Which mix should I get for my pet?

There are four key factors in deciding on a mix: your pet's species, their age, where you're from, and whether or not you'd like to add pellets to the mix.

 

Species

There are 5 species of hamster that are commonly kept as pets: Syrian hamsters, Roborovski dwarf hamsters, Chinese dwarf hamsters, Russian Campbell's dwarf (RCD) hamsters, and Djungarian (also known as winter white) dwarf hamsters. At RGF, we break these species down into three categories; Syrian, Roborovski, and Russian. The Syrian and Roborovski categories are fairly straightforward: those mixes are each only designed for that particular species. However, the Russian mix encompasses the nutritional requirements for RCDs, winter whites, and Chinese dwarf hamsters since those three species have similar nutritional requirements*. If you're not sure what species your hamster is, I'd start by checking out this video by Victoria Raechel. If you still need help, feel free to send me a message.

For gerbils, this is thankfully fairly straightforward since Mongolian gerbils are by far the most common species of gerbil kept as pets, plus, it's the only gerbil mix I sell.

 

Age

Hamsters under 6 months old get the Young mix, and hamsters over 6 months old get the Adult mix. If you got your hamster from a pet store, they were likely around 2 months old when you got them. If you're not sure, the adult mix would still be fine for a pup, but giving the young mix for too long could lead to kidney strain from its high protein content.

Similarly, gerbils under ~12 months old get the Young mix, and gerbils over a year old get the Adult mix.

 

Location

If you're located in the US, choose either the Gourmet or Fortified option. These have animal proteins already added for your convenience.

If you're located outside of the US (namely in Canada), I am unable to ship animal proteins over borders**, so you have to pick the Basic mix. This mix lacks animal protein, so it is not safe to feed by itself, not only due to the lower overall protein content, but also because animal proteins have essential vitamins (namely various B vitamins) that the rest of the mix lacks. The easiest way to fix this if you're in Canada is to add about half of a 1.09oz bag (0.5oz) of Purebites freeze-dried cat treats. If this solution wouldn't work for you, please message me so we can work something out.

For the gerbil mixes, this isn't an issue for you since dried insects can be shipped over borders. All gerbil mixes are international-friendly.

 

Pellets

If you're in the US, you can choose between my Fortified mix (with pellets) and Gourmet mix (without pellets). The choice to add pellets are not is up to the owner's preferences surrounding them, hence why I have the option. I'll summarize the sides quickly here, but I encourage you to do some of your own research.

The Fortified mixes have the added benefit of part of the mix being backed by an animal nutritionist. While I do have years of experience in hamster husbandry and food mixing and have my background in biochemistry, I don't have any formal training in animal nutrition yet. Because of this, there is a slight chance I overlooked something in creating my mixes. A pellet would be able to offset that and decrease the risk of malnutrition. The downside is that added a pellet decreases the variety of the diet and, depending on who you talk to, the quality, too. I try to use the highest quality pellets I can find, but at the end of the day most pellets still end up being some blend of wheat, soy, and/or corn, which are considered lower-quality ingredients when overused in a diet. These mixes also have the added bonus of being slightly cheaper because of that. Overall, I consider the Fortified mixes a "best of both worlds" situation: they have a high-variety component but also have a solid backing to support it.

The Gourmet mixes are the more natural option. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the better option, but for those who find that important, this is your mix. As far as nutritional adequacy goes, some liken it to how we as humans don't necessarily calculate every last micronutrient of our diet. As long as we eat a wide variety of foods in the proper ratios, we should have all of our bases covered. This is the premise is what RGF's mixes are based off of. Anecdotally, in the nearly 5 years this business has been running, I have had no reported instances of malnutrition, even with the majority of bags sold being the Gourmet variety.

 

I know that's a very long answer to a simple question; hopefully I'll be able to convert this into a more user-friendly quiz someday. As always, if you ever feel the need to ask me directly I'm always happy to help!

 

* Technically, RCDs and winter whites do have some dietary differences since purebred winter whites tend to be less prone to diabetes. However, because RCDs and winter whites are so commonly hybridized, I air on the side of caution and combine their needs into one mix.

** There are a handful of countries where I am able to ship animal proteins over borders (ex. Spain). There are also some countries where I can't ship my mixes at all due to restrictions on seeds (ex. the United Kingdom). I generalized this section to Canada since they make up the largest proportion of my international buyers, but if you have questions about your specific country feel free to reach out.