# Dangerous nutrient in food?



## SlapTag (May 1, 2013)

Hello everyone, recently i was speaking to the breeder for some feedback and she asked me for the label of the food i use. She had told me to get a low fat diet so my mother bought *Royal canin - obesity * and in the ingredients it says that it contains *L-Carnitine.* Is there a risk to my 2 month hog if i feed him this for 3 months? (changing to mazuri on september, this is because i live in Peru and the few who have it, sell it at triple the price)

Help please!! I'm very worried


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## fionas_mommy (Oct 27, 2012)

Hello. I can only share with you my knowledge of chem/biochem. L-carnitine is a type of amino acid (but not one of the main ones) and it is produced in the body (all animals, including people) naturally. it is probably in the food because it helps in breaking down fats. some people even give this as a supplement for things like fatty liver disease in animals, and it can be bought for people supplements too.

im not sure it has any terrible side effects. from what I've seen here, people sometimes use royal canin food for their hedgies. my only question, and I am by no means a breeder or nutritional expert at all, but you say your hedgie is 2 months old? typically, young hedgies should have higher (not high, just higher) fat food. like kitten food. is there a reason the breeder asked you to use low-fat food on a the hedgie?


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## SlapTag (May 1, 2013)

She said that hedgehogs have a tendency to grow fat so she instructed me to buy low-fat food, i know about l-carnitine's effects but since this is for obese cats she was worrying about an excess in this nutrient. (possible heart risk for little mammals?) 
I think i'll start incorporating mealworms as a treat to my hedgie's diet  

Thank you for your response 

I'll keep feeding this food to my hedgie for the time being since i'm not sure if it is in excess (the food is meant to make cats thinner) and if it is harmful or not for my lil one. 

If anyone knows about this brand of royal canin please PM me or post an answer, im a first-time hedgehog owner and i don't want to risk my young hog at all


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I don't know much about L-carnitine, but I just wanted to mention that I wouldn't suggest switching to Mazuri - it's not worth it. Royal Canin may not be one of the best cat foods (though likely one of the better ones you can get in Peru, I'm guessing?), but Mazuri's ingredients are worse. If RC's ingredients are similar to RC in the US, it at least has named meat meals and fats, like chicken meal and chicken fat. Mazuri's ingredients...

Poultry by-product meal, ground soybean hulls, ground wheat, low ash poultry by product, dried beet pulp, rice flour, soybean meal, dried egg product, ground aspen, porcine animal fat (preserved with BHA), poultry fat (preserved with ethoxyquin), poultry digest (flavor), dried apple pomace, powdered cellulose, wheat germ, fish meal (menhaden), dried whey, shrimp meal, soy oil, lecithin, brewers yeast, fish oil, phosphoric acid, salt, dl-methionine, taurine, choline chloride, mixed tocopherols (a natural preservative), ascorbic acid, citric acid, rosemary extract, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin K), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), marigold extract, inositol, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (natural source of vitamin E), vitamin A acetate, vitamin B12 supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized vitamin C), calcium pantothenate, niacin, manganous oxide, thiamin mononitrate, calcium carbonate, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, canthaxanthin, zinc sulfate, folic acid, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate biotin, sodium selenite. 

The meat meal isn't named (which means the source it comes from can be questionable), and there's both BHA and ethoxyquin in it, which have both been linked to cancer. I would definitely suggest sticking with Royal Canin over Mazuri.


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## fionas_mommy (Oct 27, 2012)

I'm sorry, I can't exactly find the ingredient/guaranteed analysis online. How much protein and fat is there? Sometimes the obesity foods have really high protein amounts, which can be bad for hedgies. 

Also, yes, hedgies can become obese for sure. But at only 2months, they are still little and should probably be gaining some weight to grow big and strong. Again, not an expert, but I would suggest monitoring the weight to make sure the hedgie doesnt get TOO skinny. they're naturally kinda round


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## SlapTag (May 1, 2013)

The protein content is of 40% and the fat content is 10%, a high protein content  [ooh then i'll get him rounder  they look so cute when they're a bit puffy]

Thank you for the answer Lilysmommy, you are quite right, the meats aren't named which makes it a bit fishy. However, i'll change the food im giving him to another brand of royal canin (yeah its pretty much the best i can get here) since the obesity one seems to be unhealthy for him. I wont buy mazuri anymore  (thanks for the tip!)

Anyone knows what type of Royal canin should i give him? There are too many variations for young, old, obese cats etc. I can get the right percentage of fat and protein in most of the foods but i do not know which of the other ingredients which may harm him. :/


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I would aim for a food with 30-35% protein and around 12% fat or so. Keep in mind though, that depending on your hedgehog's activity, you may need to adjust. Hedgehogs do tend towards being obese/heavier, but not all, and some are runners and really do need high fat to stay healthy. So you'll have to keep an eye on him and see what his needs are. 12% fat (or somewhere between 10-15%) seems to be a pretty good number for most normal hedgehogs though, from what I've noticed on the forums. Look for those percentages first - most RC ingredients tend to be pretty similar, regardless of the specifics it's targeted at. I think something for an adult, indoor cat would probably work best though, to translate over to a young, healthy hedgehog. Indoor formulas tend to be the correct percentage in fat, and a normal adult formula shouldn't have any unusual ingredients in it (as far as I can think, anyway).


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## llankfo (May 2, 2013)

SlapTag said:


> Anyone knows what type of Royal canin should i give him?


I have Reggie on a mix of Science Diet and Royal Canin. The Royal Canin I use was recommended by my breeder: I use the kitten 36 one, it has 36% protein and 17% fat. The Science Diet (which you can buy online so you aren't limited to a pet or grocery store) is 28.5% protein and 7% fat; I added it in because Reggie was getting a little chunky.

Reggie's poops were also less...odiferous when he was eating just Royal Canin, so that's a plus!


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