Oxbow Hamster/Gerbil food

[banjosnotbombs]

I was reading on the Oxbow Hay website that they have a new line of hamster and gerbil food called Healthy Handfuls. Has anyone tried this food, and what did you think? Is it in a pellet form?
(broken link removed)

 

[Jennicat]

I picked up a bag to add to my gerbil's mix, and he hasn't been big on it. It's always the very last thing he eats, and he doesn't seem enthused about it. It's in brown circles, almost like a cheerio.

 

[aqh88]

I think by itself it's one of the worst diets I've heard of. Hamsters and gerbils are omnivores that naturally feed on a variety of seeds, grains, nuts, etc... Along with some plant matter and insects. To say this diet is good because it has no seeds shows a complete lack of research into the nutritional needs and natural diet of these animals. They are not guinea pigs. They are extremely different from guinea pigs and do not graze on grass. They forage through a wide variety of foods mostly consisting of the reproductive parts of plants not the leaves and stems. A properly mixed seed and grain based diet is what a gerbil or hamster needs not a grass based pellet, cube, or similar. On top of that it's 1 diet for 2 different species. That's never a good sign. While hamsters and gerbils are quite similar and you can easily modify the diet of one to match the other you can't expect them both to eat the exact same thing. Hamsters need a higher energy diet with more calories, fats, and proteins while gerbils will get quite fat on a good hamster diet.

However the Healthy Handfuls does make a good addition to a home mix. I included some in my new mix along with sunflower seeds, oats, parakeet, and parrot seed mixes. Using the bird seed mixes means I get more variety without having to buy each type of seed and nut in bulk to add to my own mix. Variety is the best way to have a healthy gerbil or hamster along with not overfeeding them so they have to eat the entire mix. Only give them what they will eat in a day and make sure they aren't hiding the bits they don't like somewhere in the cage.

Now if your not mixing your own the best food I've found is Supreme pet foods' Gerri gerbil or Harry Hamster. If you can only find a quality hamster mix for your gerbil add some seeds like the parakeet seed mix to lower the overall fat and protein ratio. Or the reverse add more nuts and sunflower seeds to a gerbil mix for a hamster but usually the hamster food is easier to find. For example mazuri hamster and gerbil is designed more towards a hamster and lacks variety, it's made of plain cubes, but for about 6months I used it as a base and then added parakeet mix to it for the gerbils.

 

[cookie_gal]

Harry Hamster is probably about the best hamster food going. Hamsters need these seeds and things.

I'm annoyed and disappointed at oxbow for producing such a feed. I don'tknow if they think that just because people rave about their piggy food people will automatically assume the hamster food is excellent. A hamster fed on this will be BORED.

 

[Jennicat]

I'd be curious to see Oxbow's research before jumping into the "they don't know what they're talking about" train. They research these new foods very carefully, usually (for example, they're currently working with the pot bellied pig rescue here to develop a line of pot bellied pig foods). I personally can't find many nutrition sources that aren't based on a.) labs or b.) breeders who generally take the info from labs.

 

[YANGLiCiOUS]

My friend who is an expert in this said that one stuffs that was adding in is half and not whole, so it is NOT good to have the pack of food for long.

 

[crazywiggy]

Having not looked into what Oxbow contains (compared to the nutritional needs of the hamster) I don't know how good it is. But, this is my general opinion....

Pellet vs mixed feed:

The main reason for feeding a pellet is to stop selective feeding. (In the case of guinea pigs it helps because it does not present a choking hazard, but this is an extra benefit not the main purpose).

The problem with mixes (however good or bad) is that the animal can choose only the bits they like best. This often leads to them becoming overweight (because they invariably choose the high fat parts like nuts and seeds) and not getting a balanced diet.

Pellets can also be good or bad. Because the animal can't selective feed, it gets the same nutrients in every mouthful. If this is a good pellet (in terms of the nutrients it contains), then yes the animal can get optimum nutrition from it.

Of course the problem with feeding a "complete" pelleted diet is that it is boring.

Overal, we can't tell how good or bad Oxbow's feed is unless we look at its nutritional content, and I would hope Oxbow would try to ensure good nutrition. It isn't bad purely because it is pelleted, unless you happen to have an animal that simply refuses to eat it.

 

[YANGLiCiOUS]

Nono, I don't mind the pellets or not.
What I mean is one of the ingredients. I'll ask my friend and check back with you guys later.
For hamsters I still think feeding a good mix with Human Graded Organic and freshes is good. We feed sprouts too.