8-in-1

[Jessi]

8-in-1 sent me a box of samples and I got hedgie and ferret food...
Does anyone use this for their hedgies? If not, it's going in the trash!
>^.^<

[illinidairychic]

I've never heard of it but I saw that they made a treat type mix. I saw that it had shelled sunflower seeds in it and decided not to even try it.

[paris26]

I know of some people who feed their hedgies and ferrets the Ultra versions of 8n1 as part of a mix(no fruits, nuts, dried veggies, etc). The key word is part of a mix- they add higher quality foods. 8n1 makes a treat mix for both ferrets and hedgies. The hedgie snack food is dangerous because of the seeds and dried fruit that has been known to get stuck in mouths. The ferret version is inappropriate for the same reasons- ferrets are carnivores and this can lead to diarrhea and other health problems.Both species will eat them, but it is not healthy at all! Both are full of fillers and junk that is not nutritional what so ever. There are better foods out there for both species that meet their nutritional needs better

[Pringlesmom]

I heard this about 8-in-1 before. My vet never told me is was junk, but I may switch with my new baby who should be coming home in a few weeks. I fed Pringle Ultra Blend Select 8-in-1 hedgehog diet. I only fed him this during the day so he could have something to crunch on and after his dinner at night so he had something in the bowl if he got hungary. I had the snack mix with the seeds ans fruits, but didnt trust it so I didnt give it to him anymore. The hedgehog diet is all crunchies..no seeds or fruits. I think I still have a box. Let me check...it says a bunch of ingredients and 30% crude protein, 8% crude fat, 5% crude fiber, and 10% moisture. Is this bad or good??? Pringle liked it and never seemed to have a problem. So, I think there are more people who dont like it for their hedgies, so to answer your question, I would probably trash it. When you guys say "kibble" is this crunchy food?? What kind of food is it and where do you get it? Also, I heard cat food was too high in fat and to stay away from it b\c it causes fatty liver disease in hedgie, but so many of you use it that it cant be all that bad. Pringle mainly ate human food besides the 8-in-1. I never gave it to him as a staple meal. He was well spoiled...eggs, hamburger, salmon, veggies, fruits. Any insight?

[PrettyHate]

I heard this about 8-in-1 before. My vet never told me is was junk, but I may switch with my new baby who should be coming home in a few weeks. I fed Pringle Ultra Blend Select 8-in-1 hedgehog diet. I only fed him this during the day so he could have something to crunch on and after his dinner at night so he had something in the bowl if he got hungary. I had the snack mix with the seeds ans fruits, but didnt trust it so I didnt give it to him anymore. The hedgehog diet is all crunchies..no seeds or fruits. I think I still have a box. Let me check...it says a bunch of ingredients and 30% crude protein, 8% crude fat, 5% crude fiber, and 10% moisture. Is this bad or good??? Pringle liked it and never seemed to have a problem. So, I think there are more people who dont like it for their hedgies, so to answer your question, I would probably trash it. When you guys say "kibble" is this crunchy food?? What kind of food is it and where do you get it? Also, I heard cat food was too high in fat and to stay away from it b\c it causes fatty liver disease in hedgie, but so many of you use it that it cant be all that bad. Pringle mainly ate human food besides the 8-in-1. I never gave it to him as a staple meal. He was well spoiled...eggs, hamburger, salmon, veggies, fruits. Any insight?

Here are the ingredients for 8 in 1 hedgie food

Ground Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Beet Pulp, Animal Fat (Preserved with Vitamin E and Citric Acid), Salt, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal Sterol (Source of Vitamin D3), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Coper Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate.


Firstly- the first ingredient is a filler (ground corn). It provides very little nutrition to the food. Basically it just fills them up and passes through their system without providing the animal with very much nutrition in return. Second (also in blue) there is soybean meal- only pigs and humans can digest this fully.

Thirdly- and this is probably more important than the soybean meal- it contains (the first thing in red) meat and bone meal. What this means is that bones are actually ground up and put in the food. And the meat that is added can be any kind of meat- you have NO idea what animal it is from. GROSS!!

Also, it is preserved with animal fat. Now this isnt horrible- but once again you dont know what kind of animal it is from (other foods will say "chicken fat" etc- instead of just generic animal fat). However, this is better than it being preserved with BHA, BHT or ethoxyquin. I highlighted (Preserved with Vitamin E and Citric Acid) because in alot of foods it will say (Preserved with BAH (or BHT, or ethoxyquin)) Avoid foods that say this like the plauge. All three of these preservatives have been linked to cancer.

Personally, I wouldnt feed this food to my hedgies mainly because it contains alot of fillers, and the protien source is just plain crap. The fact that you were using it as a small part of Pringles diet and were making the main part of it using high quality "human" foods makes up for the otherwise slack nutrience he would have been getting from the 8-in-1.

If i had a free sample of this I would probably just toss it. While it isnt a horrible food - there are worse out there- it isnt great, and I dont feel it would be adding anything to my hedgies diet.

[Titanium]

I use to use it because it's what two of my rehomes ate at their previous house. I switched them off of it and onto my mix. The treats that come in a can I do use though, mainly because my guys like the colourful bits for annointing. I always have tossed out the sunflower seeds. It's sort of a habit from picking them out of the degu's food.

[paris26]

Also, I heard cat food was too high in fat and to stay away from it b\c it causes fatty liver disease in hedgie, but so many of you use it that it cant be all that bad.

Those of us that feed cat foods (myself included) feed the light or senior versions because the %fat is lower and the %fiber slightly increased. Hedgies need between 10-15% fat ratio and at least a protein ratio of 25-35% protein. A mix of good quality cat foods ensure that there is quality protein and a better chance that the hedgie is meeting all of its nutritional needs. I know of several breeders who use a commercial hedgehog food (i.e. 8n1 Ultra Select, Select Diet, L'avian) as part of their mixes. The cat food is intended as the main part of their diets, while fruits, veggies, lean meats, insects, etc. is just to supplement it.

[Pringlesmom]

Thanks everyone!!

[Kalandra]

You can definitely get a very low fat diet with cat food (with excellent ingredients). For instance, Wellness Super5Mix Lite. The bag I have at home states:

Fat not less than 8%
Fat not more than 10%

I notice that Old Mother Hubbard (the maker) doesn't list the latter amount, but does give a by cup of ~10% fat.

[HedgieMomma]

Meat and Bone meal- that means they use the actual meat and the bones from the euthanized animals, ground up, and put into the food. Doesn't sound healthy to me.

I have never been a fan of 8 in 1 or any other commerical hedgehog food that you would find at any local pet store. Those are the foods that I really steer clear of.

Old Mill Kibble is the only hedgehog food I use as a part of my staple diet for my herd. I also offer high quality natural cat foods as part of the mix.
The bigger the selection, the better the picky eaters will eat too.
Michelle