# A few food questions



## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

I get my baby August 12th, so I just want to make sure I am as prepared as possible. Just need help with a few more specific questions.

Okay food wise I am going to go with two brands of blue buffalo, sound good?

I am going to buy meal worms for insects, how often do I give them? How many at a time?

My fiance and I usually eat eggs at least 3 days a week. How often can Hedgies have them, and which ways can they have them? I like making sunny side up, could I do that and then give part of the egg white? Or am I better off hard boiling some eggs and doing it that way? Is that safer? I worry about any trace chemicals from the pan or something...Whereas hard boiled is in the shell while cooking. 

Wal mart sells freezer dried fruit for 79 cents. The only ingredient is whatever fruit. How often can they have fruit?

I saw freeze dried chicken (it's cat treat) and was wondering if it's okay as a treat? I am kind of worried about:

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min) 75.99%, Crude Fat (min) 3.41%, Crude Fiber (max) 1.18%, Moisture (max) 8.67%

is that way to high?? Or is that okay for a treat?

Also, how much kibble to put in the bowl? is an 1/8 of a cup ok? a tablespoon? Do you change the food everyday and get rid of the stuff they don't eat, or wait till they eat it? 

For water, is tap water okay? Or should I purify it? My sister has an RO filter she uses for filling her fish tank. Would that be better?

Sorry about all these questions... I just want to make sure everything is okay and I do stuff right!


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

Congrats 

*Food:*
For the food, make sure the fat is around 20%, until s/he is 6 months.

You can check out the list I posted viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12755 All the foods are in alphabetical order. For under 6 months, the foods are in purple.

In a mix, it's best to use different flavors, for more variety. Blue Buffalo doesn't have a good variety of flavors in high fat foods. On that post there is another list, where I've listed the foods by the flavor (It's called "ListedByIngredient.pdf). This should help  . I'd personally avoid fish (red) though, since it causes smelly poop.

*Treat:*
For the treat, the protein is ok for a treat. But, don't feed to much freeze-dried foods. Real, fresh, unseasoned, cooked meat would be better. 

*Eggs:*
For the eggs. They can have up to one full scrambled egg a week. They can't have egg yolks. You can make scrambled eggs in the microwave as well.

*Food Amount:*
Every hedgehog will eat a different amount. The best way to figure out how much they eat is:
Day 1: Eats 56 kibbles
Day 2: Eats 60 kibbles
Day 3: Eats 47 kibbles
Day 4: Eats 52 kibbles
Day 5: Eats 49 kibbles
Day 6: Eats 55 kibbles

They most he ate was 56, so you'd but 60-65 kibbles a day in the bowl. Change the food every 24 hours, as well as the water. You can count them out as you put them in a cup, if it doesn't fill the cup, you can draw a "fill to here" line. I use a 1/4 cup.

Week 1: Eating old food
Week 2: 1/4 new, 3/4 old (# of kibbles fed x 0.25 = # of new kibbles)
Week 3: 1/2 new, 1/2 old (# of kibbles fed x 0.50 = # of new kibbles)
Week 4: 3/4 new, 1/4 old (# of kibbles fed x 0.75 = # of new kibbles)
Week 5: Eating new food

*Water:*
Which brings me to, tap water is ok as long as there is nothing in it. I use tap, because I know it's safe, some people use filtered water and some use bottled water. When you get your baby, as your breeder for a bottle of their water. Slowly add your water to their water over a couple weeks.

For switching food, don't start switching when you first bring baby home. Wait at least a week for him/her to settle it.

*Insects:*
Mealworms are good while hedgies are babies, because they have high fat. I personally use mealworms as a reward when my hedgies unball. Live mealworms are best  You can feed around 10 a day while s/he's a baby. Once a hedgie reaches 6 months, you want to cut fat in half. So kibble with less fat, and half the mealworms. Crickets are great for this, because they are low in fat. I buy them live, them put them in the freezer. Take them out 5 minutes before you want to feed them, and your good to go


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

CanadienHedgie said:


> They can't have egg yolks.


I don't think I remember hearing that before...Why can't they have yolks?


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> CanadienHedgie said:
> 
> 
> > They can't have egg yolks.
> ...


I think I read that on here. But I could be getting confused with some of my other animals?


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Eggs are fine in moderation...no more than one a week, I think is the rule?

I wouldn't worry about cooking them in a pan. I find it easiest to scramble one in the microwave and I just feed a teaspoonful.

The problem with dried fruit is the high sugar concentration: it tends to cause tartar buildup and rotten teeth. It's okay in teeny amounts as a treat but encourage fresh fruit and veggies as much as possible (cook hard veggies like carrots, first to ensure they don't get stuck in the roof of the mouth).


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I found this on yolks - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1019&p=9626&hilit=yolk#p9626 Higher in cholesterol, but not too much.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks for all the help!!  Should I bring a gallon carton to get their old water in??


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I change my hedgie's water every day, sometimes twice, and I go through about two 17oz bottles of water a week. I use a pretty large bowl for her water, too. I think a gallon of the breeder's water would be plenty, especially if you mix the breeder's water with the water you're using.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

Okay! I will do that...I am hoping the breeder won't think I am crazy lol. He is USDA approved, but said he feeds his hedgies purina :-( But I didn't want to lecture or anything, especially since I don't even have my baby yet...But from everything I've read, doesn't purina usually have corn or a lot of grains?? I know I need to gradually switch food, should I ask for some food from him to switch over, or should I go out and buy whatever kind he has?


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2011)

kytothelee said:


> Okay! I will do that...I am hoping the breeder won't think I am crazy lol. He is USDA approved, but said he feeds his hedgies purina :-( But I didn't want to lecture or anything, especially since I don't even have my baby yet...But from everything I've read, doesn't purina usually have corn or a lot of grains?? I know I need to gradually switch food, should I ask for some food from him to switch over, or should I go out and buy whatever kind he has?


The opinion on Purina One Chicken and Rice isn't high but there are numerous hedgehog breeders who use it and are USDA Certified and very caring and concerned for their hedgehogs and found no problem with it. I will be honest until recently I wouldn't admit it because I was afraid on this forum but I have feed and am going to add back Purina One after beginning discussions with many breeders and others on diets it seems despite it not fitting into recommendations its working pretty well for hedgehogs and honestly its important to keep in mind what we know is scientific facts its the result of communication and posting over the years.

In closing reading what we have to say is good but your hedgehog is your baby and its your choice to decide what is good for him/her, take our opinions with a grain of salt and you will find what you feel is best.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks so much  Yea I will talk to the breeder and see what is best! I know he cares for them because they all get handled on a daily basis and already are really friendly  Oh! and I think I posted this question some place, but not sure, can't find it in the "view your posts" section. Anyway, the cage I am getting is 40.5 X 18, is that a good size?


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

ANY kibble is okay, really, if it's part of a mix. There has to be a bit of higher fat food in everyone's diet. Thank God for bacon wrapped deep-fried butter.

I know you didn't ask about corn, but someone WILL mention it - it is NOT the enemy as many people often portray. Corn 'skin' or whatever is not digestible, but there ARE nutrients in corn and the non-digestible matter in many foods is actually helpful in eliminating waste.  

Moderation is key! Hedgies in the wild eat a bit of everything and eat something different every day. And don't try to have a perfect diet cuz there's no such thing. Just do your research and try the foods, then see how your hedgie does. Modify as needed.  Then modify again when your hedgie decides he hates everything you put in front of him. Or when he refuses to eat anything but watermelon :roll: And when he suddenly turns up his nose at insects. You will get used to modifying...researching...stressing...or so I keep telling myself. :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Yes, you should get some of the food the breeder has the babies on for the purpose of weaning. I'm sure you've seen the Week 1: 3/4 old food, 1/4 new food, Week 2: 1/2 old food, 1/2 new food table. 

The Purina One Beyond foods are pretty good foods, IMO.  I use the POB salmon & whole brown rice with no problems, and it is by far the cheapest food in my mix. I think I paid like $7 for a 3lb bag at Wal-mart? This is Milly's favorite food (I think because the fat is 14%, which is higher than her other foods lol... lil piglet!) and she always picks it out of her mix before she eats the other stuff :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Oh, and the cage you bought should be OK, but it is a bit on the small side. It's about 5 square feet when it's empty, but think about all the stuff that will be in there. Maybe you could use this cage while your little one is a baby, and then upgrade later on to a C&C, Ferret Nation, connected bins, etc.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

I'll have to keep my eye open!!  I haven't bought the cage yet, so if I see a bigger one, I can still get that. Also was wondering, after the new hedgie is all adjusted, how often can fruits and veggies be in the diet? I am worried about either giving too much or not enough :-/


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

After hedgie is completely settled in, you should start off slow with fruits and veggies. Everyone does things differently. The general consensus on new foods seems to be to only introduce 1 new thing at a time (so you can see if they are allergic, and not upset their tummy too much). Also, keep in mind that just because they might not show interest one night, doesn't mean they never will. I offered Milly a piece of watermelon about 2 weeks after I got her, and she licked it, and ate 2 pieces, but ignored it the next couple times I gave it to her. Then a week or two ago, I figured I'd try again, and she loved it. 

Some people have fruits and veggies as a staple food that their hedgie gets every day. Others do more supplemental fruits and veggies and just feed them 2-4 times a week, maybe less. It's all up to you.  Make sure to check out the fruit and veggie list, as some things are tricky (like peeling blueberries before you feed them, lol, I never would have thought of that!) and other things have been found to cause issues with certain hedgehogs.


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