Spike's Delight

[sks]

I am going to be getting a hedgie in a couple of months or less, and have bought hedgiebags, blankies, vellux blankets, toys. I have been to many sites reading everything I can. I have read that in recent studies, cat food doesn't have enough crude protien in it for hedgehogs. I am going to be feeding mine (after a slow transition) to the Spike's Delight. From my research this is one of the best diets, even used by many zoos. Do any of you use this? I don't care about the cost, just want the best. Is this the best?

Nancy, looking forward to your opinion on this one.

[freznow]

Well, I believe that SD would be good in a mix. The best thing for your hedie would probably be at least 2 foods, and the recommended cat foods are usually better. If you look at the analysis, SD doesn't have any more protein than most of the cat foods that are recommended here. If you want to use SD, I'd use it along with 2 cat foods (such as chicken soup and royal canin, or something) JMO, though...

[sks]

Thanks for your input, I will use 2 or more foods.

[illinidairychic]

I had a few hedgies I tried spike's delight with and they would eat around it. I also recommend a mix of foods for them. There are many great threads of foods to feed your hedgehog on here. Also I know that zoos should seem like the feed the best, but I worked at one and know for a FACT that they were feeding vitacraft....so no they probably don't always know what is best.

[HedgeMom]

There is no way to use the qualifier "best" in conjunction with any feeding program when it comes to hedgehogs because there have been no feeding studies. Low protein has never been an issue with cat kibble, as cats are obligate carnivores and their foods must be very high protein. What is lacking is fiber. Cats cannot digest fiber so their foods must traditionally be very low in fiber. Thus most add fiber to the diet.

Spike's is no better nor worse than any other food. It's not going to kill them. It's not going to block them up. Will they thrive on it? Only trying it will tell you that. I know as far as my feeding habits go, it's been trial and error and since what I do works, I'm not likely to change anytime soon.

My criteria is pretty simple. How do they look? How do they feel? How is their health? If they are healthy, at good weights with good activity levels, then I judge the diet acceptable.

[sks]

This is from Hedgies.com :
In the past, cat food was recommended as a staple diet. Now, with advances in nutritional knowledge, commercial hedgehog foods are available, as is more detailed information on supplemental offerings.

This is from yet another site called hedgehogsbyvicki :
For over a decade, Hedgehogs by Vickie, has relied upon several brands of dry formula
cat food as the main diet for our hedgehogs. During this time, several companies have
endeavored to develop a dry food designed specifically for hedgehogs. Some have come
and gone. Some have been marketed regardless of the fact that they contained questionable nutritional value. Others have had great nutritional content and ingredients, however they
just didn't taste good to the hedgies! Either way, commercial hedgehog foods have
been somewhat of a disappointment............Spike's Delite IS MANUFACTURED USING A UNIQUE "DRY EXTRUSION" PROCESS. THE
PRODUCT IS COOKED USING FRICTION AND FORCE UNDER PRESSURE, INSTEAD OF A
CONVENTIONAL STEAM COOKING METHOD. THIS EXTRUSION TECHNIQUE PRE-COOKS
THE INGREDIENTS, WHICH INCREASES DIGESTABILITY OF PROTEIN AND ENERGY BY A
MINIMUM OF 10%. IT ALSO ELIMINATES MOLDS & ALPHATOXINS FROM THE RAW INGREDIENTS. THIS PATENTED PROCESS ALLOWS FOR HIGH HEAT, SHORT COOK TIME,
AND A HIGHER QUALITY FOOD FOR YOUR PET!

* HIGHEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS

THE NUMBER ONE INGREDIENT IN SPIKE'S DELITE IS CHICKEN MEAL. PET-PRO
PRODUCTS USES ONLY TRUE RENDERED 60% PROTEIN CHICKEN. THIS CHICKEN
IS THE HIGHEST AVAILABLE TO THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY, AND IS ONLY ONE
STEP BELOW HUMAN GRADE LEVEL. THEY DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FEET, BEAKS
OR VISCERALS FOUND IN LOWER QUALITY PRODUCTS!

THE NUMBER TWO INGREDIENT (EXCEPT IN THE PRO-DIET) IS EXTRUDED
YELLOW CORN. CORN HAS HAD SOME BAD PR AS A MAIN INGREDIENT OF ANIMAL FEEDS.
THIS IS DUE PRIMARILY TO SOME OF THE RISKS OF STABILIZATION & STERILIZATION IN
CONVENTIONAL STEAM COOKING. THESE CONCERNS ARE ELIMINATED BY
SPIKE'S DELITE'S UNIQUE EXTRUSION PROCESS. THE USE OF CORN IN ANIMAL
DIETS HAS ALSO GENERATED CRITICISM DUE TO THE INTRINSIC DIFFICULTIES OF
DIGESTING CORN. THE PATENTED EXTRUSION PROCESS USED BY PET-PRO PRODUCTS PARTIALLY PRE-DIGESTS THE CORN. THIS MAKES THE CORN CONTAINED IN SPIKE'S
DELITE TO HAVE A HIGHER DIGESTIBILITY THAN THAT FOUND IN OTHER FEEDS. YOU
CAN FEED THIS EXCELLENT PRODUCT WITH CONFIDENCE.
*PLEASE REFER TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS WEB PAGE FOR A COMPLETE INGREDIENT
LIST OF ALL OF OUR SPIKE'S DELITE HEDGEHOG FOODS.

* SPECIAL BLEND OF HERBS AND SUPPLIMENTS

THREE OF SPIKE'S DELITE HEDGEHOG FOODS CONTAIN A SPECIAL MIX OF
SUPPLIMENTAL INGREDIENTS. THESE INCLUDE "CHELATED" TRACE MINERALS,
ENZYMES, AND HERBS. THIS BLEND PROVIDES FOR BETTER DIGESTIBILITY AND
MAKES FOR BETTER ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS.

(FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF ALL INGREDIENTS, REFER TO THE INFORMATION AT THE
BOTTOM OF THIS WEB PAGE).

* EXCELLENT PALATABILITY

NOT ONLY IS SPIKE'S DELITE NUTRITIONALLY SUPERIOR, MORE EASILY DIGESTED,
AND MADE WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS... BUT IT TASTES GOOD TOO!!
OUR HEDGIES NOT ONLY THRIVE ON IT NUTRITIONALLY, BUT THEY LOVE THE TASTE ALSO.
AND NOT ONLY IS IT APPEALING TO THEIR PALATE, BUT IT HAS A HIGH CRUNCH
FACTOR! THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR LONG TERM ORAL HYGENE.

M&M Hedgehogs uses this as well and are breeders.

On many of the food threads, I see everyone using cat food as the staple diet. Why?

[freznow]

Because a lot of people have tried many different diets out there, and cat food always seems to be the best choice. Like hedgemom said, it's alot of trial and error and when you find something that gives you happy, healthy hedgies, you stick with it.

I've tried one hedgehog food as a mix with my hedgie. It's analysis seemed alright, but it was made almost entirely out of fillers (I should have checked the ingredients before I bought it), and he won't eat it. So I'm going to take it out and replace it with something else that if he doesn't like it, I'll change again, until I find a mix that he loves and that I know will give him what he needs. A lot of hedge hog foods isn't very appealing to hedgies, but I've never tried SD, so I don't know if most hedgies like it or don't.

I know CSFTCLS is a favorite among many hedgie owners. My hedgie eats Natural Balance before anything else. Try to find the smallest bag you can of two or three foods. If he doesn't like one, you only have a small bag and you can change that one food out once it's gone. Though small bags last a while with hedgies...

[illinidairychic]

This is from Hedgies.com :
In the past, cat food was recommended as a staple diet. Now, with advances in nutritional knowledge, commercial hedgehog foods are available, as is more detailed information on supplemental offerings.

This is from yet another site called hedgehogsbyvicki :
For over a decade, Hedgehogs by Vickie, has relied upon several brands of dry formula
cat food as the main diet for our hedgehogs. During this time, several companies have
endeavored to develop a dry food designed specifically for hedgehogs. Some have come
and gone. Some have been marketed regardless of the fact that they contained questionable nutritional value. Others have had great nutritional content and ingredients, however they
just didn't taste good to the hedgies! Either way, commercial hedgehog foods have
been somewhat of a disappointment............Spike's Delite IS MANUFACTURED USING A UNIQUE "DRY EXTRUSION" PROCESS. THE
PRODUCT IS COOKED USING FRICTION AND FORCE UNDER PRESSURE, INSTEAD OF A
CONVENTIONAL STEAM COOKING METHOD. THIS EXTRUSION TECHNIQUE PRE-COOKS
THE INGREDIENTS, WHICH INCREASES DIGESTABILITY OF PROTEIN AND ENERGY BY A
MINIMUM OF 10%. IT ALSO ELIMINATES MOLDS & ALPHATOXINS FROM THE RAW INGREDIENTS. THIS PATENTED PROCESS ALLOWS FOR HIGH HEAT, SHORT COOK TIME,
AND A HIGHER QUALITY FOOD FOR YOUR PET!

* HIGHEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS

THE NUMBER ONE INGREDIENT IN SPIKE'S DELITE IS CHICKEN MEAL. PET-PRO
PRODUCTS USES ONLY TRUE RENDERED 60% PROTEIN CHICKEN. THIS CHICKEN
IS THE HIGHEST AVAILABLE TO THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY, AND IS ONLY ONE
STEP BELOW HUMAN GRADE LEVEL. THEY DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FEET, BEAKS
OR VISCERALS FOUND IN LOWER QUALITY PRODUCTS!

THE NUMBER TWO INGREDIENT (EXCEPT IN THE PRO-DIET) IS EXTRUDED
YELLOW CORN. CORN HAS HAD SOME BAD PR AS A MAIN INGREDIENT OF ANIMAL FEEDS.
THIS IS DUE PRIMARILY TO SOME OF THE RISKS OF STABILIZATION & STERILIZATION IN
CONVENTIONAL STEAM COOKING. THESE CONCERNS ARE ELIMINATED BY
SPIKE'S DELITE'S UNIQUE EXTRUSION PROCESS. THE USE OF CORN IN ANIMAL
DIETS HAS ALSO GENERATED CRITICISM DUE TO THE INTRINSIC DIFFICULTIES OF
DIGESTING CORN. THE PATENTED EXTRUSION PROCESS USED BY PET-PRO PRODUCTS PARTIALLY PRE-DIGESTS THE CORN. THIS MAKES THE CORN CONTAINED IN SPIKE'S
DELITE TO HAVE A HIGHER DIGESTIBILITY THAN THAT FOUND IN OTHER FEEDS. YOU
CAN FEED THIS EXCELLENT PRODUCT WITH CONFIDENCE.
*PLEASE REFER TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS WEB PAGE FOR A COMPLETE INGREDIENT
LIST OF ALL OF OUR SPIKE'S DELITE HEDGEHOG FOODS.

* SPECIAL BLEND OF HERBS AND SUPPLIMENTS

THREE OF SPIKE'S DELITE HEDGEHOG FOODS CONTAIN A SPECIAL MIX OF
SUPPLIMENTAL INGREDIENTS. THESE INCLUDE "CHELATED" TRACE MINERALS,
ENZYMES, AND HERBS. THIS BLEND PROVIDES FOR BETTER DIGESTIBILITY AND
MAKES FOR BETTER ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS.

(FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF ALL INGREDIENTS, REFER TO THE INFORMATION AT THE
BOTTOM OF THIS WEB PAGE).

* EXCELLENT PALATABILITY

NOT ONLY IS SPIKE'S DELITE NUTRITIONALLY SUPERIOR, MORE EASILY DIGESTED,
AND MADE WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS... BUT IT TASTES GOOD TOO!!
OUR HEDGIES NOT ONLY THRIVE ON IT NUTRITIONALLY, BUT THEY LOVE THE TASTE ALSO.
AND NOT ONLY IS IT APPEALING TO THEIR PALATE, BUT IT HAS A HIGH CRUNCH
FACTOR! THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR LONG TERM ORAL HYGENE.

M&M Hedgehogs uses this as well and are breeders.

On many of the food threads, I see everyone using cat food as the staple diet. Why?

You also have to realize Vickie is going to be biased on this since she is a dealer for Spikes Delight...just like any other product a company tries to sell they are going to claim it's the best.

I use cat food for all 46 of my hedgehogs. I have two main mixes I use and I have a few that are on 'special' mixes. They are all doing great and well. I've never had any health problems for my mixes. My females even average a higher number of hoglets per litter and they are nice healthy hoglets.

If you want to use SD no one is going to call you wrong or say you are hurting your animals. It's simply what you prefer.

[sks]

Just wanted some honest opinions. Thanks, I will buy different kinds, both cat and hedgie food, mix them together and see what is liked best.

[Nancy]

I've never tried Spikes Delight and probably never will since it isn't available around here. I don't think any one food on it's own is nutritionally adequate. I use a mix of a couple of cat foods, the main one being Chicken Soup Cat lite.

I have read of alot of people who tried SD and their hogs would not eat it. Other people use it as part of their mix.

I wouldn't get Spike's based on Vicki's website. She also recommends the cages she sells with the unsafe second levels and wire grid ramps.