# Sweetie's kibble & a question on crickets



## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

we are still trying to switch Sweetie from Spike's Delite to this mix: http://www.hamorhollow.com/food/

no luck so far. he either picks out the old food or eats very, very little. he is a stubborn little guy. :roll:

any suggestions?

also, while i'm at it, how do i feed him live crickets? do i crush them first? if so, how? i read that crickets should be only an occasional treat, so how do i keep a bunch of live crickets?

thank you.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I buy my crickets live and then stick them in my freezer. I thaw one or two and then feed them right away. They only take 10-20 min to thaw out.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Hmmm... I worry about the dog food in there being too hard for him to chew. And I worry about the ferret food, as most of then usually have at least 40% protein, and that is too high for hedgehogs. 

Do they tell you which exact brands of cat foods are in the mix?


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Immortalia said:


> Hmmm... I worry about the dog food in there being too hard for him to chew. And I worry about the ferret food, as most of then usually have at least 40% protein, and that is too high for hedgehogs.
> 
> Do they tell you which exact brands of cat foods are in the mix?


i can ask the breeder about the cat foods but Larry also recommends this mix.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

hedgielover said:


> I buy my crickets live and then stick them in my freezer. I thaw one or two and then feed them right away. They only take 10-20 min to thaw out.


why not buy frozen ones then?


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## Beanie (Jun 9, 2010)

From what I've heard about the crickets, you just want to avoid the freeze dried ones, because there is very little nutrients and basically just a hard exoskeleton that can become "impacted" in their digestive system if given too many of them. The canned ones might work best for your needs? (Retains juices, not freeze dried, but preserved enough so you don't have to worry about farming your own crickets)


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Beanie said:


> From what I've heard about the crickets, you just want to avoid the freeze dried ones, because there is very little nutrients and basically just a hard exoskeleton that can become "compacted" in their digestive system if given too many of them. The canned ones might work best for your needs? (Retains juices, not freeze dried, but preserved enough so you don't have to worry about farming your own crickets)


I have tried the caned ones and I will tell you. THEY ARE REALLY REALLY GROSS!!!!!!! sorry just could not emphasize that enough. They really stink! Also cans don't stay fresh long after opening so you would probably end up throwing most of them away. I tried freezing a can after opening to keep it fresh, the crickets just turn into one frozen block and cannot be separated for thawing.



fracturedcircle said:


> hedgielover said:
> 
> 
> > I buy my crickets live and then stick them in my freezer. I thaw one or two and then feed them right away. They only take 10-20 min to thaw out.
> ...


Do you mean freshly frozen crickets? If so I didn't you could buy them like that. If you mean freeze dried crickets see Bean's post.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

It isn't hard at all to go buy a few live crickets and gut load them, and then toss them in the freezer. Freezing them and thawing them isn't the same as freeze-dried. Once you start thawing them, make sure they aren't still cold and feed them immediately after so they don't start rotting. Gut loading will make them more nutritious. They are good treats, since they aren't high in fat like mealworms.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

what should i do about the mix? just keep trying?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'd keep trying. Some hedgehogs can be extremely resistant to food changes. I'd start by counting how many new pieces you added to see if he is eating any of it. Once you see some pieces being eaten, slowly start to reduce the amount of the old food to encourage the new food to be eaten.

Some can be extremely resistant. I have one now that took me 7 months to get him to eat better foods. I'm currently quite worried we will have to go through this again as the primary food he eats is Innova and Innova was just sold to P&G. I really hope they don't change its formula, causing him to stop eating again. If I add new foods to his bowl (2 pieces out of 50 this last time), he won't touch the food at all. He is extremely picky.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> I'd keep trying. Some hedgehogs can be extremely resistant to food changes. I'd start by counting how many new pieces you added to see if he is eating any of it. Once you see some pieces being eaten, slowly start to reduce the amount of the old food to encourage the new food to be eaten.
> 
> Some can be extremely resistant. I have one now that took me 7 months to get him to eat better foods. I'm currently quite worried we will have to go through this again as the primary food he eats is Innova and Innova was just sold to P&G. I really hope they don't change its formula, causing him to stop eating again. If I add new foods to his bowl (2 pieces out of 50 this last time), he won't touch the food at all. He is extremely picky.


will keep trying. 

how often should i give him crickets?


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