# Hedgehog meal plan



## CashmereSkeleton (Nov 28, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I think I would like to create a kind of meal plan for Erin when I get her, but I need a bit of help.

I've chosen my two main cat food sources (thanks LilysMommy) which are 



 and 



. I'll also be adding meal worms and I'll be trying out some fruits and vegetables but I'd like to make a plan of meals for maybe a week or two weeks at a time. I don't want to give her the same thing every night (I know I would get bored of that) so I just wanted to give her some variety. Is that a good idea?

I found this example online. There are things like pineapple, tomato and milk included in there which I would avoid, but would you give your hedgehog a diet that was this varied? It seems like a lot of different food and I wasn't sure if a plan this 'busy' would cause an upset stomach?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I9FRCDLEW9_-Nke1fk3jkw3tAmERIubtS6NsbuVTp5E/edit?usp=sharing

I'm sorry if there was a post already covering this type of thing, I couldn't find it.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Variety is fine if it's fine for your hedgie.  Some wouldn't do well with it, but I think most would be fine with it provided they've been introduced to all of the foods before you start regularly rotating them. Just go slowly & introduce everything one food at a time, with a few days in between. Once you know there's no issues with one food, you can try another one, & rotate those, & so on. 

I would give some things more regularly, such as insects and I would do fruit only 1-2 times a week. Meat & veggies you can figure out how often works well, since meat is usually higher in protein & fat, and veggies would help if your hedgie puts weight on easily. Of course, it'll just depend on what your hedgie will even eat. :lol: Even the best-laid plans are useless with a stubborn hedgie that won't touch anything.

One thing with varying treats & diet additions often - You might run into issues with food going bad unless you're eating it as well, or unless you freeze it. That was why I liked baby food, I was able to give Lily a greater variety of veggies without having so much waste.


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## CashmereSkeleton (Nov 28, 2014)

Hi Kelsey

I thought you might be the one to come to my rescue. I was planning to try out different things with Erin before I made a meal plan, which seems sensible. I will have to think about not making too much waste though, but I eat pretty much anything (except mealworms!) so I think we could share. I do like the baby food idea though. I'm reading all your stickies and just trying to get an idea of how I can make her diet more interesting for her

Thank-you for your help (again :lol


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

;-)
The best laid plans....(of mice and men often go awry)

You have a big unknown here, your hedgie will not eat something the first 40 times you offer and then they'll eat it like it is the best thing ever. :roll:

Actually, I think it may be better to give hedgie the same basic food every night and then supplement with other foods a few times a week. They are very picky and so prone to upset tummys and hunger strikes. 

Veggies are good, if your hedgie will eat them, but my breeder always warned that anything you couldn't smush may be a choking hazard, like raw carrots. 

And as Lillysmommy said, one new food at a time.


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## CashmereSkeleton (Nov 28, 2014)

Thanks Momlady.

Perhaps I'm asking the wrong question. Maybe I should be trying to find out how many times I should feed vegetables, fruit and insects a week, along with cat food and just make a plan around that. That way I can swap ingredients as and when with whatever I have to hand


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

> I thought you might be the one to come to my rescue.


I can't help it, I just like talking about animal food! :lol: I'm glad I've been able to help though. And yeah, I'd do something like twice a week for fruit, insects every day (though you could vary what kind she gets each night), and veggies & meat as wanted, depending on her weight. With the veggies, I would be careful to vary them so she doesn't get the same veggie more than 2-3 times a week - some of them can be high in different nutrients & though it's not likely to cause a problem with a well-balanced diet anyway, I figure there's no point in overdoing anything. Examples being kale is high in vitamin A & calcium, peas are high in phosphorus (and sugar), etc.

I would also be semi-cautious with the extra meat & insects as well, as most of both are unbalanced in calcium: phosphorus ratios. You can gutload the insects with a calcium-rich food (if you get them live), which can help, or look into other ways to help balance out the ratio. I wouldn't consider it a really big deal, but just something to consider depending on how much "extras" she gets in her diet. But it does lean more into the natural/homemade diet kind of concerns.


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## CashmereSkeleton (Nov 28, 2014)

Thanks Kelsy. I did see your post about your dog and the raw diet. I was very impressed, you really seen to know what you're doing.

Thanks for your suggestions. They're really helpful


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