My Preparation

[kabob]

k guys got some questions: ;)

1)OK i checked out petsmart -and these are the cat food brands they have:
Authority
BLUE
Eukanuba
Fancy Feast
IAMS
Natural Choice
Nature's Best
Nutro Max
Pro Plan
Royal Canin
Science Diet
SophistaCat
SophistaCat Supreme
Whiskas

what would u recommend??? please feel free to be specific
should i use moist cat food? which oneS??

2)also they have two kinds of yesterday's news:
both are unscented but one is "soft texture" and the other is "regular"
which is preferrable??
i'm in canada and it's hard to find the foods and litter u guys have in the states

3)i have most of everything already :apple: - tupperware cage, wheel, vellux liners, pvc pipe, 2 food dishes however i'm not sure whether to use a dish for water or if i shud get a water bottle?? :dunno:

4)i still have to make his/her house

so to recap - i think i got everything (which i listed) EXCEPT actual hedghog, water bottle, heat pad, food, little house
:ring:

[Vampira_666]

For foods I'd reccommend:
Royal Canin Slim 37/38 (i think 38 may have been discontinued)
Natural Balance
Royal Canin Mini Special 30 (dog kibble, but failrly good)

The yesterdays news I'd reccommend:
The soft texture, only because the peices are alot smaller(but it really doesnt matter to much)

The water dish or bowl:
Personally I use a bowl and found no problems with it, but it is really your personal preference..the bowl needs to be cleaned and filled more often. Why not try using both and see what our hog prefers.

Looks like your doing a great job:applause: Keep it up:)

[HedgeMom]

Personally I wouldn't feed any of the foods you listed. If forced, the Natural Choice and California Naturals would work in a pinch, but buying from that store is iffy. You don't know how old the food is that you get and it could be stale or it could pick up odors from other supplies.

I'd also not use either of those beddings, especially in a young hedgehog. My opinion is that fleece or Pins-n-Needle cage liners are best. They are ecologically sound, more hygenic and so much cheaper than bedding.

As far as a bowl or bottle, it truly depends on what the breeder is using (you ARE buying from a reputable breeder, right?). Baby hedgehogs weaned onto bottles need to stay on bottles until you change them over. You can't suddenly give them a bowl and expect them to know what to do.

I personally believe bowls are more natural and healthier. Bottles tend to get neglected and they force the hedgehogs neck and head into an unnatural position. If you have 30 animals to care for it might be easier to use bottles but for one it's a whole lot healthier to use a bowl.

Because I use cage liners I don't have an issue with shavings in the water. Also because of the type of liner I use anything that gets spilled soaks up right away leaving only a small wet spot, not a huge puddle. My liners are currently four years old and still in great shape.

[tijya]

Many people recommend Royal Canin Slim 37/38. When I was comparing in my area, it was the best one I could find.

I was using yesterday's news for litter. It works great with my bunnies, but I found Jyra just made a big mess with it, so I put paper towel underneath her wheel and that works great. She has a liner in the other part of her cage.

I use a bowl, and it works well. It's a heavy ceramic bowl though, so she can't move it around.

[Nancy]

Hey Kabob. Where in Canada are you. I'm in Kingston, Ontario.

My gang get a mix of Chicken Soup Cat lite, Royal Canin lite 37 (or whatever the new # is), First Mate Premium (Petcetera) and then one or more of the following... Eukanuba lite, Medical Lite (from the vet), Nutrience Lite and Solid Gold.

I used to use Yesterdays news but found it messy so now use paper towel in their litterbox. It you do use Yesterdays news, the soft texture is much nicer on their feet but is a bit messier than the regular.

In my opinion, bowls are best. Hedgehogs can break their teeth on bottles and the position is not natural for them. :)

[Steph]

Our new mix consists of:

Innova Light
Chicken Soup Light
L'Avian Hedgehog Food
Grape Nuts Cereal
1 small bag of Science Diet Feline I/D (VERY lightly mixed in with the larger bags of the others)

The base foods are the Innova Light and the Chicken Soup Light

I use pine shavings, they're just easier for me due to my numbers and the fact that my Chins use them. I use puppy pee pads for my Glider cages.

My hedgies are on water bottles because of the shavings

I use small food crocks, usually the smaller pet ware crocks or a small Corel dish (those rock if you can find them)

My hedgies also get mealies, silkworms, chicken, turkey, or salmon each night and a fruit or veggie each night...

Just my preferences... My preferences change as I find something new I'd like to try (e.g. the L'Avian is new), if my hedgies like it and do well on it I might decide to use it more often and if they don't I won't...

If I had just one hedgie (or even just two or three) I would absolutely use just Sherry's liners and a small litterbox with CareFresh in it.

[HedgeMom]

Ohhhh L'Avian gave my hoggies the POOO STINKIES! Hope it doesn't on yours since I only had 8 at the time. WHEW!

Science Diet I/D has as it's first ingredient chicken BYPRODUCT meal. That's not a good protein source. It's also preserved with BHA/BHT. Something you might not want in any animals food as it's been annecdotally linked with cancer. I'm not fond of Eukanuba because it's an IAMs company and they've been linked to some possibly unethical behaviour and their foods contain ingredients preserved with Ethoxyquin but the way they buy it they don't have to list it as an ingredient because they don't add the Ethoxyquin.

Just my .02USD

[kabob]

so i think i will buy some grapenuts for fibre, use CSFTCLS as my main number 1 and maybe buy either royal canin lite, wellness or innova as my number 2 dry food
what u guys think?

[hedgehog69]

I have found chicken soup for the cat lovers soul a good food to feed the hedgehogs cause its all natural lower in fat and good protien content and real meat is one of the first ingredients, and it is fairly inexpensive.

[Steph]

Ewww...I hope the L'Avian doesn't do that. I use the I/D because sick hedgies seem to like it so much and it's a lifesaver when we are nursing one since the canned can be syringed.

I didn't know Eukanuba was an IAMS company, do they make Science Diet? I should look at the bag. I just bought the small (but VERY expensive) bags to throw a little in the mix... Maybe I'll read the bag and re-think that.