# Is this okay as a base food?



## Kysarkel000 (Jan 31, 2019)

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if this cat food is okay as a base food? I'd like to feed this with some baby food meats, fruit, and veggies, and insects. 

Are there any supplements I should include? And it'd be nice to have a "recommended guaranteed analysis" sheet for hedgehogs. You know, where it shows how much protein % they should have and what not. If anyone knows where to find one, could you send me a link or picture of it? 

Also, what is an appropriate weight for an adult hedgehog, and is there a way to calculate hedgehog BMI? What is a good hedgehog BMI anyways?

Thanks for all your help!!


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

Here's the link to the thread on this forum that is all about hedgehog nutrition (including those percentage recommendations).
https://www.hedgehogcentral.com/for...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html

The protein and fiber on the food in the photo is way low.


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

Hey there! Honestly, it’s by far not the worst food I’ve seen, and what I’m focusing more on is the ingredients. You can see that the first three listed are real meats, which is one of the biggest feats when searching for a good quality food. I didn’t review the thread linked in this one, so it will probably give you a lot more information. As a general statement, protein should be around 30%, fat no more than 15%, and I would say the only major problem I’m seeing is the moisture- high moisture will just mean that it won’t keep as long! But, that’s not a bad choice to start! Definitely look around and see what’s out there.
As for weights, a healthy adult can be anywhere from 300-500g. An easy way to measure this is to just get a 10$ food scale on amazon. And you were probably looking for a more sophisticated answer for BMI, but if your hedgie’s got rolls around this legs, he’s too fat lol. Just periodically do body checks to make sure they’re looking full but uniform. 
Hope this helps 🙂


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

Hey there! Honestly, it’s by far not the worst food I’ve seen, and what I’m focusing more on is the ingredients. You can see that the first three listed are real meats, which is one of the biggest feats when searching for a good quality food. I didn’t review the thread linked in this one, so it will probably give you a lot more information. As a general statement, protein should be around 30%, fat no more than 15%, and I would say the only major problem I’m seeing is the moisture- high moisture will just mean that it won’t keep as long! But, that’s not a bad choice to start! Definitely look around and see what’s out there. And the taurine is a plus too; that’s a universally good supplement, and finding it in the kibble is a bonus. 
As for weights, a healthy adult can be anywhere from 300-500g. An easy way to measure this is to just get a 10$ food scale on amazon. And you were probably looking for a more sophisticated answer for BMI, but if your hedgie’s got rolls around this legs, he’s too fat lol. Just periodically do body checks to make sure they’re looking full but uniform. 
Hope this helps 🙂


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## Kysarkel000 (Jan 31, 2019)

Thanks guys! Great info!


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

Hey Aj.t, I also noticed the real meat ingredients listed first. That is good. But the percentages were more my concern. The protein is woefully off and the fiber is quite low. There are better options than the kibble in question (and worse ones too).

Comparing by percentages the freshpet with recommendations...
protein 18% -- recommended 28-35%
fat 10% -- recommended 10-15%
fiber 2% -- recommended as high as you can find (8-10 can be found)

There is a list of better quality kibble options here:
http://www.volcanoviewhedgehogs.com/kibble-list.html


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

The protein is way too low. The protein should be 30-33% and should never go above 35%. There should be about 10-13% fat... young hedgehogs might need over 15%. The fiber should be 3-8% (it’s not that important.) The ingredients are great though. You want to make sure that the first three ingredients are whole meats. 🙂


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

By the way, fish based foods can make your hedgehog’s poop smell really bad.


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