Hazel Hamster Food
Having a winter white hamster, I need hamster food that doesn't have too much sugary ingredients as dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. Hazel was the most recommended seed mix since it has no sugar or cane molasses. It does have alot of corn and peas though, but they're easy to take out as they are whole and not in tiny pieces or part of the pellets. Almost all of the hamster food have sugar and have sugary ingredients like corn and peas. Other hamster food are also processed which is not healthy, and if the bag says its enriched or fortified with vitamins that's a dead giveaway that the food has been processed to a point that they have to add the vitamins they lost back into the food. Dwarf hamsters natural diet should mostly be of small seeds similar to birds, but there are no pet food that has such a diet unless you live in Europe. Hazel Hamster is not the greatest food, but people recommend it because it doesn't have sugar and other junk foods. It really doesn't provide a good diet by itself so, and you will end up having to throw away at least 1/3 of the bag. Many buy pellet food like Mazuri or Oxbow to compensate. I had to buy some hamster safe bird seed to add to Hazel since it doesn't have any small seeds like canary, millets, and grass seeds. Also the protein is much too little for dwarfs as they need about 22% so adding something like mealworms is recommended. The mix also includes alfalfa and timothy hay pellets, but hamsters are tend to ignore them so you would have to buy some timothy hay to replace the pellets. Hamsters will definitely eat the hay, but just in small amounts as its not a huge part of their diet like it is for rabbits or guinea pigs. Syrain hamsters have a slightly different diet and they can eat the corn and sugary foods and treats. Robo hamster can also eat sugary foods. So the common pet food you find is more appropriate for them.My hamster was not thrilled when I changed his food to Hazel. I did slowly made the change so it won't upset his digestive system. He mostly ignored the new food except for the nuts. After about a week he ate most except for the dark pellets and the red disks. I try to make it easier for him by softening the food with water and even breaking them into pieces. It didn't help too much, but he slowly ate them as he had no other choice now. I do feel bad to have to force him to eat them as he had no choice, but it is good for him and I won't leave it in his bowl for more than 2 days before refilling it with a fresh scoop. I can't really tell what is what in the bag. I do take the whole corn, sunflower seeds, and the flaked pieces out and save them as treats instead. The sunflower seeds are tiny which is good. They give a appropriate amount in the bag unlike other brands where there's too many. After about 2 weeks my hamster has mostly eaten the food except he still doesn't eat too much of the darker pellets. I'm glad my hamster wasn't too terribly picky. He does pee on it and barely eats it. He loves the small seeds better. When I'm near the end of the bag, my little guy starts to eat less of the food even the nuts.
Overall, this food is not too bad and definitely recommend it if you have dwarf hamsters and don't have access to better seed mixes. It is pricey and your hamster may not like it but if give them patience, and their health would be well worth the money. You will most likely end up throwing away 1/3 of the food if you take out the corn and peas and if your hamster doesn't eat the black pellets. Please research on your hamster's species diet. You will have to add fresh food, protein, and small seeds to fulfill a proper hamster diet.
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