Are live foods necessary in a hedgie diet?

[Chin89]

I have been researching hedgies and am considering adopting one now that they are legal in my state. I've read the diet FAQs and was wondering if crickets and mealies (in moderation) are necessary if you plan on feeding a dry mix, fruits, veggies and a little of the meat mentioned. I know this sounds weird, but I am a vegetarian and Buddhist, so I really don't want to feed live...(I can get my hubby to "donate" a little meat protein when he cooks for himself.)

[hemi_mygirl]

They are recommended, but some hedgehogs refuse to eat them. They do have freeze-dried and frozen insects too.

You could just luck out, and get a hedgehog that is scared of insects, like my Hemi. She's a year old, and has never learned to like bugs, even though I try every 3 weeks to offer her a mealie.

[kaiteedyd]

Live crickets aren't necessary and not all hedgehogs like them. But in the end (and I don't mean this to sound disrecpectful) the catfood you'll be feeding at one time was a live animal as well.

[hemi_mygirl]

That's true...I never even thought of that...lol.

[Chin89]

I know- there are animals that do need to eat animal products- my cat eats perscription wet food (yuck). If they need it, they need it, you can't get around that, but- putting live critters, even though they're bugs, into the cage to be eaten bothers me a little. I know, I'm weird, lol.

[hemi_mygirl]

Again, they do have freeze-dried and frozen bugs, if that helps any. I hear the freeze-dried ones just smell horrible...

[tunes]

I don't feed any live animals to any live animals - period. There are enough different products out there that you don't have to. When I got my hedgies from Steph, I made it CLEAR that I would never feed live anything, not even bugs (even though I hate bugs). So I get dried or canned.

[Melody]

Hey, Tunes - you have both chinnies and hedgies. How do you compare the two? Personality, maintenance, etc.? I know each critter is different, but I am just looking at generalities here, one species as a pet vs the other. Esp now that it seems I can bypass the live bug thing - lol! Now all I have to get past is the porcupine thing - fear of being quilled - lol!

[hemi_mygirl]

To be honest, the quills don't reallt hurt except for the first time. Baby quills are sharper than adult quills, I find. A social hedgehog will very rarely have their quills up. I've noticed my girl doesn't even sleep with her quills up. She'll stretch out like a dog.

...come to think of it, she has more dog tendencies than hedgehog tendencies...the other night, she sat down like a dog and whimpered for her wheel.

[tunes]

Being on the hedgehog side, I'll probably get lynched for this, but I prefer the chins over the hedgies. I love Maddie to death, she's a wonderful girl, very outgoing and friendly once she's out of her house and her cage, and Spike is really coming around, but I don't find myself as drawn to them as I am to the chins. I think they are unique little animals with wonderful personalities though. :)

Upkeep wise, their wheels are always a mess and have to be washed frequently, sometimes daily depending on how much wheeling they did the night before. They get their water baths (keeps them clean AND happy). I clean their cages every couple days because they have a pretty strong smell if you don't. I don't think they take "more" maintenance, just different.