow says, there are other ways of supplementing protein. Some people are very keen on being exact working out the protein. The protein level is important, but others, including me, are a bit more organic about it :-). One of my mixes only has 15% protein, and I supplement with fresh food like nuts, egg etc - 2 or 3 times a week. Which is not an exact science but it works fine and my hamster is very healthy :-). I actually mix it 50/50 with Harry Hamster, which contains 18% protein (18 to 20 is the correct amount). So then you add the 15% to the 18% and divide by two and get .................16.5% - so just a bit of supplementation.

Anyway - yes the Higgins Vita Garden is popular in the US and sugar free is best as much as possible with a dwarf hamster as they are prone to diabetes - so anything to prevent that developing is helpful. So as well as a sugar free mix, this applies to treats as well - such as chew sticks, fresh food etc. So it's better not to give fruit, which contains fruit sugars. Veg is fine.

It's up to you how you supplement the protein. Some people use lab block - I don't know how you would work out the amount. Presumably it says x ounces equals x grammes? And that is coming out as a large amount?

If you prefer you could supplement with other protein - dried shrimps, mealworms, dried chicken bits, walnuts, brazil nuts, peanuts (no salt) are all high in protein. As are insects like dried crickets (none of mine would ever eat those) or a bit of scrambled egg as a treat.

So protein treats like that, 2 or 3 times a week will balance things out. Hamsters naturally seem to only eat as much as they want - so you can't really overfeed the protein treats. For example my syrian gets really excited about half a walnut and rushes off with it, but I know he only nibbles the odd bit off it and hoards the rest.

Generally dog biscuits aren't seen as suitable for hamsters - Whimzees are a bit of an exception - they are very popular with hamsters and the ingredients are known to be safe. Is there a particular reason you don't like Whimzees?

There are other chews that are good for their teeth too. Various hamster treat sticks.
 
Re veg - yes they only need a really tiny amount. Especially dwarf hamsters. I give our syrian a bit that is approximately 1cm cubed size and about half that for our robo. They really eat such tiny amounts and if you put a lot of veg out they may hoard some of it and it go rotten. I find they tend to eat the fresh veg straight away. Broccoli, cucumber, carrot, peas are all fine.
 
Maz said:
Hello and welcome :) Your hamster is absolutely gorgeous! Such a lovely colouring. Rainbow has given you some good tips. I think the idea with the US foods is using lab block to supplement the protein. But as Rainbow says, there are other ways of supplementing protein. Some people are very keen on being exact working out the protein. The protein level is important, but others, including me, are a bit more organic about it :). One of my mixes only has 15% protein, and I supplement with fresh food like nuts, egg etc - 2 or 3 times a week. Which is not an exact science but it works fine and my hamster is very healthy :). I actually mix it 50/50 with Harry Hamster, which contains 18% protein (18 to 20 is the correct amount). So then you add the 15% to the 18% and divide by two and get .................16.5% - so just a bit of supplementation.

Anyway - yes the Higgins Vita Garden is popular in the US and sugar free is best as much as possible with a dwarf hamster as they are prone to diabetes - so anything to prevent that developing is helpful. So as well as a sugar free mix, this applies to treats as well - such as chew sticks, fresh food etc. So it's better not to give fruit, which contains fruit sugars. Veg is fine.

It's up to you how you supplement the protein. Some people use lab block - I don't know how you would work out the amount. Presumably it says x ounces equals x grammes? And that is coming out as a large amount?

If you prefer you could supplement with other protein - dried shrimps, mealworms, dried chicken bits, walnuts, brazil nuts, peanuts (no salt) are all high in protein. As are insects like dried crickets (none of mine would ever eat those) or a bit of scrambled egg as a treat.

So protein treats like that, 2 or 3 times a week will balance things out. Hamsters naturally seem to only eat as much as they want - so you can't really overfeed the protein treats. For example my syrian gets really excited about half a walnut and rushes off with it, but I know he only nibbles the odd bit off it and hoards the rest.

Generally dog biscuits aren't seen as suitable for hamsters - Whimzees are a bit of an exception - they are very popular with hamsters and the ingredients are known to be safe. Is there a particular reason you don't like Whimzees?

There are other chews that are good for their teeth too. Various hamster treat sticks.
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Wow thanks so much for the wealth of information! So if I were to sum it all up, it seems like based on Rainbow's comment, the Vita Garden mix has a decent amount of protein, but I could supplement with protein treats a couple of times a week just to round things out. Does that sound right?

I don't have anything against Whimzees, they just seemed kind of expensive. But I was able to find a smaller pack for cheaper online.

I seriously appreciate your help! I am so glad I found this forum!
 
You're welcome :) One thing you could do, if you're a new owner and worried about the correct diet, is mix two mixes together. Science Selective is an all in one hamster food that contains the correct amount of protein. It has 19%. All in one foods aren't ideal for hamsters as they like the variety of a muesli mix, but they usually like the taste of it. But if you mix the Science Selective 50/50 with the Higgins Vita Garden it would give you a protein level of 17% - then there isn't too much supplementing to worry about as 17% is a good level. I would still supplement with some protein treats, but it's less crucial.

It seems to be out of stock at Amazon at the moment, but other pet stores may have it. I usually keep it in for older hamsters with eating difficulties and soak it so they can have softened food with everything needed in.

I think that would be a good option for you. Mix the Higgins Vita Garden 50/50 with the Science Selective pellets and a couple of times a week (or more) give a protein treat like a peanut in its shell or a mealworm eg. Walnuts go down well here! That keeps it simple.

Once a hamster is a year old they don't need as much protein and 17% would be fine then.

supremepetfoods.com

Science Selective Hamster

Our Science Selective hamster food provides a nutritionally complete diet with oats & barley. Formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of hamsters.
supremepetfoods.com supremepetfoods.com
 
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I also know that worry feeling when you first have a hamster! I was a real worry head with our first one. I jumped every time he jumped. I stressed every time he stressed. I felt guilty every time he got upset about something (like when I made a mistake setting his cage up and had to re do a few things). But they get over it and forgive you :-) And you can get a really close bond. Watch and they'll communicate and let you know things!
 
Maz said:
I also know that worry feeling when you first have a hamster! I was a real worry head with our first one. I jumped every time he jumped. I stressed every time he stressed. I felt guilty every time he got upset about something (like when I made a mistake setting his cage up and had to re do a few things). But they get over it and forgive you :) And you can get a really close bond. Watch and they'll communicate and let you know things!
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Yes the struggle is real! I already got off on the wrong foot because I didn't realize you're supposed to leave your hamster alone the first few days after you bring them home. We were petting Edmond and picking him up. I think it made him a little territorial because now he's a biter and is a bit wary of us. So I'll be heading to the "taming" section to ask some questions there when I get a chance 😅. But it's nice to know we can overcome this awkward station...hopefully!
 
Aw - yes it's time and patience at first. And can be frustrating when wanting to handle them and having to leave them alone. It can take up to two weeks for them to fully settle into a cage and best not to clean anything during that time and not disturb things. Too much cleaning out stresses them too. Spot cleaning mainly works fine :)

If you feel nervous about him biting again, wear gloves at first. Then you're more relaxed and the hamster won't pick up any nervousness from you.

Start by talking to him daily through the cage so he gets familiar with voice and scent.

Did you see the bit about Science Selective mixed half and half with the Higgins? I think that would work well.
 
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