# Mazuri Hedgehog food?



## hedgehoggirl (May 5, 2012)

Hi,
I am looking to put my hedgehogs on one brand of food instead of a mix.
I would really like just one food that really does the job.

I was thinking of Mazuri hedgehog food.

Anyone know of any hedgehog food that is good without a mix?

I need this to be something I recommend to my clients as well.

Thanks


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The reason a mix is recommended is so if something happens to disrupt the supply of that food, you don't have to suddenly change their food - many hedgehogs are picky and don't respond well to food change, and you may end up with hedgehogs on food strike, and have to syringe-feed them. If you do insist on feeding only one food though, I would not make it a hedgehog food at all. Most of them are mediocre at best, and harmful at worst. Either way, they're usually only okay in a mix, since the ingredients aren't great. If you're going to stick with one food, I'd suggest a good cat food - Blue Buffalo, Innova, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, etc. The ingredients are much healthier and safer.


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## hedgehoggirl (May 5, 2012)

Thank you. I am switching cause the mix isn't working.
Some get food allergies toward one brand and then I have to change it etc.
Do you know why the Mazuri is bad?
I have had chinchillas in the past and they made an amazing chinchilla food that was great so I was curious about the hedgehog food they made.
I want what is best for my hogs. They mean so much to me.
I love to take care of them in the best way possible. Is the Authority turkey ( I think its called Sensitive Solutions cat food) a good one?
Thank you for the fast reply.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The ingredients are what concern me:

*Poultry by-product meal, poultry meal*, ground brown rice, dried beet pulp, ground wheat, ground soybean hulls, dehulled soybean meal, corn flour, fructose, dried egg product, ground aspen, *poultry fat preserved with ethoxyquin*, poultry digest, powdered cellulose, dried apple pomace, *animal fat preserved with BHA*, wheat germ, dried whey, shrimp meal, fish meal, brewers dried yeast, soybean oil, fish oil, lecithin, phosphoric acid, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (natural source vitamin E), thiamin mononitrate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (vitamin C), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), inositol, biotin, vitamin A acetate, folic acid, *ethoxyquin (a preservative)*, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), calcium pantothenate, calcium carbonate, nicotinic acid, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, ferrous carbonate, zinc sulfate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

I bolded the main things that set off my red flags. Meats that aren't named mean the regulations are more lax for what they can use. For example, poultry meal means they don't have to use just slaughtered chickens, turkeys, etc. It means they can use animals that were dead, dying, diseased, or disabled before being used for the food, they can use euthanized animals, etc. So you don't really know what went into it. Poultry by-product meal doesn't have the 4Ds, but it's not much better, this is the AAFCO definition:

AAFCO: Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines, exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Feet, intestines, etc. don't have much nutrition at all, and since there's no definite amounts of each, the nutrition varies a lot by batch of food.

The ones that are bolded with ethoxyquin and BHA are bad because both of those (and BHT) have been linked to cancer, liver disease, and many other health problems. I always automatically flinch and run from any foods that use them now, as most of them are the pretty low-end foods in grocery stores anyway.

Sorry for the long explanation, I just like helping people understand pet food ingredients! Here's a good site to check if you're interested on reading about more red flag ingredients and why they're bad - http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php ... ngredients

The Authority Sensitive Solutions looks like a much better choice!  Also, just remember that you'll want to keep an eye on your individual hogs even with the new food - some of them might more active than others, or some might be lazier, so sometimes they end up needing a different food that has a higher or lower fat to stay healthy.


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## hedgehoggirl (May 5, 2012)

Aww! Thanks so much for the response. That was so nice of you to explain it to me.
I really appreciate it a lot.


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