# Raw Food Prey



## MariEileen (Feb 28, 2017)

First off, the raw feeding information I have found on these forums has been absolutely fantastic! I feel well equipped to give it a go myself.

I am picking up my hedgehog on Saturday, and I plan on transitioning him to a raw diet once he is settled. I feed my dog mostly raw as well, and it is something I feel passionately about.

I'm going to start the little guy (haven't quite settled on a name yet) on live/frozen mealworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, isopods, and maggots. I also have canned grasshoppers and snails. I'll be exploring veggies and fruits. 

I was wondering anyone had any thoughts on some additional prey items? I have been looking into termites, ants, and slugs, which all seem pretty safe. I also found a source for centipedes and millipedes. I think the millipedes will be fine, but has anyone heard of people feeding centipedes? I would freeze them, because I know they can bite, and probably cut off the head. It just seems to me like a really natural prey item for hedgehogs, but I'm curious if anyone has done it before.

Thanks for any thoughts! :smile:


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Your best bet is to talk to Lilysmommy. She's been doing a raw food diet for her hedgehog.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If you find a source for live or frozen termites & ants, I'd love to know where! I think I have one site bookmarked, but the amounts seemed so small for the price that I haven't ordered yet. Both would be totally fine & great to have. I did find freeze-dried termites at this site & have ordered some, along with shield bugs, june beetles, silkworm pupae, and mole crickets - http://www.thailandunique.com/wholesale-edible-insects I'm not fond of freeze-dried, but I plan to try rehydrating them & see if that goes well. If it doesn't, but Bindi will eat them dry, I'll just feed them out a few each night. With the rest of her diet being high in moisture, I think that'll compensate for the dry prey.

Slugs, I would be careful with. I think they're one of the things (along with snails) notorious for carrying parasites. I would make sure you freeze them for at least couple weeks before feeding, and don't use wild-caught ones (risk of pesticides).

I think millipedes & centipedes would both be fine too! I'm curious if the site you found is the same one I did. I was seriously considering the millipedes too, but my roommate threatened to move out. :lol: They've been so patient with all of the other bugs in the freezer that I gave up on the idea. I can't deal with centipedes either (one of the few things that creep me out too badly to even look at pictures), so those were a no go for me too. But if you do freeze them first, I think that would be fine. Also, I would be cautious with how many you feed at once - I know millipedes typically have toxins meant to deter animals from eating them, and I think centipedes may also be slightly venomous? So if I were feeding them, I'd stick with a small amount at a time to avoid potential negative effects. Hedgehogs do eat them in the wild though, so I don't think it's a reason to avoid them completely.

(I'm super excited to see this post! :lol: If you're interested in starting a thread about your boy's diet once you have him & start the process, I'd love to add it to our sticky list! I'm trying to keep a master list of resources for interested owners, as it sounds like you saw.  )


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

My boy looooves snails, but like Kelsey said, make sure you're getting them from a reputable source. Finn gets human-grade ones from the grocery store. We also have a slug guy and he farms them. Finn likes them just as much as snails. The anointed goo he presents me with afterwards doesn't smell very nice though :lol:

I have no sources for centipedes here so if you find some, I want updates on what your hoggy thinks! Have you considered small amounts of fish? I think that's what Finn and I will be trying next. His coat is so glossy when he's had omega-3s, but I doubt there's many fish where our hedgies originated from...

Can't wait to see your new boy!


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## MariEileen (Feb 28, 2017)

LilysMommy and FinnickHog, thanks so much for your input! I have been reading your posts on all the raw feeding threads like mad, and am very appreciative of you both sharing your journeys, it's been super helpful! 

The site that I found is nilesbio.com. I stumbled across it on a reptile forum and it is awesome. The prices for some things are a bit much, but I would be willing to try them at least once to see how they go over. Maybe you could farm the termites? I'll have to do do some more research on that. They even sell frog eggs and tadpoles, which wouldn't be too hard to feed well until they grow up a little. I would love to try feeding my hedgehog some tiny froglets. I am very into natural prey items. I will also be getting button quail soon, and will feed some of their eggs to the hog. (OK, gonna' stop talking about what I'm going to feed him now, because I could go on forever, and I want to start a thread about it anyway once I get going!)

LilysMommmy, I absolutely hate centipedes! I can handle any kind of insect except that one. I totally understand not even liking to look at pictures of them! So gross. I figure I can force myself to do it with a feeding tongs though. Good advice on feeding small amounts. I had heard they both had some minor toxicity as well. I know hedgehogs are supposed to be equipped to deal with that but I do want to be careful. These little guys are many generations away from their wild ancestors. 

FinnickHog, slug goo anointing sounds so gross! I think the anointing behavior is pretty cute, but I might have to draw the line at slug goo. Haha! If I decide to go that route, I think slugs will be an after-bonding food item only. I'm curious, where do you get your slugs? I didn't know that they were known as parasite carriers, so I'd like to be careful with where I get them. The snails I'm using for now are the canned ones meant for reptiles.

I'm excited to find some people to talk about raw feeding with! I get pretty geeky about this stuff. :-D


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Aha, wondered if that would be the site! Yup, that's the same one I've found & have bookmarked. It would be really interesting to see how hedgie takes to them, but I've got enough going on that I'll stick with what I currently have. :lol: I can barely handle the mealworm farm as it is!

Speaking of frog, that's something I've wished more than once I could get easily for Bindi's diet, mostly for the novelty. This site now has a link recipe with frog - http://www.reptilinks.com/ and I got SUPER excited about it several weeks ago. Unfortunately, I still haven't got a response to an email I sent asking about the ratios of meat & veggies in their links, or more specific nutritional information for any of the recipes I'd like to get for Bindi (which is none of the ones listed on their site). I don't know if they're just busy or what, but the lack of response doesn't really endear me to the company much. I might try contacting them a second time at some point, because I really would like to try the frog links, at least (and order some ASFs for my ball python).

Good luck with the centipedes...You're still braver than I am!

Hah, you sound like me. If you hadn't already noticed, my posts about the raw feeding stuff end up 2-3x as long as any of my other posts! :lol: I tend to get a tad overenthusiastic. And I'm so happy to have another raw feeding "nerd" on here!! My friends have gotten used to hearing about it every time we get someone new on here interested in hedgie raw diets. They're very patient with me, hah.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

In regards to slugs, I live near quite a few lakes and there's a guy who is really into healthy eating. He uses his fancy homegrown slugs to catch fish, and then he and his family eat the fish. He's really uptight about contaminants and parasites, and thinks the slugs are likely fit for human consumption, but nobody is going to test that. So Finn gets them!

All you have to do is find a nutty fisherman :lol:. But I can't get roaches here so I'll take whatever else I can find.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Kelsey are you wanting to add whole frog to the diet or frog meat? 
Whole frog, can't help you since we have to worry about parasites with wild animals. But if your just wanting to add the meat, go to the grocery store and look for frog legs. Might take some searching.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

twobytwopets said:


> Kelsey are you wanting to add whole frog to the diet or frog meat?
> Whole frog, can't help you since we have to worry about parasites with wild animals. But if your just wanting to add the meat, go to the grocery store and look for frog legs. Might take some searching.


Russian grocery stores usually carry those.

I don't even know why I keep reading all the raw feeding threads!!! My poor Ichiro will have to conform with cat kibble and canned mealworms and grasshoppers, I'm incapable of doing any of the things you guys do nor handling live insects.

All of you are amazing and a little nutty!!!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

:lol: Oh trust me, Artemis, I know!

I'd be happy with either, honestly, Two. I've thought about trying to find frog legs before, but it just doesn't seem like something a grocery store in the middle of Kansas would have. :lol: But who knows, maybe I'll find a store at some point. We do have a fair number of ethnic stores in the area, so I might wander through some.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Check with an oriental market. If there aren't any around, check Leavenworth/Lansing area.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Got back too late to edit.

checked, there is at least 2 in Leavenworth. One is even a restaurant. 
And, your not in the middle of Kansas, your smushed up in the very tippy tip of Kansas. The stereotypes of Kansas living don't even apply to you there. 
Also if you have a save-a-lot local they might carry frog legs, mine locally does and I live in Amish country.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

MariEileen said:


> I was wondering anyone had any thoughts on some additional prey items? I have been looking into termites, ants, and slugs, which all seem pretty safe. I also found a source for centipedes and millipedes. I think the millipedes will be fine, but has anyone heard of people feeding centipedes? I would freeze them, because I know they can bite, and probably cut off the head. It just seems to me like a really natural prey item for hedgehogs, but I'm curious if anyone has done it before.
> 
> Thanks for any thoughts! :smile:


I keep millipedes but there's no way I am going to feed a €10-30 invertebrate to my hedgehogs :lol:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks, Two! I'll have to check them out when I get a chance.


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## MariEileen (Feb 28, 2017)

Hey all! So I picked up the little guy on Saturday. (I don't currently have a computer at home, so can only look at the forums on weekdays!) 

After I had paid for my hog, I found out the breeder was not highly recommended. His nails were too long, and she had him on "hedgehog food," which had freeze dried bugs in it. 

I have been trying to get him to eat some superworms with no luck. He's not having them live, he's not having them chopped up. I kind of doubt he has ever had fresh insects. Hopefully he warms up to the idea, or my raw feeding plans are going to be a flop! :lol:

I am going to introduce him in his own thread, probably tomorrow. He is starting to warm up, so tonight should be a good night for pictures. I will also be starting his raw feeding diet/journey thread soon.

Thanks for all the input, I am excited to be a part of the community!

Any thoughts on how to introduce a naive little hedgie to the wonderful world of bugs would be appreciated! :lol: What am I going to do with all these Dubias if he won't eat them... A shipment to FinnickHog perhaps??


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Oof, that sucks.  It can be so hard to find good breeders now, there are so many that won't put enough effort & money into doing it properly.

I'm glad you have him home though! His reaction seems pretty typical, sigh. I think hedgehogs kind of imprint on food like ferrets do...so anything new is clearly Poison. :lol: I would just keep introducing the insects, especially mixed in with his food - chopped up or frozen is good for that so they don't escape!

I don't have much advice otherwise...Bindi is the biggest weirdo & just ate everything I offered. Great for me, not so much for giving advice to anyone else. :roll:


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Finn likes his new treats presented on a platter with a little bit of wet cat food mixed in. They're all different when it comes to new foods. Try everything you can think of and eventually something will work! He also is more willing if it's the only thing in his cage when he wakes up. He's like "oh, my usual mix is missing, I guess I'll just eat this then. Oh this is good, forget my dinner!"

I wish I could have your dubias! I'm pretty sure they're illegal here...


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