eating?

[stevelo]

Is it a problem if all my hedgehog will eat is mealworms and occasionally wet cat food and bananas? Does anyone have any tips on how to get a hedgehog to eat dry hedgehog food? :| :|

[PrettyHate]

The staple part of your hedgies diet should be a high quality catfood (Chicken Soup for the cat lovers soul, Royal Canin Slim 38, Buffalo Blue, Wellness, Wellness Lite, Wysong etc) 99.9% of so called Hedgehog foods contain ingredients that are just....bad.

The current diet that your hedgie is recieving is not providing him with all the nutrients he needs. It is important that he gets the proper amount of fat, protein, fibre etc in his diet. The food that you get should be low in fat. His diet should contain about 15% fibre. Since alot of foods dont have a fibre content that is that high, many people make mixtures of different foods, as well as add suppliments (ie sprinkling baby cereal over dry kibbles ever second night, adding dry oatmeal to kibbles, adding grape nuts to kibble mixture).

For example, in my mixture right now I have : Wysong Adult, Wellness Lite, Royal Canin Slim, Nutram Adult, Eagle Pack Holistic, Royal Canin Special 30. The foods with the higher fat content (ie the adult foods) make up the lesser part of the mixture, while the "lite" foods, make up the majority of it.

The treats that youre giving him do make welcome additions to the staple diet of cat kibbles. Many people offer freshly cooked meat instead of the wet catfood though. IMO the fresh meat is healthier for them..although a little canned once in a while wont do any harm. Just make sure that it is a good quality food.

As well, you can also try offering him things such as cottage cheese, yogurt, cooked carrots, peas, squash, mellons, cheese (not too much), meal worms (remember that these are high in fat, and should not be given in huge quantities. They certainly should not be the main part of his diet), silk worms, crickets etc. These are all good things to give in addition to the cat kibbles. Personally I give a meat every second night, and a veggie/fruit every second night. One night a week, Bosco gets just the kibbles. Sometimes he will get a special treat instead of his regular meat or veggies :)

If I were you, I would go out and buy a bag of one of the foods that I mentioned above, and SLOWLY begin to introduce it into your hedgies diet. As you increase the amount of kibbles youre giving him, cut back the amount of other stuff. This way, he will be "forced" to eat the kibble.

What types of hedgehog food have you tried to feed him? Many hedgies wont touch the stuff simply because it is so nasty! Read the ingredients, can you really blame them for not wanting it? :)

[Nancy]

Well said Laura. :)

Just one thing to add. How old is your hedgehog. If it is a baby he/she may find the cat kibble to hard. Try softening it with some water. Also, like Laura said, most hedgie food is just nasty, so try some high quality cat kibble. :)

[stevelo]

Where do I find these cat foods? At what stores I mean? My Hedgehog is eight months old, and I just recently got him from a local pet store where they were apparently feeding him ferret food?!?! A food, might I add, that he also for the most part refuses to eat.

[Nancy]

Most pet stores or pet food stores carry the top foods. I notice you don't say where you live and some areas of Canada don't carry ChickenSoup. Royal Canin Slim 38 is available just about anywhere. At 8 months old chewing the kibble is not a problem. Ferret food is too high in fat for hedgehogs.

[Moose]

In US, all Petco and Petsmart locations carry Royal Canin Slim 38 and Blue (some ppl recommend this brand). If they are out they'll be more than happy to order some for you I'm sure. As far as other high quality products Laura mentioned like Wellness, Wysong, Eagle Pack Holistics, etc are usually available at individually owned pet stores and organic grocery stores like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Bristol Farms, just to name a few. You can always check out manufacturer's website for store locations near you that carry these products. That's how I first found Wellness after going to several Petcos and Petsmarts. Silly me, I found 7 stores that carry all those brands within 5 miles of where I live!

Also, if you can find sample packs (some brands offer smaller sample packs), I suggest purchasing those instead of the regular 6 or 8 lb bags. If you have one hedgehog without cats, that's a lot of food. Some ppl freeze the food and take out week's worth at a time which is a great idea. Personally, our refrigerator is small. :( But if you can get smallest bags which will still last you a good while with one hedgie, you can also offer her variety of cat kibbles. Be sure to read the fat/protein/fiber content on the label. There's a faq on that info. Good luck!

[Sarah+Sonic]

Petco does not carry Buffalo Blue, and not all Petsmart carry it. To find out if a local petsmart carries it, check out their list
http://www.bluebuff.com/products/retailers.php

Sarah

[Moose]

Petco does not carry Buffalo Blue, and not all Petsmart carry it. To find out if a local petsmart carries it, check out their list
http://www.bluebuff.com/products/retailers.php

Sarah

Oops. Thanks for the correction. Between 2 Petcos and 2 Petsmarts near me, they are a blur and all seem same to me. :laugh:

[Schmuzzle's Mom]

I live in Edmonton Alberta in Canada, though you didn't say where yo live, maybe this will help you anyway! :) there is a store near me called G&E pharmacy which carries all of the above listed foods for cats. I found that the Chicken soup for the cat lover's soul had the highest fibre content and that's why I chose it, but I also give her a mixed cereal blend with bran, oats, sunflower seeds (for essential oils for her skin) and also her buggies like meal worms and crickets.

I freeze kill my bugs (crickets and meal worms) [stick them in the freezer live from the pet store] :( I feel bad but they would get eaten anyhow and eaten dead is probably better than being eaten live. Besides I heard they just go to sleep when frozen. :( Then I just put one or two in her treat dish each night a few hrs before I know she will be up so they will have gotten to room temp. That way the bugs stay put and I know they are only gone cause she ate them. :D

I'm no expert being a new hog owner but from what I researched that is a pretty rounded everyday diet and she also gets fruit and steamed veggies as treats when we play with her.

By the way, I sometimes take gut loaded crickets that are too big for my frogs to eat and freeze kill them too. These "gut loaded" crickets eat a vitamin blend that I feed them that makes them healthier for the frogs due to calcium and vitamins in a food that they eat mostly. She doesn't get all gut loaded crickets though so I am sure she won't get too many extras. :slurp:

[PrettyHate]

, sunflower seeds (for essential oils for her skin)

Somone correct me if Im wrong, but Im not sure that hedgies should be eating sunflower seeds. They probably have the possibility of getting stuck to the roof of their mouth (even if they are shelled already?)

If youre concerned about "essential oils for her skin" you try adding flax seed oil to your girls kibbles. There actually was an entire thread dedicated to this... http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67112
The flax seed oil helps keep skin and quills healthy. Moose uses this on her gril, and says she has noticed quite a difference. Ask her more about it :) Shes the flax seed oil expert! :laugh:

Also, you can try putting some vitamin E oil on her skin if it starts to look dry. Some people also a little olive oil after baths to help prevent dry skin.