# Converting to new food mix



## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

My hedgie's last owner was feeding him Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin and Stomach Lamb .... I've been researching what to convert him to while I still have enough of what she gave me for him left to transition him.

I'm thinking the mix I will use is:
Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice
Wellness Healthy Weight
Blue Buffalo Weight Control

I narrowed it down to those three for the new mix, because those are the ones I've seen referenced over and over for hedgehog mixes. High protein, low fat and whatnot. There are so many to choose from, that I'm not honestly sure. Will this mix be good for him? 

I wanted to make sure while I still have the reciept.


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

The Purina Pro Plan has a bit too much protein. You want closer to 30%. Also, it says it includes corn gluten meal, which according to the Beginner's Guide to Hedgehog Nutrition thread, is something you don't want.

The other two look fine to me (based off what I've read), except maybe look for a slightly higher fat content, unless your hedgie needs to lose weight.


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## Sonics1AndOnlyGirl (May 25, 2013)

The protein on the Purina is a bit high but sense it will be in a mix it might even out but I'm not sure. The other two look good and I think your hedgie will benefit from the extra fiber.


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

Ok. Thank you all for the advice. I might return the Purina pro plan and replace it with a higher fat one. I didn't realize I was missing a high fat one. I haven't weighed Ozzie, but I don't think he's fat. He's somewhere between 4-6 months old, so he's still growing. Any reccomendations on one to replace it with? I want to make sure the mix is perfect since I'm transitioning to it anyways. Maybe royal canin babycat? I heard it's good. I could also change it to have blue buffalo indoor.


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

This is what I ended up with. 

Royal canin babycat (higher fat) ***** just saw that it has corn gluten meal several ingredients down the list. Should I change this one out? Lol .... Eventually I'll get this right. 
Blue buffalo indoor (medium fat)
Wellness weight control (low fat)

That way I figure it'll all even out in the end, and if he gets overweight or if he loses weight, I can adjust the percentage of high fat vs low fat.


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## Sonics1AndOnlyGirl (May 25, 2013)

Royal Canin is a good brand and I've read that people use the babycat one for pregnant hedgies so it should be fine to use. The corn is much lower on the list so it doesn't make up the main ingredient which is good. I think you have a great mix going!


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

Woo hoo thank you


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Wellness is known for causing upset tummies in hogs. Just something to watch out for. My hedgie had looser stools for the longest time and then I switched her off the Wellness and her stool firmed up almost immediately.

Also, be careful with the Royal Canin baby cat. The fat content in that food is pretty high. High enough that I call it the 'french fry' of the cat food world. Hedgies love the stuff and it can be very difficult to wean them off of it.


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

hanhan27 said:


> Wellness is known for causing upset tummies in hogs. Just something to watch out for. My hedgie had looser stools for the longest time and then I switched her off the Wellness and her stool firmed up almost immediately.
> 
> Also, be careful with the Royal Canin baby cat. The fat content in that food is pretty high. High enough that I call it the 'french fry' of the cat food world. Hedgies love the stuff and it can be very difficult to wean them off of it.


Thank you. That is good to know. The first couple days after I got him he had stool problems, he's just now getting better. So maybe I shouldn't use wellness for him. Do you have any foods you'd suggest?


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm in the process of deciding a mix to use as well. I have Blue Buffalo Weight Control right now- looking to mix others in. Has a nice amount of fiber as well which is nice.

Crude Protein (min.) 28.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 9.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 8.5%


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

I ended up going with 4 different ones.

Ozzie's (Grumplequillskin's) Mix:
3 lbs Blue Buffalo Indoor Health
3.5 lbs Simply Nourish Turkey and Oatmeal
2.5 lbs Wellness Healthy Weight
6 lbs Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul Light

I also have cats, so I bought the 18lb bag of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, and I'm letting the cats have the 12 lbs I didn't use in the mix. 

I took a pound of the food he was on and mixed it with a pound of the new mix I'm transitioning him to. Hopefully two pounds of food will give him enough time to transition. 

If Ozzie's weight doesn't stay up enough on this, I'll mix in some Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul regular, since it has 20% on the fat content.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Musicality said:


> I ended up going with 4 different ones.
> 
> Ozzie's (Grumplequillskin's) Mix:
> 3 lbs Blue Buffalo Indoor Health
> ...


Sounds pretty good! Hope it works well, hopefully the Wellness doesn't cause any bad stool or anything. It's only about 15% of the mix you have so that's good.


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

That's what I'm hoping. I figured since it's so little of the mix, it's less likely. If it is a problem, I can tell what the pieces look like.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Every hog is different - yours may very well not have any tummy issues while eating Wellness. Just something that I like to tell people.

I am partial to Blue Buffalo. I've used a lot of different brands of cat food with my Milly, but Blue Buffalo has always been our favorite.  Good ingredients, good percentages, and I just plain and simple like the company!


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## Musicality (Jul 28, 2013)

I was tempted to put several blue buffalo foods in my mix, lol. It is such a wonderful brand. I wanted to do a couple different brands for variety, so hopefully it works out. When I run out of this mix, I might change out the Wellness for a 2nd Blue Buffalo in the mix.


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