# Feed amounts



## Kpjenk21 (Feb 3, 2013)

I was wondering if i could get some feed amounts per body weight from people. I know some people weigh and some people count their hedgies' food, but is there any info on let's say: _X_ amount of tablespoons for a hedgie that is _X_ grams? Or do people just feed a certain amount for a couple days and get an avg. of what the hedgie eats, and feed that? I know looking at a hedgie you can see if it's a runner body type, over weight, or under weight, so in those cases, and going by the weight measurements how much food do you know to hold back, or give more of?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I think it depends on the hedgehog. For example, mine weighs about 530 grams, and he eats 1.5 tablespoon a night. Most hedgehogs don't overeat, so usually when a hedgie is on a diet you try cutting back on the fat first (so feed kibble with less fat, same for treats) instead of the amount of food unless a hedgehog does overeat or really eats a lot. And the other way around if your hedgehog is too thin, of course. It depends on the individual hedgehog. I think nutritional values like fat % are usually more important than the amount of food.


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## Kpjenk21 (Feb 3, 2013)

ok that makes sense. I haven't heard whether or not hedgies over eat or not, so thanks for clearing that up. That makes it easier to figure it out and along with tracking weight (which i haven't done yet  ) getting an avg. of how much she eats and feeding that amt. would be a good way to maintain her current weight. thanks


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

It is a very difficult thing to gauge in my limited experience. If a hedgehog has more fat in their food, they will eat less of it I have found. My hedgie used to eat all of her food and always wanted more, after adding in some higher fat foods though, I have found she is eating less, but still maintaining her weight.
Some hedgehogs do overeat though, my first hedgehog was one and she weighed 680 grams! The one I have now though seems to know when to stop and there is usually some food left in her bowl in the morning. I feed somewhere around 2 tbs/night, but that is not a hard and fast rule, you will see how much your little one wants and needs as she gets bigger. Right now though, I would certainly not try to restrict her.


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## Vivalahedgielution (Feb 8, 2013)

So Hubert will only eat a few kibbles a night from his bowl. He isn't real big on eating them but I am sure I am giving him too many treats, too often.  That aside, his weight looks to be fine. Not getting overweight and loves his wheel, and not getting too thin as his little hedgie body seems to be that cute kind of dumpy look haha.

My question is really more regarding how many of what treats is a good amount for an average sized hog depending on the different type of treats. 
Does someone have a chart they can put up? Something that would read along the lines:

meal worms, xx amount, xx times weekly
skinless cooked sweet potato, xx amount, xx times weekly
insert treat here, xx amount, xx times weekly (lower calorie treat - can combine with other lower cal. treat for a total of x # of treats a week)

And maybe add in if one gives x amount of 1 treat (I'll just throw this out there - obviously this would be too many), for example, you wanted to give your pet 20 mealies weekly. So if you gave him that many, you probably wouldn't really wanna give him extra treats. But for other treats like lower calorie ones, lets say you wanted to give your hedgie a baby carrot a week, you could probably also include a couple mealies. So, a chart could indicate if the treat is a lower calorie (or a treat that could potentially be given more often) and what other treats on what basis they could be combined. Also, a chart could include if a treat is higher in calories or not as nutritionally sound, how often it would be ok to give to your hedgie and whether or not other treats could be given in or around that same time span. ****OR*** Better yet, maybe make a category list of low cal, medium cal, and high cal treats and just write in how many times weekly the pet can receive treats from each of these categories and that would also include if they receive 1 high cal that they should only receive 1 lower cal treat and no more, etc.

I know each hedgie is an individual but a generalized list would be so helpful. 

I hope someone understands what I am getting at. haha Kind of like a treat diet plan. haha I know there's lots of info on these forums indicating what treats are and are not safe, all about fat content, etc. but I am really mostly curious about frequency in what amounts. And I am soooo so so sorry if there already is something like this and I just missed it. lol If that is the case, please just direct me!  If not, and you feel either up to the challenge or are so informed that you ooze hedgie info., please share with me and everyone! haha  :lol:


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