RobinsGourmetFood

High-quality, species appropriate rodent food

Pennsylvania, United States
|
| 6,200 Sales | 5 out of 5 stars 5 out of 5 stars

RobinsGourmetFood is a Star Seller!

Smooth shipping

Has a history of shipping on time with tracking.

Speedy replies

Has a history of replying to messages quickly.

Rave reviews

Average review rating is 4.8 or higher

Announcement    Thanks for your support/patience as I transition to college life! All is going well so far for both of us.

Of course, if you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out--I'm always open. :)

Robin



Details on how this shop is currently being run:

How it works:
I will receive ~5-10 orders each day, and as soon as I notice that threshold has been met the shop will shut down for the day. This will look like I am on vacation mode, and a message will display stating the shop will reopen tomorrow. This will grant me enough time to get out the existing orders without much delay. In the long run, while you will need to get in sooner get your order in, what you do get in will come in faster as I plan to reduce the processing period to 1-3 days.
I'm doing this since both my mom and I are both working full time and we don't have hours upon hours a day to work on getting orders out. I found this to be the best compromise so we can continue to run this shop without becoming overwhelmed. :)

Announcement

Last updated on Aug 23, 2022

Thanks for your support/patience as I transition to college life! All is going well so far for both of us.

Of course, if you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out--I'm always open. :)

Robin



Details on how this shop is currently being run:

How it works:
I will receive ~5-10 orders each day, and as soon as I notice that threshold has been met the shop will shut down for the day. This will look like I am on vacation mode, and a message will display stating the shop will reopen tomorrow. This will grant me enough time to get out the existing orders without much delay. In the long run, while you will need to get in sooner get your order in, what you do get in will come in faster as I plan to reduce the processing period to 1-3 days.
I'm doing this since both my mom and I are both working full time and we don't have hours upon hours a day to work on getting orders out. I found this to be the best compromise so we can continue to run this shop without becoming overwhelmed. :)

Items

Etsy automatically translates most text on the site to your preferred language.

See in original language

 

All Items

Etsy automatically translates most text on the site to your preferred language.

See in original language

Robin

Contact shop owner

Robin

Reviews

Average item review
5 out of 5 stars
(1761)
See reviews that mention:

About RobinsGourmetFood

Sales 6,200
On Etsy since 2020

High quality food made just for your hamster.

There are a billion options for it in Europe, why hasn't it made its way over here?
I'm here to offer what they give you, just here in the States.

Before this whole business, I was your average ethical hamster owner, but before then I found my roots in research. When I first brought up the idea of a hamster to my parents, they told me to go research, so I did. Thank goodness I did--I nearly fell into the trap most hamster owners fall into: a tiny cage, pine bedding, and, funnily enough, a brightly-colored, cheap food full of dyes and fillers.
As I continued on my hamster-owning path, I found a little forum called Hamster Hideout, which had tons of information on more in depth parts of hamster care, such as diet. I was (and still am) glued to that forum and learned as much as possible. Eventually, I became one of the more frequent visitors, then one of the more frequent responders, then one of the most educated owners on the platform. I wrote article after article on their care and helped hundreds of people across the globe. But, as you learn things, you start to see problems, and as a person who specializes in hamster nutrition those problems were glaring.
"High-quality" hamster foods were reformulating or disappearing left and right. VitaKraft VitaNature? Gone. Higgins Vita Garden? Reformulated to pellets, corn, and sunflower seeds. Foods were going bad faster than good foods were being made, all while standards were rapidly increasing. When it all came down to only one good food widely available in the States I put my foot down. I'd researched before; I'll research my way out of this, too.
For several months I looked at European diets, hamster nutrition, natural diets; anything and everything even remotely related to diet. I even debunked a few widespread myths on diet in the process. At the beginning of September, I was ready.

And that leads me to where I am now. I've carefully mixed precisely-formulated diets for hundreds of people now, and I know there are more to come. It means the world to me so many other people care about what some would see as a worthless "pocket pet". Every animal deserves the best care, and I'm happy to at least partially provide that.

Shop policies

More information

Last updated on May 18, 2022
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Gourmet mixes, Fortified mixes, Basic mixes, and Blends?

To order them from most to least complete, the Fortified mixes are the most complete, then Gourmet mixes, then Basic mixes, then Blends.
Fortified mixes already have a commercial food added to them, so there's no need for extra supplementation.
Gourmet mixes should in theory be complete due to their high variety, but not every micronutrient was calculated so adding a commercial mix is strongly recommended to account for any nutritional gaps.
Basic mixes are similar to Gourmet mixes, but they don't have any animal protein so they need a protein booster.
Blends are purely supplemental or can be used as a base for your own homemade mix. They do not have all the components of a complete food mix, and feeding them alone could be dangerous.

What’s the GA of [insert mix]?

The GA of each of my mixes can be found at the bottom of each listing description along with the ingredients list.

How long does your food last for?

Most recommend replacing food 4-6 months after purchase unless you freeze the food. My mixes don’t expire per se, but the nutritional value starts to wear off over time. If you want to stock up on food that’s great; just be sure to freeze it to stall the degradation process.

My package hasn’t arrived by the predicted arrival date or appears to be stuck in a distribution center. Can you help?

I can fill out a missing mail form, but these often take several days to be accepted by the USPS. Beyond that I have no control over the process and no way to contact the distribution center. Do keep in mind the during the holidays the USPS processes many more packages than usual, so this can lead to stalled delivery dates.

Why is shipping so expensive?

Unfortunately, I don't set the rates, but I do have a couple ways to reduce the shipping price. Since Etsy defaults to variable rate shipping, sometimes the shipping comes out to much more than it should be, and sometimes they even charge you for two boxes. I've seen people get charged nearly $30 for domestic shipping, which is pretty unreasonable and I'd never charge someone full price for something like that.
So, essentially, you'll never be charged more than $14.25 (the price of a USPS flat rate box) for an order. If you're charged more than that I'll always refund the extra you paid.
I also have a free shipping guarantee on orders over $35, so stocking up can be a great way to save money on shipping!

Do you make custom mixes?

While I won't create an entirely new mix for you (if I were doing that for everyone that'd be quite time consuming haha), I'd be happy to sub out ingredients your hamster isn't as fond of. Just leave a note of what I should leave out when you order and I'll get right on it!

*If there are nutritional issues with removing an ingredient I'll let you know, but in most cases it's just a matter of replacing the ingredient with another of similar nutritional value. :)*

Does it cost anything to have a mix modified?

No. Most times it's completely out of your control anyways, whether it be your hamster's preference or an allergy you have. Even if it is a personal preference I'd still do it on the house, though. :)

I'm not sure what species my dwarf is, would either mix work?

Technically speaking, probably, but it wouldn't be ideal. While they are very similar and tend to be lumped together in European mixes, I've specialized my mixes to the point where feeding a mix intended for the other species tends to conflict with their requirements (for example, hybrids should have a higher fat content to reduce the amount of carbs in their diet, but robos should have very little as they're prone to lipomas). So, if you're not too sure, just send me a message-- I definitely have my fair share of experience in identifying hamster species!

How long does it take for you to ship out my order?

Currently, my processing time is ~1-5 days, but sometimes Etsy adds more onto that to account for weekends and holidays. You should have gotten an estimated shipping date when you ordered. If you can’t find it, don’t hesitate to contact me about it—that info is very easy for me to access. :)

Can the packing material (crinkle paper) be used for my pet?

Yup! It’s just recycled kraft paper so it’s perfectly safe to use. In fact, you may notice that SoPhresh and Eco Bedding is essentially the same thing, just branded towards small animals with a huge markup.