Mealworms in Cage From Seed Mix (not rlly a health issue but idk)

[fancyhamster]

Hello everyone. I know I have been very inactive on here with being in school, but I miss this forum so much and honestly wish I could go back to having free time to be here more haha.

This forum post is going to be all about dead mealworms, so if that is not something you can tolerate reading, I would advise to only read this at your own discretion!

--

I do need some tips or advice as this has never happened to me before. So, I got Robin's Gourmet Seed Mix for Syrian Hamsters maybe a few months ago, and now I have dead mealworms in Fancy's cage. He's sleeping right now so I can't look as much as I want to yet, but I have seen 4-5 so far, all dead. I looked in the seed mix bag, and as I suspected, there are at least 5 dead mealworms and very likely to have more I'm sure. I have to go buy a few containers and such before I can fully look. Also, just to clarify, I did freeze this bag for 48+ hours before doing anything else with it :/

What should I do? If they're all dead, do I have to clean out his cage entirely? I totally will if that is best for him, but I know that process would be VERY stressful for Fancy (who I just got to calm down more ) and don't want to do it unless absolutely necessary for his sake. if you need any more information before responding to this I will gladly provide more and I will be checking this forum more often than I have been recently so I will respond quickly.

Also, does anyone know any better seed mixes to get him? He really likes his seed mix and the scatter-feeding and it makes me sad to take it from him, but I just don't know that I can trust it after having freezed it for over 2 days and still finding dead mealworms. Fancy seems to be doing fine also, active at night but taking his usual naps/breaks around his usual times. Running on his wheel maybe slightly less though? At least I don't hear it as often I don't think and I've been having trouble sleeping and staying up very late some days.

Thank you all!

 

[Maz]

We're here It sounds like you have a lot on. Ok so first thing is - don't worry. Mixes are supposed to contain mealworms and they are supposed to be dead They're a source of protein for hamsters. They will be dried or freeze dried However if you find them a bit icky and Fancy doesn't seem to be eating them, you could try another mix. There are some US mixes on the link below - however the Bunny Dream mix also contains mealworms but Higgins Vitae Garden and Hazel Hamster don't contain any I have heard of Robin's mix but don't know much about it as there are quite a few of these "home made" mixes now. But would she be open to subsituting some ingredients? I think someone on here asked for something to be swapped - it's then up to Robin to get the analysis right for nutrition. One thing I do think about some of these mixes though is they can contain lentils and rely on the lentils for the protein and I don't think that's a best source of protein - sometimes hamsters don't eat them and there's a theory about them affecting digestion. So if Fancy isn't eating the mealworms or the lentils then he might not be getting enough protein.

I wouldn't want you to waste money on not using up a mix though - so maybe you could just pick the mealworms out for now - and give him a bit if chopped boiled egg a couple of times a week instead And/or a couple of shelled walnut halves. They are protein basically.

But if that's too grim then just replace it with another food.

 

[fancyhamster]

Oh my goodness, thank you SO much!!!!
I am very scared of bugs (if they're around me lol) and I panicked and was worried that Fancy was in harm's way. I would be just fine to pick out the mealworms though since they're supposed to be there, because I would assume that he must not be eating them anymore based on me finding them throughout his cage and not in his hoard. I can't believe I hadn't noticed them at all till now! But yes, her website does confirm that it includes meal worms and lentils as well. But since Fancy isn't eating the meal worms, he must be lacking protein. Also, it does say she will do modifications for free

So for the boiled eggs, should I chop it up finely and put that maybe in his bowl and not scattered around his cage so I can make sure he eats it at first? And how much should I give him relative to one egg, do you know? Also, I assume its okay to include the yolk in there too for protein? I will look into where i can get shelled walnut halves too while I practice making a good boiled egg hahaha.

Thank you so much, as always!

 

[Maz]

Glad that's eased your worries a bit! Ok so it can be boiled egg or scrambled egg, whichever is easier. You would only really want to give a very small bit of chopped boiled egg - no bigger than his ear again. Yoke as well as white is fine, but I tend to find once it's a piece that small there's hardly any or no yoke anyway as it's a tiny bit that falls out! The white is fine on its own as well. But it's maybe the easiest option as you boil an egg, chop it, keep it in a bowl in the fridge covered, and just take a bit out when you need it. But as you only need it two, maybe three times a week and can't keep it too long, a lot will be left over. I tend to cut the egg into quarters, eat 3 of the quarters and chop the fourth one into smaller pieces

For scrambled egg just whisk an egg in a cup with a bit of water and microwave it - I do maybe 10 seconds, stir, 10 seconds etc until it's about right - it doesn't take long. I take about a quarter of a teaspoon for the hamster and eat the rest .

As to how to give it - for the chopped boiled egg, I put it separately from the hamster food either on a separate little dish (a jar lid is fine) on a shelf or just directly on a tile that's on the shelf already. He will love it and go straight for it. Another reason to only give a bit as big as his ear is so he eats it all - too much and they might pouch it and then you'd worry where it was.

With scrambled egg I give it on the teaspoon I used to get the quarter teaspoon. Sometimes I just stand and hold the teaspoon into the cage or enclosure and the hamster sits and nibbles at it. Sometimes I give it when the hamster is out of the cage. Sometimes I just put the teaspoon on top of the bedding near the sleeping area (if the hamster isn't around but the smell usually brings them out) and the hamster eats it off the teaspoon. They might eat a bit and leave the rest but you'll find it all gone by morning as they come back for seconds later!

If there's anything left on the teaspoon or jar lid next morning, just remove it obviously.

Beware - some hamsters steel teaspoons! I had a robo who used to do this. I could never find the teaspoon. I'd eventually find it during a cage clean buried at the bottom of the cage I had a syrian do this as well - he'd drag it into his house and hoard it! Clearly it was very special because it had had something really tasty on it before!