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Oh dear the hamster may have ringworm :(

PigglePuggle said:
Thanks! Mr Alice is a bit of a learning curve as he really isnt a guinea pig but hopefully I am getting the hang of this... am I right in thinking they need a lot more protein than piggies and some meaty things? Most of my household is vegan but the tarantula isnt and I assume Mr Alice also needs a bit more of that "caveman diet" thing with meaty mealworms and less carbs and stuff while me and the piggies are getting fat eating vegetables...!
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I'm not sure on hamsters, but rats and gerbils can get fat quickly on mealworms and sunflower seeds. Pumpkin seeds are less fatty out of them all, and shelled are best for enrichment and teeth.

I'm still learning about about rats, apparently they need a high Carb and not too much protein as adults. It really is difficult when you get used to guinea pigs with just hay and veg and some pellets.

I believe there are diets on the Internet, that people have perfected. The rats ones involve using rabbit food, dog food, human food and a bit of kibble. Still trying to get my head round it all
 
I do think that atleast mr Alice is having someone be interested in what they should feed a hamster and not stuck in the corner of a kids bedroom somewhere.

If I payed as much attention to my own diet like I do the pigs and rats, I'd probably feel alot better lol
 
I was told that Gerbils were friendlier than Hamsters but I was either lied to or I picked the angriest gerbil in Lancashire. One lets you stroke him briefly, the other bit my finger on day 2 and wouldnt let go. I hate cleaning them out & I dont remove them as I darent put my hand near the angry one. I have to use 2 table mats to cover the tank bit of the cage & when its all clear (when they are down the other side) i grab a handful of bedding.....takes me forever & its like my worst I'm a celeb challenge.

They do eat bits of meat....(my finger)

If Gerbils are supposed to be less angry, I'd be running for the hills if I met Mr Alice 😬
 
PigglePuggle said:
Thanks! Mr Alice is a bit of a learning curve as he really isnt a guinea pig but hopefully I am getting the hang of this... am I right in thinking they need a lot more protein than piggies and some meaty things? Most of my household is vegan but the tarantula isnt and I assume Mr Alice also needs a bit more of that "caveman diet" thing with meaty mealworms and less carbs and stuff while me and the piggies are getting fat eating vegetables...!
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Correct.
Hamsters do need a bit more meat based protein than many other household pets.
They have a fast metabolism and in the right cage set up tend to be very active (it's the wheel that does it really - they run miles every day).
Not sure about tarantulas (I was raised in Australia so have a very justified fear of spiders), but the odd meal worm, piece of boiled egg, poached chicken, etc would be much appreciated by Mr Alice.

In fairness if you don't really do meat, then most complete hamster mixes include protein in the form of meal worms, daphnia, crickets, etc
 
Swissgreys said:
Correct.
Hamsters do need a bit more meat based protein than many other household pets.
They have a fast metabolism and in the right cage set up tend to be very active (it's the wheel that does it really - they run miles every day).
Not sure about tarantulas (I was raised in Australia so have a very justified fear of spiders), but the odd meal worm, piece of boiled egg, poached chicken, etc would be much appreciated by Mr Alice.

In fairness if you don't really do meat, then most complete hamster mixes include protein in the form of meal worms, daphnia, crickets, etc
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Thanks! The expensive food mix I just ordered has mealworms and some animal protein nuggets that sound a bit like expensive organic dog biscuits for hamsters, so we'll go with that seeing as all I have on offer from my own hooman and piggy foods that Mr Alice might like is an occasional cashew nut or a few pumpkin seeds, or a slice of babycorn, carrot or mangetout! Mr Alice likes all these but I am increasingly aware that his current muesli mix is processed brightly coloured cereal crap and he isnt supposed to be vegan if he's here for a while :)
 
Darcey15 said:
I was told that Gerbils were friendlier than Hamsters but I was either lied to or I picked the angriest gerbil in Lancashire. One lets you stroke him briefly, the other bit my finger on day 2 and wouldnt let go. I hate cleaning them out & I dont remove them as I darent put my hand near the angry one. I have to use 2 table mats to cover the tank bit of the cage & when its all clear (when they are down the other side) i grab a handful of bedding.....takes me forever & its like my worst I'm a celeb challenge.

They do eat bits of meat....(my finger)

If Gerbils are supposed to be less angry, I'd be running for the hills if I met Mr Alice 😬
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I find any animal has its aggressive ones. Hamsters seem to get a bad press because of they hate being woken in the day and can nip you hard! Out of about 10 gerbils or maybe more, I've had one aggressive one, but I just left my hand in and let him keep biting ( with a garden glove one) he soon got to know that I was the hand feeding him and not a threat. I actually have an aggressive guinea pig to an extent, she has bitten through one of my nostrils and drew blood on my fingers a few times lol. But I still love her to bits. Your post me lol by the way😂
 

Here is my old male gerbil, he lived to 5, sorry a bit off topic but just an example of how friendly they mainly are
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I find any animal has its aggressive ones. Hamsters seem to get a bad press because of they hate being woken in the day and can nip you hard! Out of about 10 gerbils or maybe more, I've had one aggressive one, but I just left my hand in and let him keep biting ( with a garden glove one) he soon got to know that I was the hand feeding him and not a threat. I actually have an aggressive guinea pig to an extent, she has bitten through one of my nostrils and drew blood on my fingers a few times lol. But I still love her to bits. Your post me lol by the way😂
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Oh my- thats a cheap way to get your nose pierced 😬 i bet that hurt. Just watched your clip of your gerbil, he looks very sweet and looks just like my friendlier one. If I had a video of the darker one (called Toby of all names after a Thomas engine) biting my finger you'd have heard the bone crunching. Not a good advert for Gerbil ownership so I think I'll stick with piggies 🤣
 
Darcey15 said:
Oh my- thats a cheap way to get your nose pierced 😬 i bet that hurt. Just watched your clip of your gerbil, he looks very sweet and looks just like my friendlier one. If I had a video of the darker one (called Toby of all names after a Thomas engine) biting my finger you'd have heard the bone crunching. Not a good advert for Gerbil ownership so I think I'll stick with piggies 🤣
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Yea it was cheap indeed, made me eyes water, the worst part was I was gushing with blood and I still had to hold my Guinea pig ( aka Dorothy), couldn't just drop her lol
 
Darcey15 said:
Oh my- thats a cheap way to get your nose pierced 😬 i bet that hurt. Just watched your clip of your gerbil, he looks very sweet and looks just like my friendlier one. If I had a video of the darker one (called Toby of all names after a Thomas engine) biting my finger you'd have heard the bone crunching. Not a good advert for Gerbil ownership so I think I'll stick with piggies 🤣
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I bet its just fear aggression. Try to keep hand feeding
 
PigglePuggle said:
Thanks! The expensive food mix I just ordered has mealworms and some animal protein nuggets that sound a bit like expensive organic dog biscuits for hamsters, so we'll go with that seeing as all I have on offer from my own hooman and piggy foods that Mr Alice might like is an occasional cashew nut or a few pumpkin seeds, or a slice of babycorn, carrot or mangetout! Mr Alice likes all these but I am increasingly aware that his current muesli mix is processed brightly coloured cereal crap and he isnt supposed to be vegan if he's here for a while :)
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The new food mix sounds good.
And to be honest if it contains animal protein then he really won't require any additions from you.
However my hamsters also love green beans, peppers, broccoli (an absolute fave), blueberries, baby corn, carrot, porridge oats, linseeds and millet. In fact I supplement more with veg than with protein to be honest.
Opal always gets a small plate of fresh veg when I do the piggy veg in the morning.
 
Betsy said:
I'd love another hammie but the OH has said NO!:(
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I love my hammie, and to be honest they are definitely the easiest pets I own.
Plus in the right set up they are super entertaining.
My DH wasn't sure at first eitehr (honestly how many more animals do we need to have in this house?), but I showed him a few set ups and cute hammie pics and he agreed we could get one, which has turned into two, and I actually think he wouldn't be adverse to more :))
 
It's great that you have found a mix with animal protein included. Hamsters are more omnivorous than a lot of other pet rodents... most of ours have LOVED chicken so whenever I make chicken for the family I cut off some little pieces for the hamsters. One of them also like hard-boiled eggs as a treat and all of our hamsters have loved spaghetti as a treat!
 
PigglePuggle said:
Thanks! Mr Alice is a bit of a learning curve as he really isnt a guinea pig but hopefully I am getting the hang of this... am I right in thinking they need a lot more protein than piggies and some meaty things? Most of my household is vegan but the tarantula isnt and I assume Mr Alice also needs a bit more of that "caveman diet" thing with meaty mealworms and less carbs and stuff while me and the piggies are getting fat eating vegetables...!
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I never fed my hamsters meat.
Their diet was a good quality hamster muesli and a small piece of veg each day.
I also gave them small dog biscuits to gnaw on - one a week was enough.

Hope Mr Alice is doing better in your care.

How is your mum doing?
 
Yes I agree @Freela, mine have loved eggs, chicken, mealworms etc.
Ratties need more protein when they’re younger but too much for males when they’re past a few months is bad for them due to risk of testicular tumours, so a chicken thigh bone etc is great for them maybe once a month because of the marrow goodness! And the odd mealworm or cooked egg with the shell is great to demolish for a bit of fun!
SkyPipDotBernie said:
and the my rats, friendliest little going to be fair. There I won't post any more non hamster videos 😜
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Give it a few months and there’s no way they’ll move that fast @SkyPipDotBernie! Or at all! Get bloody lazy these male ratties! :)) Youngsters are so sweet but I like tempting these older boys to make them shift their butts!
Does anyone else give their hammies sand baths? Love them from my experience! Smaller bath than the chins had obviously but my Hercules loved a good bath!
 
alpacasqueak said:
Yes I agree @Freela, mine have loved eggs, chicken, mealworms etc.
Ratties need more protein when they’re younger but too much for males when they’re past a few months is bad for them due to risk of testicular tumours, so a chicken thigh bone etc is great for them maybe once a month because of the marrow goodness! And the odd mealworm or cooked egg with the shell is great to demolish for a bit of fun!

Give it a few months and there’s no way they’ll move that fast @SkyPipDotBernie! Or at all! Get bloody lazy these male ratties! :)) Youngsters are so sweet but I like tempting these older boys to make them shift their butts!
Does anyone else give their hammies sand baths? Love them from my experience! Smaller bath than the chins had obviously but my Hercules loved a good bath!
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I don't want them to go lazy 😔lol... Alfie keeps washing my face, ears, neck now. He is so friendly
 
That’s bucks, lazy plod-along beasts! In a lovely way, just keep up the training! Keeps them moving! Obv with food cuz its rats! Just remember to take the treats off their daily food intake when you weigh it so they don’t get more porky :D
 
alpacasqueak said:
That’s bucks, lazy plod-along beasts! In a lovely way, just keep up the training! Keeps them moving! Obv with food cuz its rats! Just remember to take the treats off their daily food intake when you weigh it so they don’t get more porky :D
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Lately I've been feeding wheetabix, some oats, bell pepper, carrot, pumpkin seeds, scrambled egg, steamed chicken, kale, coriandor, parsnip, mealworms . The fattier foods above i limit alot. They eat far less kibble now they have this
 
alpacasqueak said:
That’s bucks, lazy plod-along beasts! In a lovely way, just keep up the training! Keeps them moving! Obv with food cuz its rats! Just remember to take the treats off their daily food intake when you weigh it so they don’t get more porky :D
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Rufus is the lazier one of the two, but at floor run, he sprints across the room and sits on my head, then he has a play fight in my t shirt and then they keep scent marking my blumming arm,
 
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