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Coderedfield47
I have two bags of Oxbow essentials, would like to know when its time to switch out the food dish.
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RainbowBrite
Oxbow contains hay which is unsuitable for hamsters. Sadly pet shops often recommend it.
With hamster food I like to freeze it for a week to ensure there are no bugs. Once it is defrosted I put it in an air tight container.
Have a browse on the home page as there is a lot of great information on there.
With hamster food I like to freeze it for a week to ensure there are no bugs. Once it is defrosted I put it in an air tight container.
Have a browse on the home page as there is a lot of great information on there.
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Agree - Oxbow is not a good food for hamsters. A good one for a dwarf hamster is Higgins Vita Kraft because it's sugar free and dwarf hamsters need a sugar free diet (they are a diabetes prone species and a sugar free diet helps prevent the onset of diabetes if the hamster has that particular genetic make up). However the Higgins is slighly low in protein so the protein needs supplementing. There are various ways to do this. Some people use mazuri rat and mouse block. Others use fresh food like chopped boiled egg, nuts, mealworms. Or you can get freeze dried chicken or shrimps.
In terms of how much food to give each day, it's about two rounded teaspoonfuls a day (or one rounded dessertspoonful). It needs putting out daily because even if the hamsters leave food in the bowl, they won't eat the old food - only the new - and they seem to expect fresh food each day. You can either add the new on top and only empty the dish when it's full. Or you can tip the dish out each day and refill it.
In terms of how much food to give each day, it's about two rounded teaspoonfuls a day (or one rounded dessertspoonful). It needs putting out daily because even if the hamsters leave food in the bowl, they won't eat the old food - only the new - and they seem to expect fresh food each day. You can either add the new on top and only empty the dish when it's full. Or you can tip the dish out each day and refill it.
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Coderedfield47
Everything the pet stores do and say is wrong. Is there no hamster food at pet stores that just has what I need without the bad stuff? Can the meal worms be dead?
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Coderedfield47
It really needs to stop. They tried to sell me a chinese water dragon one time saying he only needed crickets. What a disgusting practice.It’s better if the mealworms are dead. Freeze dried. Yes unfortunately pet stores are commercial enterprises and will sell you things without knowing if it’s any good or not.
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Coderedfield47
Can I store multiple bags of food to last him for basically his life or does the bag stuff have a pretty definite expiration date?It’s better if the mealworms are dead
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Coderedfield47
Oxbow has most of crude protein nutrients and stuff, but what if I boil him an egg and some carrots and broccoli and peas (or unsalted canned ones) and use less of the oxbow, and more of that? Until I get vitacraft and mealworms as his mainstay diet
It would be quite difficult to keep his diet balanced with the right nutrients doing that.
It would be fine to give a tiny bit of egg occasionally as an extra though & it’s good to give them a little veg daily, most things should be given raw, it’s only really potatoes & sweet potatoes that need cooking & just a small piece of something daily.
It would be fine to give a tiny bit of egg occasionally as an extra though & it’s good to give them a little veg daily, most things should be given raw, it’s only really potatoes & sweet potatoes that need cooking & just a small piece of something daily.
I just had a look at the oxbow essentials & although a hay based food isn’t ideal it won’t really harm him to have that as his main mix until you can get the new food.
I’m not actually sure what the main issue is with hamsters having hay tbh although it’s not a natural diet for them, I think some people are concerned about the fibre content maybe but Oxbow is 10-15% fibre which isn’t too far out of range, my mix is 11.6% & the hamsters do fine on that so short term I wouldn’t worry too much.
I’m not actually sure what the main issue is with hamsters having hay tbh although it’s not a natural diet for them, I think some people are concerned about the fibre content maybe but Oxbow is 10-15% fibre which isn’t too far out of range, my mix is 11.6% & the hamsters do fine on that so short term I wouldn’t worry too much.
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Coderedfield47
so if I give him raw safe veggies except those he won't have any issues
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Coderedfield47
I'm more worried about the 2 cube pieces of papaya cake I mistakenly fed him this week, and want to deter diabetes as a priority for him right now.
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RainbowBrite
Once will not give him diabeties. Do not worry about that.
Sorry I’m not sure what you meant by “except those” but yes short term, not as a permanent diet he’ll be ok with the oxbow & some veg.
Agree about the papaya, just having it the once isn’t a problem.
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Coderedfield47
They live such fast lives its hard not to see a small amount of something bad as a lot for them since their existence is on warp speed compared to ours. I've been feeding him half this and half oxbow:
He seems to prefer the mix but I don't know if this is ideal.
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Coderedfield47
It was from a food dispenser in the store. I wouldn't be 45% sure on its contents. It was recommended for the wild roof rat baby I tried to save after I nursed the baby with puppy milk. (my brain is still processing the whiplash from the sudden death of my first rodent companion)