# A good diet?



## Hedgekitty (Nov 11, 2018)

Hello, I have a hedgie who is 3 years old. Her name is Snuffle. I have always fed Snuffle food such as mealworms(dried), cat food (chicken), scrambled egg, apple and bits of fruit that I know she can have. It sounds wierd but I check if her poo (when she has new food) is not green because I have been told that when it’s green the food is too rich. However I really do want the best for my hedgie and I don’t know if just giving her a routine of all these foods is very good for her. I have tried to give her dried cat biscuits (chicken) but she refuses to eat them. Please could anyone help me with dietary advice for my hedgie. Thanks.


----------



## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

You shouldnt be giving her dried meal worms, this is bad for them it can block their digestive system and cause contipation.
Scrambled egg is okay, but most people say not to give is to much about once a week and not very much of it either.

They should have dried cat biscuit as part of their everyday food as this gives them the nuitrients they need. As well as insecsts that are live or have been frozen but not dried. Also meal worms are really fatty, and they need a variety of differnt insects not just mealworms.
Try giving her the dry cat biscuate as a treat in bonding time if she eats it start putting a bit in her food bowel, without other things like fruit and or meat or scambled egg. Can also leave new insects there.


----------



## Hedgekitty (Nov 11, 2018)

Thanks so much. I’ll slowly cut down the amount of mealworms she eats. I’ll also try to convince her that cat biscuits are nice. What type of insects can she have?


----------



## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Dubia roaches, loctus, crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms but not dried or too many, Calci worms, silk worms, wax worms, morio worms (these bite so they say to squsih heads if feeding live) beetle grubs (which are pretty fatty)

I've added a picture to show the different protiene and fat percents. The fattier they are the less they should have because you dont want a overweight hedgehog.

The insects should be live. However if you dont want live insects in your house there are sites (I know there are defintly some in the UK) for pre frozen insects. You can also get some canned.
However getting them live and then gut loading for 24hours and putting in the freezer to kill would be better, but you will have live insects in your house for a bit over 24hours. This is the better option. Although the live makes the hedgehog catch the insects which can be good activty for them.

Some insects like grasshoppers can only be found canned. 
And this goes without saying but only give them insects sold for reptiles, not hand catched or bait, sure you already knew that though.


----------



## Hedgekitty (Nov 11, 2018)

Thanks for replying. Next time I go out to the pet shop I’ll be sure to grab some different insects. Once I did feed her mealworms live but when I put them in, they crawled everywhere!!! I might just get them frozen. Thanks for the advice


----------



## HedgieHugger7 (Aug 29, 2017)

It's not a good idea to let mealworms run free inside the cage. Feeding one by one to your hedgie is best, and can be really helpful in the bonding process as well.


----------



## Hedgekitty (Nov 11, 2018)

I figured after the first time it was was a bad idea when they tried to escape!!! But thanks for reminding me.


----------



## HedgieHugger7 (Aug 29, 2017)

Oh wow! Lol XD


----------



## Heidi S (Nov 7, 2018)

*Good Hedgie nutrition*

The place where I got my hedgie from told me (after I researched about using cat food based on the percentages charts) that cat foods are not actually the way to go with them and that the info on using them is out of date. She recommended Spikes Delite, so that's the only kind of everyday food I give mine. I got her at 12 weeks old and have had her about a month now. For treats she likes the small animal fruit mixes like papaya and the ones that have banana chips as well as freeze dried cat treats like chicken and liver. I stay away from the seafood ones as I was told they would make her poop smell worse. Oh, fresh cooked chicken was a hit too! I did try to give her meal worms, not the live, dried or frozen ones but the ones that come in a can and are nice and fresh looking. She won't touch them though. Do I have the only hedgie in the world that doesn't like meal worms??? It's no skin off my back as I'd rather give her everything and anything other than bugs!


----------



## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

If spikes delite is a hedgehog food then its bad for them, its not got all the right nuetritions, they are a ALL desinged for wild hedgehogs, and wild hedgehogs have differnt nuitritions and need more fat. However hedgehog food for wild hedgehogs isnt the best thjng for them either. 

Your better off giving your hedgehog fresh fruit you brought at a shop, not some dried mix from a petshop.

And they HAVE to have insects their diet. Hedgehogs are insectivores, in the wild they would live mainly off insects, meaning that when keep them as pets they must have a variety of insects.
I dont really like dealing with insects, but I've dealt with it due to Holly needing them.

You cant say they dont like something until you have tried giving it to them 30+ plus times. Also I found with new insects I have to cut them in half to get Holly to eat the first time.


----------

