# right diet?



## prickles (Jul 20, 2009)

Hello there. I had a question as to whether or not we are feeding our hedgie the right diet.
Currently he is on a mix of purina one kitten food mixed with purina indoor cat food.
the kitten food is 40%protein and 14% fat and the indoor is 30% protein and 9% fat. both have chicken meal by product listed as one of the first 2 ingredents. 
He is also given chicken, gerber meat sticks, eggs(scrambled) and a few meal worms as treats every now and then.
I read the food post but did not see any of the dry foods we feed. Another site said to mix a high quality cat food with a mid grade cat food, so I'm not sure we are feeding the right things and just wanted to see what we should change. We have a cat so any or all of the unused cat food can go to her. thanks for your input.


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## jabment (Nov 14, 2008)

I might be wrong so I'd wait for others to join in but I feel like the kitten food is a bit high in protein. If I remember correctly, you want less than 35% in protein and 15% in fat? That and chicken by meal isn't great as it isn't just meat. It's some weird chicken thing, I don't really get it. You want to look for a food that would have just chicken, for example, as one of the first ingredients. 

Check out the food list again and see if you're local pet store carries any of those products. Everyone experiments and alters their food for a while before they settle on a good mixture. Just make sure that you gradually introduce and phase out foods to make the switch as stress-free as possible for your hedgie.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I don't think that purina is one of the better foods. The kitten food is too high in protien and in fat. 30% protien and less than 10% fat I think are the numbers. Chicken (or other meat) meal should be the FIRST ingredient. If it's a lamb based food it will say lamb meal or de-boned lamb, if it's beef it will say beef meal etc. If corn, wheat, are in the first five or so ingredients then it is not a good food. If there are by-products or any chemicals in the food anywhere in the ingredient list stay away from it. There is a list of chemicals to watch out for in reapers food list in the nutrition section. 

I think purina fails most of the "good food questions" but you should double check for yourself. Also when feeding a mix it is important to use different brands not just different types of food from the same brand. All formulas in the same brand will have similar ingredients so it is not enough of a variety for your hedgehog to just be feeding purina. 

That being said you are doing everything else right, supplimenting the dry food with everything you listed is a great way to add variety, good job!


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

There are a lot of misconceptions about meat meal. It's basically just a dehydrated protein source (chicken, lamb, beef, etc...) that is then pulverized into a fine powder. This makes it much easier to measure and calculate the finished protein ratio. Meat meal is completely different from meat by-products which incorporate organs, bones, and cartilage into the protein mix. *There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding your pet a meat meal.* I would shy away from foods that offer meat by-product meals as their primary protein source, however. While not generally dangerous it is considered by most to be primarily a filler and a lower quality protein source and may not be the absolutely best food for your pet. It won't directly harm them, but it's not that great for them in the long run.

Also, there is a difference between Purina and Purina ONE. Purina is a cheaper cat food that has animal by-products while Purina ONE uses a meat meal as its protein source. It's more expensive but also more nutritional.

There also isn't a need to buy "all natural" or "organic". Companies love to toss around the term all natural as if it means the product is somehow safer and inherently better for your pet. Poison ivy is "all natural" but I would never let my pets eat it. If price is an issue and you find yourself having to choose between two quality foods don't let an "all natural", "organic", or "chemical free" advertisement persuade you into paying more for basically the same thing. After all, everything on this lovely green planet is made up of chemicals.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

a meat meal BY PRODUCT, which is what she says is in the Purina ONE...is just garbage...not real meat...believe me..I trained as a meat inspector in a slaughter house...by product is garbage.


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## prickles (Jul 20, 2009)

thanks all for the input. I'll be going to the pet store in a few days ( need to get new nail clippers for the cat ) so I'll look to see what I can replace the kitten food with as everyone seems to agree that the fat and protein are a little to high. I can give the rest of the kitten food to our cat Reesie as a treat every now and then so it won't be wasted. 

I'm glad to hear the extra foods are good though Prickles loves the meat sticks from Gerber. I put them in the treat dish and you will instantly see movement from the hedgiebag. Its so cute. I think he likes those more then mealworms lol. We've only had him for about a month so we are varing his food slowly as to not cause tummy issues for him. So far its all gone well. I love this site for all its tips and advice. Its how we started using liners and we will never go back to bedding Thanks again.


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## Jiellen29 (Oct 18, 2010)

Wow!

Thanks for the great info here,i really learn from this site,because you share your thopughts and ideas....thank you very much...
God bless...


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