# advise on food



## underdog (Jun 22, 2015)

Hello all.
I have a family of 6 hedgehogs. 2 adults and 4 babies which are almost weaned.
The problem is that the male, is gaining weight all the time and he become hudge !
He used to play around the room with a shoe, moving t arownd for hours and also used the wheel in the night.
Since 1 week ago, he is refusing to play with the shoe, he become more agressive (biting all the time my fingers) and he seem very scared / angrey and gaining weight. He is over 550 g and i am afraid he will not stop here. He is so fat that he cannot get him self up when he is falling on his back. I am adding wet cat food and a little bit of carrot or cucumber and mix them. if i don't add wet food, his poop is like stone hard...
In the night he is using the wheel but he is so fat that he cannot run too much.. he is getting tired every 5 seconds

Female food mix : If i add in her food bowl vegetables or wet food, her poop is all over the place.
The male is eating PERFECTO CAT STERILIZED
The female is eating SANABELLE KITTEN +
I am attaching pictures from the labels
Are these foods accepted ? there are some things in the mix of each one which i do not know what they are and i do not know if they are safe.

Thank you


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## Potterhead34 (Nov 28, 2015)

http://www.chewy.com/cat/blue-buffalo-indoor-health-chicken/dp/32093

Try this it's 32% protein and 15 crude fat


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## Potterhead34 (Nov 28, 2015)

Also may take the male to the vet he may have a UTI urinairy track infection and there mate be stones too much sugar will cause this and only feed mealworms one or two times a week and very few at that 2-3 for the adults 1 for babies and 

Dreamflower Meadows
Hedgehogs are classified as insectivores since they primarily eat bugs and worms in the wild. In captivity the main part of their diet should be a dry food (dry foods help keep the teeth and gums healthy). The European Hedgehog has more access to plant items in the wild and is, thus, more of an omnivore than their cousin, the African Pygmy Hedgehog. Many websites that talk about hedgehog diets are sites for the UK or other European countries, so these should not be directly applied to the African Pygmy Hedgehog. We feel that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the African Pygmy Hedgehog diet in captivity because of this confusion. The African Pygmy Hedgehog should be fed primarily meat, although, some will learn to eat vegetables. They love fruit, but fruit contains a lot of sugar and should be fed only very sparingly ? too much sugar in their diet will cause them to become overweight and even diabetic.
There are many brands of hedgehog food on the market today, but most are just repackaged cat foods sold at a higher price (and most of these are not made of quality ingredients). We feed primarily Purina One Adult Cat Food ? Chicken & Turkey Formula. This is a dry cat food that has chicken as the first ingredient and corn is lower on the list. There are other brands you can use, but always read labels. You are looking for a real meat (not a ?meal? or ?by-product?) as the first ingredient and corn should not be in the top 2 ingredients. The protein should be below 38% and not less than 32%. The fat should be between 12% and 15%. Food that is too high in protein (such as meal worms or kitten food) cause Fatty Liver Disease just as easy as too much fat in the diet.
How much to feed is not a simple answer. As a rule of thumb, babies up to about 6 months old should be fed ?free? amounts of dry food ? food should be in the bowl at all times. If you notice, though, that your baby is getting very chubby then you will need to measure how much he eats a day and adjust that amount according to his weight. An obese hedgehog will not live nearly as long as a healthy one. Having a wheel in the cage from the time they are young is important. A hedgehog that is bored will eat out of boredom, but once they are overweight they usually will not want to run on a wheel, so it is important for them to learn to enjoy the wheel before they learn to enjoy food too much. DO NOT feed low fat food to any age of hedgehog even if it is an older overweight one ? they still need fat in their diet. Instead, if a hedgehog is overweight the amount they eat needs to be measured out so that they are eating less. And additional exercise should be given, especially if they are not running on a wheel on their own.
Other types of foods that you can give to supplement their diets are:
Meat sources:
Cooked lean meats (like chicken or turkey, but not ground meat or deli meat since these are not good quality meat)
Scrambled or hard boiled eggs (both whites and yolk)
A good quality canned cat food (we scrape the gravy off the top when we open the can)
Live insects like crickets & meal worms (NEVER feed freeze-dried insects of any kind due to stomach impaction issues). Meal worms are very high in protein (as are any larval stage of insect) so they should be fed in moderation (no more than a couple twice a week to a well fed hedgehog and never to a hedgehog that tends to be over weight). Crickets do not have a larval stage, so they are healthier than meal worms, but difficult to feed since they can hop away. Meal worms change into a beetle and use most of their protein during this process, so if you are up for breeding meal worms this a very healthy and fairly easy alternative (and they love them). Google ?Breeding Meal Worms? to find instructions on how to do this. However, live insects are not necessary to be fed to a hedgehog on a good quality cat food diet.
Vegetables (NO starchy veggies like corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or carrots) ? But many hedgehogs will not eat vegetables at all:
peas and green beans (fresh or frozen & thawed ? not canned)
cut tomatoes (fresh)
squash & zucchini (cooked)
green peppers (fresh)
cucumbers (fresh)
dark green leafy veggies (like spinach) that has been washed very well
baby foods (especially for an older or sick hedgehog)
Fruit ? Do not feed fruit more than once a week, if at all:
Berries ? blue berries, strawberries, black berries, raspberries
Avoid bananas, apples, or other fruit that is higher in natural sugars
Never feed grapes or raisins that can be toxic to hedgehogs
You will need to experiment with your hedgehog to see what he/she likes best. Offer only one type of new food at a time over a several day period to see if he/she likes it. Leave the new food in his/her food bowl overnight and remove any left-overs in the morning (having a separate bowl for this type of food is helpful so the hard food does not spoil as quickly). If he/she does not touch it after several days to a week, then you can assume they do not like.
Veggies can be given daily (except for starchy ones like carrots). Do not feed any corn or potatoes since these are harder for hedgehogs to digest and have no real added nutritional value that hedgehogs need. But hedgehogs do not need veggies in their diet, so if your hedgehog will not eat them, don?t worry.
Fruits are high in natural sugar and can make a hedgehog gain weight more quickly, so it is best to only offer these as a once a week treat or less and definitely not at all if your hedgehog is over weight. But only feed berries and avoid fruits that are high in natural sugars, like bananas and apples. Grapes have been reported to being toxic to hedgehogs and other animals, so do not feed them or raisins at all.
You will need to experiment to see what your hedgehog likes best and try to offer the treats they like when you have time for bonding because the quickest way to an animal?s heart is through their stomachs. But if your hedgehog will not eat anything other than dried cat food, don?t worry ? a good quality dried cat food really has everything that a hedgehog needs.
It is best not to feed any food out of your hands since you may accidently get bitten and this could cause the hedgehog to bite out of habit thinking you will give him food if he bites.
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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Potterhead, I'm not sure you read the post very carefully. The male's poop is what gets hard when he doesn't get wet food, that's not a urinary issue. We love to have people help out other owners on here, but please try to refrain from giving advice while you're still new to hedgehogs and researching them - it can be very easy to pass along incorrect and/or harmful information. There's also no need to limit mealworms to such a small number unless there's a major weight issue.

Underdog, sorry your post got missed before this!

Unfortunately both of those foods look like they're very high in grains/carbs, which isn't good. The high amount of grains is probably part of what is causing your male to gain so much weight. I know it can be very difficult to find high quality foods in many countries, but I would see if you can find something with more meat and fewer grains and cereals, or possibly even no grains. This forum is heavily US and UK based, unfortunately, so I'm not sure I can help much with options for where to look. I know some other countries have access to ordering better quality foods online, so that might be something you can research to see if it's possible.

Something else to check - what is the nutritional information for the wet food you are giving your male? Wet foods tend to be much higher in fat than dry foods - you have to adjust the percentages to account for the higher moisture, so the numbers on the label are not what they actually are. If you post the percentages, I can show you how to figure out the actual fat content.

I can't recall, do you give your hedgehogs water with bottles or bowls? If you use bottles, it might be a good idea to try a bowl with your male. If he gets hard poops when he doesn't get wet food, it sounds like he's not getting enough moisture otherwise, which could mean he isn't drinking enough. If the wet food is very high in fat, I would suggest cutting the wet food out of his diet and soaking his kibble to add moisture to it, if he'll eat it like that.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Also depending on how long he's been given the wet food, he may be somewhat conditioned to not drink as much water. If we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that have a high water content, we are more hydrated without an increase in water consumption. 
For the harder bowel movements, you may want to consider adding some water to his dry food. 

Is his issue with his poops at all occurring at the same time with his behavior change? If there is no connection with the timing then it's two separate issues. If the coincide with each other, they could possibly be related. Even if it's something as minor of him being grumpier because he can't poop.


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