What does everyone use in their hedgie food mixes?

[wyvernrider18]

Here's one everyone is going to love! I'm trying to compile ideas for a good mix for my hedgie, or hedgies, when I bring him (or them) home with me at the end of the school year. I know I want CSFTCLS in it because its readily available in my area, and I also have some Purina One I need to use up, but will not use anymore after its gone. Suggestions would be helpful!

[hemi_mygirl]

I use two forms of Royal Canin in my mix. The cat food version, light/slim 37 and a mini dog kibble. I'll be cutting the dog food out, I think, next time I visit Petsmart for another bag of food. The dog food is just too high in fat for my liking.

I wish I could find CSFTCLS around here, I hear it's the best.

[FiaSpice]

when my girl will stop babycat/kitten food, I'll feed her with Royal Canin and Chicken Soup since it's newly avalable in my area.

[hedgies4life]

i feed mine a mix of Royal Canin Slim 38, Summit 3 meat protein cat food, Techni-cal kitten food, and Go! Natural dog food. i know it seems like a lot of different types of food but most of them are free samples or bags that you buy in like half-pound packages. hope i helped

[Titanium]

I use Wellness and Royal Canin Indoor 37, and sometimes add in several kibbles from those little packets they give out at pet stores, until I can find another food everyone likes.

[horsegal]

Right now I am using Chicken Soup Adult Dog, Chicken Soup Adult Cat light, Wellness Adult Cat Weight Control, and Premium Edge Light Adult Cat. I have heard good things about Royal Canin, Innova, and Wysong. I had to order everything except CSFTDLS off of the internet. I got CSFTDLS at Orchlens. I went through all of the threads on this fourm (took me forever) to find out what everybody uses and to try and find more foods that were available in my area. I wish I didn't live in the middle of nowhere LOL.

[HedgeMom]

Instead of relying on brand names, learn to read the labels. You might find a good food that isn't listed yet is easily available in your area.

Look for a named meat or named meat meal as the first ingredient.

Chicken (or lamb or beef or venison) is good. Fish (or chicken or beef or lamb or venison) meal is good, chicken byproduct meal ISN'T and neither is "meat meal".

You want to look at the first five ingredients as a whole. How many meat sources are listed in the first five or six ingredients? Fat sources? Carb sources? A label that says "chicken, chicken meal, ground corn, corn meal, pork fat, corn gluten" is not as healthy a food as one that says "chicken, chicken meal, quinoa, rice, pork fat, barley" even though they have the same "kind" of ingredients. Because corn is difficult to digest and a source of gastric irritation. Also, there is technically more corn than meat in the first list but because they break it up , they don't have to list it first.

Avoid corn, brewers rice, bha/bht, ethoxyquin, byproducts and byproduct meals and any food that doesn't list "human grade ingredients". You might have to google for the last one. BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin are known carcinogenics.

Human grade ingredients are important because, if they don't start with human grade ingredients, then you get the 4Ds of meat--dead, diseased, dying and deformed.

In addition, the list of healthy veggies could be all half decayed, damaged, or trimmings that you wouldn't want to eat in real life.

Lastly, watch for things like 'rendered' meat fat or tallow. That is usually an indicator that they are buying fat from protein producers. As gross as this is, a protein producer is someone who collects roadkill, dead farm animals and yes, dead pets from the vets. And they boil them down and skim the fat, separating it from protein and selling them off as "meat meal" and "rendered fat" or "tallow".

By educating yourself to how to buy pet food, you can then be best prepared for providing the most nutritious diet available in your area and not go to huge expense of buying online.

[treva.]

i also use Royal Canin Slim and Chicken Soup Lite.
once a week or so i sprinkle some generic Grape Nuts on top for fiber.

[Twister]

Why do you mix foods? What is the nutritional gain from this? Just wondering- thank you

[horsegal]

I am pretty sure the reason for mixing food -correct me if i'm wrong- is that nobody knows exactly what hedgehogs need in their diet and a variety of foods offers lots of different nutrients and other things.