Hi Pet Haveneers!
For a while, I’ve been wanting to share my hamsters’ homemade seed mix recipe here, but life got in the way! Since I need a break from my thesis, I decided to make this thread now.
This will be more like my food mix journal than going straight to the recipe. I changed and will keep changing my recipe a lot, so I’ll record those changes here. I’ll start from the middle of my food quest—the ‘final’ recipe I provided for the hamsters.
But first, a disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert at hamster nutrition. I’m just a hamster enthusiast who lived somewhere good hamster foods aren’t easily available, and I happen to have interest in a bit of the science of food. I don’t claim my homemade mix to be perfectly balanced, for I can only tell the macronutrient percentages, the ingredients, and no more.
However I did put my time and mind into this, did my research, looked into the homemade mixes made before mine, and have my thriving hamsters on this food.
I also don’t recommend modifying this recipe if you don’t re-calculate the nutrient content! A tiny change could change the final result drastically. Try to stick to the recipe, or do some research and make your own from scratch.
So! Let’s get onto the fun stuff!
Mixture 1
This is the food mix I made for Valor and Acuity, my djungarian hamsters. I gave them this when they are adults (about 12-18 months old) alongside Supreme Science Selective and Mazuri Hamster and Gerbil. This is a little high in fat, but they never got too chubby from it.
This is what it looks like:
Mixture 2
This one I made for Verity, another djungarian. Ver is an oddball who always looks heavy, so I worry about giving her food that is high in fat. Basically, this is the reduced fat version of the first mixture. It was also fed alongside Supreme Science Selective and Mazuri Hamster and Gerbil. It looks about the same as the first one, but I forgot to add soybeans in this.
Mixture 3
This is a tryout mixture for Valor, who developed a tumor at 16 months. I was originally advised to remove animal products from her diet, to create an alkaline body pH that’s unfriendly to tumor and cancer. Afterwards, I found this theory to be questionable, however I did made her a vegan diet because both freeze-dried meat and dried insects are very hard to get where I live. I had them imported from UK previously, which is not convenient.
My vet was also worried about the preservatives found in commercial foods, so I gradually reduced the commercial pellets I fed with this. I was quite nervous since this will be the first time I don’t mix my homemade food with commercial food (which is lab tested to be nutritionally balanced, thus helped to cover the loopholes in my homemade mix). I made sure to notice any changes in Valor.
It looks very, very green due to the large amount of peas, lentils, and mung beans in it. I don’t have a photo though.
Mixture 4I now only have two hamsters, Valor and Verity. Both are getting old, 17 months and 20 months respectively. I’m worried about the protein content of the food, which could be too high. I’m still not quite sure what is the ideal range for older hamsters, but I want enough protein so their old bodies can keep their weight and generate enough body heat, but not too much that it’ll tax their kidneys. It’s really vague, but I settled with this. I reduced the amount of barley and brown rice since those two aren’t their favorites.I added bulgur, a traditional wheat product I found. I also ended up changing their diet to only homemade seed mix, without any commercial portion at all. The test with Valor went fine, and they both had been on this mix for a month and is doing fine.
This is what it looks like:
So that’s the current mix I am using. I’m pleased that it seems there’s no problem when my mix is fed alone, but I wouldn’t go about recommending this for your hamsters... they might have different needs.
Mixing it with a commercial diet would be the safest.
Keep in mind that aside from the seed mix (and previously pellets) I fed my hamsters with a variety of vegetables everyday, and a sprinkle of dried herbs every now and then. It might be this that covered what might be lacking in my homemade mix. I fed lots and lots of vegetables, contrary to what some may believe that it’s bad for them to have so many fresh foods, mine had no problem at all with a handful of veggies everyday.
I will keep this thread updated when I change my recipe again! Maybe not in long time, since my hammies are getting old and it’ll be a while until I adopt a new hamster.
I’ll gladly answer questions and receive feedbacks about my homemade mix and my hamsters’ diet. Don’t hesitate to ask stuff!