fiber, mazuri food

[ktgrok]

Ok, I have had Hegie about 3 weeks now, and he is about a year old. He was eating vitakraft before I got him, yuck! I have offered him royal canin slim, pretty pets, chicken soup for the cat lovers soul lite, and a few pieces of my own cats' iams adult. He hates the pretty pets, loves the iams adult and chicken soup one, and will eat royal canin if it the only thing in there, but not otherwise. The problem is that other than the occasional mealworm he isn't gettting enough fiber from the foods. I tried bran/fiber cerals, he won't eat them. And I don't think baby cereal has much fiber anyway. So, I ordered some Mazuri insectivore diet, which is the only thing I could find that actually has high fiber. He absolutely loves it, and my only concern is the chemical preservatives. But here is the question, which is better, to give him the proper protein/fiber ratio for his daily health, or have the wrong ratio but be naturally perserved? Right now I am mixing the chicken soup lite with the mazuri food, and the occasional meal worm of course. Any once else wondered about this?

Katie :confused:

[Ododad]

Getting him off of the Vitacrap is the best thing you have done for him so far. That stuff is just garbage. IMO

The RC Slim 38 and the CSFTCLS Lite is just about right in fiber, protein and fat. As long as he is pooping well and active, he probably is getting enough of all of these with the foods you have listed. JMO
I was going to try the Mazui stuff myself but have heard bad things about it and I didn't care much for the preseratives.

[ktgrok]

I thought hedgehogs were supposed to get almost 15 percent protein? The cat foods, even the light ones, only have about 6percent, maybe 7 tops.

Katie

[Ododad]

The RC-Slim 38 alone has 33% protein. :confused:
Did you mean to say fiber instead of protein?

I have over thirty pages that I have downloaded on hedgie nutrition here and few of them say the same thing. It's really confusing to say the least! :) So, I go with what my vet told me. I feed a mixture of RC-Slim 38, Wellness Salmon Flavor and Lite, CSFTCLS Lite with a tad of kitten formula thrown in (no kitten food for Odo though, she is too big to begin with) with a few crickets and mealies every other night and this is what my vet recommended. It seems to be working out for us.

[teela1342]

I have that problem too. I just try to supplement by adding fresh veggies and Grape Nuts cereal. I think the varied diet he is on is providing what he needs. He seems to be pooping fine, so I am not too worried. The day I wake up to a clean wheel, I'll add some Metamucil. :rolleyes:

[ktgrok]

Yeah, I meant fiber, LOL. I had read they should have about 15percent biber. And fiber isn't just for regularity. For instance, too little fiber in people can be a risk factor for colon cancer and diabetes, not just constipation.

Katie

[PrettyHate]

I sprinkle some baby cereal over boscos food every second night just for good measure. Ive found since doing it his poops have been...nicer? Yeah, ok. LOL

What is in the insectivor diet that youre giving him? Ive heard of it, and have read about it....but the info just isnt coming to me right now.