# I'm confused about food...



## kvmommy (Feb 2, 2013)

I want to preface this with I don't know anything and haven't even got my girl yet. But I want to give her the absolute best start possible and am already in love with her. So...I don't understand why hedgehogs are fed high quality cat food. They are omnivores whereas cats really are carnivores. And even cat food is mostly grains which neither animal normal eats, or eats much of. If hedgehogs normally subsist off of bugs and some vegetable matter, why are they fed cat food instead of a healthy diet of bugs and veggies? I used to have sugar gliders, and although I made them glider food with vitamins and what not, they still mostly ate fruits and bugs. 

I know that cat food is just accepted, but at what point did everyone start feeding it to them and figured out it was better to feed them that instead of what they normally eat in the wild. Has anyone tried giving them a diet of bugs and veggies? Is that when hedgehogs become overweight? And why would bugs make them overweight? I read the post about the fat/protein contents of the bugs, but it still doesn't make sense to me. I'm not trying to be difficult but I just don't understand and generally don't take information on face value just because everyone else does it. I want to know the reasoning and if there are better alternatives. 

Thanks for you time and input!


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

I wish I had an answer for you but unfortunately I have to agree with you. When we got our little guy I was told to only give him hedgehog food...which as I understand from what they told me is formulated specifically for them. They also were firm to not listen to things on the Internet about cat food being acceptable. I can't remember exactly but I think it had to do with the amount of fat or protein or something that was really not ideal for hedgehogs. Since joining this site and reading lots of posts it seems like almost everyone on here uses a "high quality cat food" so I'm confused as well. I'm going to stick with the hedgehog food Henry seems to love and thrive on but I'm also interested to hear other opinions from people on here. Not trying to be difficult here...just curious!
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## SpiritWolves1 (Apr 5, 2012)

okay i can answer that.

read the back of hedgehog food. it sucks. alot. where when you read the back of the foods we are using its actually way way better. we feed our hogs bugs and fresh foods all the time, but cat food is used because it has the right nutritional values etc for hedgehogs ( as we know atm) where hedgehog food is crap. just utter crap, its all fillers etc, no bugs either so i dont even know why you would consider using it still. feed mealies or crickets or ****roaches as your bugs and give them catfood as just the "veggies" of the meal and the bugs as the " meat and potatoes" as my science teacher says.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Take a look through the book linked to in my signature - I have a chapter on nutrition and under the "DIY Diet" section I talk about about what it'd take to feed a hedgehog a homemade/non-kibble diet, and there's a bit on why we choose to feed cat and dog food opposed to other commercial diets. I hope that helps to clear some things up!


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

SpiritWolves1 said:


> okay i can answer that.
> 
> hedgehog food is crap. just utter crap, its all fillers etc, no bugs either so i dont even know why you would consider using it still.


I will continue to look into this. I was not looking for negative feedback...I truly want what is BEST for my hedgie. As I said it is what I was told when I got him...I do appreciate people's opinions and until I started researching I was just going off of what I was told. I just want a happy and healthy baby!!


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## McButter (Dec 25, 2012)

Read Lizzardgirls book, it is a short read and very helpful. Also look at the thread in the food section. I got my Bananas from a pet store in Vegas and was too told not to feed her anything but what they were giving her. Upon reading the ingredients of her Hedgehog Delight food, the ingredients looked and sounded like crap. I don't eat processed food that I can't pronounce so neither should my pet. I was terrified about changing her food, especially since they are picky and the list of “approved” diets is a long one. I tried the food she came with and due to stress and everything else she wasn’t eating, then I tried an approved food and she still wasn’t eating. I’m on my second approved food and she is finally eating. Even my Vet said to get her off the crappy food. 

I personally think the store where I got her isn’t that great and I should have known better to get her from a pet store but I fell in love. Now that her eating issues are gone, Bananas is wonderful. 

I understand that this website is very overwhelming but if it wasn’t for the people on here and the information provided, I would have been even more lost. 

Also, I bought a hedgehog starter kit and other than the wheel, igloo and cage, everything else has been changed. I got different feed bowls, bedding, liners, and food. It would have been less expensive to piece her cage together myself. Trust this site. It really is helpful.


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## SpiritWolves1 (Apr 5, 2012)

i wasnt meaning to be rude, but its the truth.


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

I really do appreciate all the responses. I have learned so much from this site and everyone is always so helpful. I also got Henry from a pet store here in Vegas so perhaps I am in the same situation. They seemed so stern about hedgie food being the only correct option but I am trying to learn what is really best. I have already downloaded and started reading the book recommended so thank you!


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

Let me guess, they happen to sell that hedgehog food for a low, low price...


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## kvmommy (Feb 2, 2013)

Thank you LizardGirl! Thats exactly the kind of information I was looking for everywhere and have found nowhere but your book. Its very comprehensive and in depth. I now have to read the rest of your book! It really was a fantastic read. Thanks again!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

kvmommy said:


> Thank you LizardGirl! Thats exactly the kind of information I was looking for everywhere and have found nowhere but your book. Its very comprehensive and in depth. I now have to read the rest of your book! It really was a fantastic read. Thanks again!


I'm glad it helped! Feel free to ask if you have any other questions on the topic.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Spirit Wolves, 
I am going to have to call you out. Not all hedgehog food is "crap". You can look back on the locked topics and you will find a member named Reaper made a long comprehensive list of good foods, including commercially available hedgehog foods. Now, I have had 2 hedgehogs and my experience is that they both started out on hedgehog food only. The first hog I had was on a poor hedgehog food (Pretty Pets) and I took the advice of people on this forum and gave her cat food. The second hog is Daisy, she was on Sunseed Vita Exotic food, which is actually a very good food. I have to say both of the foods were way lower in fat than your average cat food and both of my hogs were good weights when they were eating the hedgehog foods. After switching to "high quality" cat foods my Snoball gained weight to the tune of 680 grams and was obese most of her life. The second hog I have now, I added in several very high quality cat foods. I went out of town for the holidays and the hog sitter I had, who is an experienced rescuer, started to feed her a much larger % of the cat foods as well as more meal worms. Daisy went from a svelte 350 grams to 450 grams in only 3 weeks! I free fed Snoball but never free fed Daisy for fear of obesity.
In any event, it is my opinion that hedgehog foods are not all bad and I would be inclined to feed them as a base food with cat food as a supplement to keep the hogs at a good weight - that is unless you have an underweight hedgehog.
I know lots of other people here have different opinions, but that is mine and like I said, not all hedgehog food is "crap". Some is good, some is bad, just like cat food.
-Susan H.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

> The second hog is Daisy, she was on Sunseed Vita Exotic food, which is actually a very good food.


I agree that not all hedgehog food is so terrible it shouldn't be used, but I also wouldn't necessarily call Sunseed a "very good" food, not in all circumstances. The ingredients are decent, not as high quality as most cat foods people use, but the main thing that bothers me is how low fat it is. For many hedgehogs, 7% is WAY too low to keep them healthy. I had a rescue come in on the Sunseed food and he was very underweight. His poop was great, and his health was okay otherwise, but he needed a lot more fat on him to be healthy. Not everyone knows what a healthy weight is or how to get their weight up if they're too thin, so I'd worry that someone would think Sunseed was great and just feed that, and end up with a skin and bones hedgie. Out of our whole herd of hedgies, the majority of them need around 15% fat to stay in good shape, which is approximately twice as much (not calculating the DMB of both foods). Sunseed is an option to feed, but some hedgehogs might not be able to thrive on it alone.


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

LizardGirl- your book was great and I was very thankful to be able to quickly and easily download it right onto my Mac. I already told my boyfriend he should read it too. We have already made some decisions to change how we were told to do things once I was exposed to all the info in your book. All the pictures/diagrams were appreciated too. Being a relatively new hedgie owner I am constantly trying to read up and learn what I can to give my little guy the best care. Thanks so much!!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

sklock65 said:


> LizardGirl- your book was great and I was very thankful to be able to quickly and easily download it right onto my Mac. I already told my boyfriend he should read it too. We have already made some decisions to change how we were told to do things once I was exposed to all the info in your book. All the pictures/diagrams were appreciated too. Being a relatively new hedgie owner I am constantly trying to read up and learn what I can to give my little guy the best care. Thanks so much!!


Thank you for your kind comments! I'm always happy to hear when it helps out owners and their hedgies.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Lizard Girl,
I have not downloaded your book, but I shall.....The problem I have had is overweight hedgies! Daisy was lean and mean when I left her for the holidays. She had the twinkie shape..but what concerns me really is that she is so much less active now after gaining the weight. *sigh*. She isn't gaining any more, but she isn't loosing any either. I think she's actually an OK weight, but her activity level has gone way down.
I wish there was a happy medium, or there was some magical formula for the best diet for each individual hog! It is quite the balancing act it seems. I am just sad that Daisy now seems to be so much more lethargic and does not run around and use me as a jungle gym anymore. I have to coax her into exercising now... :|


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Since her activity hasn't improved, are you sure it's not something more serious going on that's causing her to be so lethargic and gain weight? I'd worry that it wasn't just from getting extra food while you were away.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, I am not entirely sure, but she was being fed 3x her normal amount of food (tablespoons instead of teaspoons) and they were feeding her like 12 medium sized gut loaded meal worms/day where I was feeding only say 3-5 small meal worms. Also, she was not getting as much exercise and snuggle time. I was gone almost 3 weeks and her behavior has not been the same since then... :|


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