# Food Mixtures, Transitions, and Upset Stomachs?



## sdenney (Jul 13, 2011)

I recall reading that it is good to have a mixture of up to three different kinds of food to provide a variety for our hedgehogs. I wanted to know if anyone has ever had a problem with this? For cats and dogs, I know it can upset their stomachs if you change their diet without transitioning them onto the new food over the course of one to two weeks. If you are mixing three different cat foods, might this be hard on a hedgehog's digestion? I was thinking about feeding mainly Wellness Healthy Indoor Cat, and occasionally mixing Innova Reduced Fat. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and insects would complete the diet. What are your opinions on this? Also, what are your opinions on high quality foods versus low quality foods, and the corn controversy? Hedgehogs are omnivores - what is known on the effects of corn in hedgies? I would never feed a low quality food to any of my pets, but that is my opinion. I would like to know more of what other pet owners believe as part of the hedgehog research I am doing.

An issue I have faced since researching hedgehog diet and nutrition is that hedgehogs have different nutritional needs than cats or dogs, yet we feed them cat food as a staple diet. What ingredients in cat foods should we really be looking out for, if hedgehogs are not carnivores? If I were shopping for a cat or dog, I would look for foods with meats as the first two or three ingredients. I would avoid anything corn because of the corn controversy, and instead would pick a product with rice or potato. My dog eats Nature's Variety: Instinct Rabbit Formula. She doesn't have allergies or any issues. I just chose to feed her a high quality grain free diet because dogs are carnivores, and if my dog were a wild animal, she would choose the squirrel carcass over the field of corn. If I had a cat, I would probably feed her the same food, except the cat version because in the wild, I'm pretty sure she would choose the field mouse over the wheat.

Another issue is that I read animal fat is a good thing. My only problem with this, is that "animal fat" as an ingredient is not something I like to see. If it doesn't specify the TYPE of animal fat, then I refuse to buy it because that animal fat could be pretty much anything, including restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle&#8230; even euthanized pets. Labeling something without actually specifying where it came from (such as chicken fat) seems a little sketchy to me. I feel better knowing the animal fat came from a chicken or a cow, as opposed to slaughterhouse waste all rendered up. But on the other hand, does it even matter? Wouldn't a hedgehog happily eat the dead rabbit on the side of the road if he lived in the wild?

Sorry for all of the questions! I am really interested in knowing more on the views of others when it comes to feeding your hedgehogs what you believe to be the best diet (which is no doubt different to every hedgehog owner). Your first-hand knowledge and opinions will surely help me understand these thoughts, and choose a good diet for my own hedgehog. Thanks for taking the time to read this.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yup, with hedgies you need to do the same thing, introducing a new food over a period of a week or two. Just start with one of the new foods, then add another, and so on until the old food is gone and you have the mix you want. The foods you chose are good ones, but keep in mind that Wellness has proven to be too rich for a lot of hedgies, causing loose stools. So you may want to switch the two of those, with feeding more of the Innova. Also keep in mind that you may have to completely change foods if your hedgie straight out refuses to try it. They can be quite the picky little buggers. :lol:

As far as food content and all of that...Most of the owners here do prefer and recommend using foods with high quality ingredients. Some of the popular foods that I can think of off the top of my head are Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, and Innova. I'm sure there's others that are used a lot too that I just can't think of. We do really try and avoid corn as much as we can, since (from what I've read, maybe I'm wrong) most animals, omnivores or not, can't digest corn. There really hasn't been a lot of actual research done on hedgehogs with food, corn, and so on, but it seems to be general consensus to just avoid corn, since it's been proven to be bad/useless for other animals.

As I said before, we also avoid corn when choosing foods for hedgehogs, and though we don't have a whole lot of information to use with their nutritional needs, the main recommendation is to look for a meat or meat meal as the first ingredient, no corn in the first five ingredients, and percentages of around 30% for protein and 15% or less for fat (though if your hedgehog is a runner, he/she will need higher fat foods, or more mealies, to keep a healthy weight). 

On animal fat, after reading a bit on animal food ingredients awhile back, I agree with your opinion. I don't remember reading anywhere on here that animal fat is a good thing, though. 

As far as a varied diet, though, more people have started to take up offering daily veggies lately (I think MissC started it, or at least, she did for me :lol: ). I give Lily a tablespoon of mixed baby food each night, switching between two mixes every other night. One has chicken/apple, peas, broccoli/carrot, butternut squash (the actual veggie, steamed and mashed), and the other has turkey, sweet potatoes, peas, banana, butternut squash, carrots/potatoes/spinach. She also gets between 5-7 crickets, and 1-5 mealies, and sometimes one of various cat treats (that have good ingredients). She does still eat 10-20 kibble on top of those things, which I'm hoping will keep from causing any imbalances with vitamins, minerals, etc. The woman who runs a wildlife shelter I work at cautioned on feeding too much baby food or veggies, since I don't know the ratio of phosphorus:calcium, but thought that she'd be fine since she was still eating that amount of kibble.

Sorry for my long rambly reply, I really like talking about hedgie diets and Lily's diet and animal diets in general, but don't get much of a chance to discuss it with anyone in person. :lol:

Edited to add: I forgot I was going to mention that one of the main reasons cat food is the popular choice for main food is because the kibble size is usually smaller and more suited to hedgehogs. Dog food typically has a safer protein % (since some of the good cat foods that are grain free can have protein %s that are 40-50%!), but because it's usually a lot bigger and harder, it's not easy for a hedgehog to eat. There are a few people on here though, that have puppy or small bites dog foods in their mixes.


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## sdenney (Jul 13, 2011)

Okay, but feeding two or three differenet cat foods at the same time doesn't cause upset stomach after you've slowly transitioned onto the two or three completely different formulas? I've always been under the impression that with dogs, feeding them different kibbles at the same time would upset their stomachs (like if I wanted to feed Nature's Variety rabbit and Blue Buffalo salmon). For that matter, Nature's Variety has formulated their foods to be interchangeable without having to transition - so one day I could feed rabbit, the next day I could feed duck, etc. with no upset stomach.

Natural Balance I believe is sold at Petco and I won't go there. I work at a family owned pet supply store where we only sell supplies. I'm biased on foods, and although Natural Balance is a good food, and Chicken Soup is the best quality for the lowest price in cat and dog food, I would rather feed Innova above all - and I'm not even that big of a Natura products fan! 

I found out yesterday that the breeder feeds Hill's Science Diet to his hedgies, and that is definitely one food I DESPISE. I think it's an okay diet for short-term use, but not for a lifetime. Unfortunately, so many people use it for their pets because it is vet recommended. Which would make sense since Hill's does a lot of funding for these veterinarians... Even at my store, we are supposed to recommend it because Hill's funds us somewhere along the line.

I will probably need to pick up a bag of whatever Hill's Science Crap he is feeding and will keep my hedgie on it for the first few weeks while he is settling in - or at least until the bag reaches a good transitioning point.

As for the corn controversy, I am definitely on that band wagon as I said in my original post. But at the same time, I have heard a lot of different thoughts on corn. Some people say it's hard to digest, others say it is completely indegestible. And I've also heard people swear that corn is perfectly fine. Whether it's fine or not, I don't particularly think it's the best, most nutritional ingredient in the bag. Especially if it is first in the ingredients, when (for cats and dogs especially) it should be meats! 

Thanks for the heads up on the Wellness. I've never had a picky animal in my life, so this is going to be interesting!

So if my hedgie turns out to be a runner (I have a brand new cake walk wheel waiting with his name on it), it would be okay to feed more mealies as treats? I'm thinking Innova Reduced Fat can be his main diet, Wellness can be introduced slowly later on and I can mix just a small amount in with the kibble, and along with fresh fruits and veggies, he will get mealworms. How often should the average pet hedgehog get mealworms? I can buy a small pack of refridgerated live mealies that contains at least thirty mealies. I read so much about them being fattening so I'm actually afraid to even get them LOL 

And it's perfectly fine to ramble with me. I love it! I also love talking about diets as well, as you can tell I'm a crazy dog food person LOL I guess because I work at a pet store and am constantly learning new things about foods (mostly dog food since I have a dog, but now I am learning more about cat foods which will not only help my hedgehog, but also help when new cat owners are in need of cat food advice)!

PS: Thanks for the edited tip as well. Kibble size didn't really occur to me at first.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Nope, as long as you introduce them slowly, having a mix of several foods shouldn't cause upset stomachs. Lily has five foods in her mix right now, I'm currently adding a new one and have another one to introduce as well. There's a cat food list as a sticky on this section of the forum, too, that has a lot of foods that you could take a look at if you find your hedgie sticks his nose up at Innova or something.

You could probably ask the breeder if he can send home a small bag of the Hill's food with you, enough for 2-3 weeks while your hedgie settles in. Most breeders do this without the owner requesting it.

Yup, number of mealies depends a lot on what body size and type your hog is. Runners can have a lot more than a hog that either doesn't like to run much or just puts weight on easily. Most owners offer them as treats every night or every other, and I think the average number is anywhere from 1-5. Crickets also make good treats to give more often, since they're lower in fat. For fruits and veggies, keep in mind those should also be introduced one at a time so you don't cause upset stomach, and so you can watch for any possible allergic reactions. 

I agree, since getting Lily and finding out more about her needs, it's helped me learn more about other animals as well, and I've been able to give more correct advice to the customers at the store I work at. I have to bite my tongue to keep my mouth shut when people come through the line buying Beneful or Purina dog chow or Friskies though. :roll: "No, bad, lecturing customers about buying terrible food is not going to do you any favors with keeping your job."


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## sdenney (Jul 13, 2011)

"I have to bite my tongue to keep my mouth shut when people come through the line buying Beneful or Purina dog chow or Friskies though."

I know that feeling! Sometimes it's hard, but you have to do it. That's like when people insist on buying flea collars and Biospot, which are both terrible. Flea preventatives are so expensive, but when people ask, I give them my honest opinion. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for telling customers that they can use Dawn dish soap to bathe their flea-infested pets as opposed to the harsher shampoos we sell. Dawn is safe to use on puppies and kittens, whereas most flea and tick shampoos are not! People need to know these things!!!

Thank you so much for your advice and sharing the knowledge you've acquired with Lily. I do appreciate it a ton!


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## elise5211 (Jun 2, 2011)

Hi, I'm a new hedgehog owner (about 1.5 months now), and my hedgehog had no problem transitioning to her new food. I kind of hurried up the transition process to her new food, about 4 days, starting with a little and adding more each day. She had only a little bit of green in her poop, but within the week, the color of her poop goes back to normal. Everyday she's fed a mix of Wellness Healthy Indoor, Nature's Balance Duck and Pea, and Purina One kitten. The ratio is 1/2 Wellness, 3/8 Nature's, and 1/8 Purina. In the mornings, I find she eats ALL the Nature's and Purina, and about half of the Wellness is leftover. She came with purina one kitten food. I consider it junk because it's too high in fat, but it's always the first thing she eats. I also read in the dry cat food thread someone's opinion that it's okay to have junk in order to have a happy hedgie, and I agree with that opinion. I also feed her crickets/roaches everyday, with an occasional meal worm. Recently, I've been feeding her superworms, and I noticed she gained a lot of weight, so I've decided to only give her superworms rarely (once a month, if that). I'm trying to get her to eat veggies/fruit, but she's really picky and it's a slow process for me. One night, I give her blueberries and she eats 2. Another night a bit of banana, she tastes it and then ignores it. Some broccoli, she tastes it and ignores it. Some sweet potato baby food, she tastes it and ignores it. So far, she only likes blueberries and watermelon. Tonight, I'm going to tried peeled/seeded cucumber and see if she likes it.
Once her cat food runs out, I'm going to add chicken soup for the cat lover's soul adult cat light formula.
I keep editing this, but the reason I personally want to get her high quality cat food is because of the wobbly hedgehog syndrome, obesity, and cancer. I'm hoping by feeding her a good mix of high quality food, that she'll live a long, healthy life.
another edit: I actually chose the cat food that I did because I wanted a mix of tastes for her: one is chicken, another is duck, and the other is her junk. I want her to enjoy the variety I got her. If I got her another cat food for her mix, I would just duck or seafood, just so it's not all the same.
another edit: I also feed her crickets everyday just because knowing that hedgehogs are insectivores, she NEEDS to eat live crickets and other bugs to give her the nutrients that cat food may not give her.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Don't have a whole lot of insight for you, but just wanted to mention that my hedgehog has been on at the very least a mix of 5 foods in addition to his insect/egg/fruit/veggie supplements for the past 4 years, and has never had any digestive upsets from the variety. The cat food covers the "carrion" section of their wild diets, and then I believe that should be supplemented with insects as well as fruits and vegetables if the hedgie will eat them. Many hedgehogs have lived long, healthy lives on a diet of cat food.


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