# baby food vs fruit



## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

One. Baby food vs fruit. Is baby food good enough to give a hedgehog or should I be giving him real fruit instead. Either or is an available option for me to do. I just figure baby food is softer and less chocking hazard?

Two. Insects. BLAH. instead of insects can I be giving zephyr chicken? I know that freeze-dried is bad for them, but I hate bugs with a passion. I am 98% sure I will not have live bugs in my house D: Or is there no way around the whole insect thing?


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

You can feed appropriate fruits, baby food, chicken....INSECTS :roll: I just cut real fruit up very small...baby food at least if they are not fond of it the first go you can freeze it in ice cube trays to try other days. I personally try to go with organic or few ingredients with the baby food. The "first" (as in just starting to feed real food) baby foods seem to have less additives. I feed chicken all the time again cut up small & shredded small. Scrambled egg is a big hit here. 

Really what you feed depends on what they will eat 

I am NOT a bug person either but I did get used to meal worms and started a farm...they are not as bad as I thought it would be and there is no stink. Crickets hmmm I had a cricket incident lol and although I have a container full of them in the freezer that I bought live I dunno if I will do it again :mrgreen: Maybe if I'm brave! Hazel REALLY loves them so I might have to suck it up.


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

*One: Baby Food*

Either is fine, people on here have had good success with both. Just keep in mind that a lot of hedgies are very picky eaters, so you may have to offer the food several times before they try it, let alone like it. Just don't get discouraged!  You can also try vegetables, either in baby food or whole form, which is good for them because they are lower in sugar. My hedgie likes vegetables a lot more than fruit (the only fruit he'll touch is bananas), so he gets a nice veggie medley every night. You can feed some veggies raw (if they're soft) but most should be steamed (plain) first.

*Two: Insects*

Trust me, I know bugs are gross, and it took me a good long while to come around to feeding them! Things like chicken and turkey are good because they are high in protein, but insects contain a nutrient called chitin (in their exoskeletons) which is very beneficial to insectivores like hedgies. If you're wary, start out with mealworms - they are small, they barely move (if you keep them in the fridge), and you can easily pick them up with tweezers or chopsticks (I do). Most hedgies figure out what insects are right away and they love them! A lot of us on here also buy crickets (gross) and then freeze them (not so gross). Liam loves to "hunt" the frozen crickets I hide for him every night.

Just go at your own pace. You guys will figure out what's right and what works for you.


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

What about frozen mealworms?


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

kaZombie said:


> What about frozen mealworms?


As long as they're live and not freeze dried and then frozen its fine I think just like Crickets while I know some people go fine with hedgies not having fed them insects I can't do it to an animal who's natural main diet are insects


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## ProjectParanoia (Jan 27, 2010)

If you hate insects so much, knowing that your hedgehog is killing some should be an invigorating feeling for you


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Feeding live insects makes my Nara purr.

When she's hunting she makes such excited little noises.  She reminds me of Pac man. I put her in the bathtub with a small blanket and she hunts her crickets and mealies. Then she tunnels under the blanket and pops up, she's just so ADORABLE. :lol: 

Then I give her some melon and she chews it up so carefully.

You've got to try it, because it gives them so much pleasure.

Have fun, your hedgie will protect you from those icky insects!


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I like giving live insects to mine. It really grossed me out at first too but I found that after awhile I started developing nerves of steel. I'm at the point now that mealworms don't bother me much because I know they can't jump up or anything and get me, I'm trying to get better with crickets. I prefer live insects because I can feed them what I want and then I know they are good.

For fruit vs baby food I know people use both. I give my two real fruit since there is no added sugar (chopped up fine and mushed depending on what it is) and for veggies I usually steam them so they won't be choking hazards 

Either way you go I think it will be fine, even though this is how I do there is others that have really good success with what they use. Plus with how picky hedgies can be sometimes they make us go with the flow lol


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

I gathered a bit of courage and grabbed 50 mealworms from petsmart on my way back from job hunting XD They are currently sitting in my fridge though. I will probably wait until my bf comes over to help me out.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

kaZombie said:


> I gathered a bit of courage and grabbed 50 mealworms from petsmart on my way back from job hunting XD They are currently sitting in my fridge though. I will probably wait until my bf comes over to help me out.


Thats the norm for a lot of the ladies here to get the BF to do it XD


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## mizgoldstein (Feb 12, 2011)

that's awesome! congrats! I promise you'll get braver! I was so worried about having to feed Lulu insects while I was in preparation of getting her but I knew I had to in order to provide her a complete healthy diet so I started off with a small container of mealies and a Can o' Crickets and now I can stomach almost any type of insect she would eat!

you should try the "Can o' ..." brand. they have canned crickets and if you go to a reptile store you can find many other types of insects they have. they're not live but they're not freeze dried. they're "in their own juices" so they're nice and moist. they're really great for hiding around the cage and in dig boxes. 

I've been working towards offering Lulu an all natural, mostly insects and chicken / meat type of diet so I've learned to really accept bugs haha like many others have mentioned, Lulu also looves to hunt live crickets in the bathtub and the purring noise she makes is unreal. it is so fulfilling to know that she is that happy. it makes you feel like such a great, accomplished mommy  

I know you're gonna be shocked, once you try handling the mealies yourself, with how easy it is. but just to be safe, I definitely agree with standing a few feet away, watching, and saying to yourself "thank goodness for my good boyfriend!" (cause that's exactly how the first few days of insect feeding time went down at my house) :lol:

and I deff agree with everybody that it's totally gonna be your hedgie's decisions about what fruits and veggies they'll eat lol but I always keep trying different types of fruits and veggies and different types of baby foods. you'll learn what works!


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

I went to go give Zeph a mealie- tweezered one up that wasn't really moving and put it down on a plate. He seemed completely uninterested and just wanted to run around on the floor instead. So I tried picking out a moving one- and still no interest. 

Tried a bit of banana too and he didn't care to even try it. Maybe he was just happy to be out of his cage.


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

also- how should I be feeding them fruit? Should it be like mashed up at all or can I leave a chuck in a dish? Like for a banana- can I just cut off a slice and leave it out or should I make it mushy?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I usually cut up any fresh fruit I give to Lily into bite-sized pieces. I especially make sure the things like watermelon and cantaloupe are small enough because she just about inhales them and I don't want her to choke.


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2011)

Some hedgehogs take a good amount of convincing even with insects, I remember my girl Feral wouldn't touch a mealworm until a month later it took multiple attempts of offering he them before she nom'd it and was hooked and now she inhales the little buggers 

Its the same with fruits and veggies


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

Well when I went to bed last night I threw in a bowl with a little bit of bananas and two meal worms. When I woke up the banana was still there but meal worms gone. So he either did eat them, decided to hide them away as friends, or they escaped. Okay yeah... he prob just ate them.


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## Hoshi (Sep 8, 2011)

Baby food has been a huge success for Idris here. She anointed with three of the four I offered. It took a little coaxing to get her out of her hedgie bag to investigate the plate, but once she did, she was immediately hooked.

Now with bugs, I think it's going to be the opposite of what most of the other girls here experience. I don't get squicked out at all, but my boyfriend is the one who is squeamish.  

I mean, I'm already the one who has to clean the litter boxes. :roll:


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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

Hoshi said:


> Baby food has been a huge success for Idris here. She anointed with three of the four I offered. It took a little coaxing to get her out of her hedgie bag to investigate the plate, but once she did, she was immediately hooked.
> 
> Now with bugs, I think it's going to be the opposite of what most of the other girls here experience. I don't get squicked out at all, but my boyfriend is the one who is squeamish.
> 
> I mean, I'm already the one who has to clean the litter boxes. :roll:


Haha I have no issue with litter boxes XD I have a cat and 3 dogs. I also worked in kennels at a pet store for a year where my sole job was basically to clean up puppy poop. Bugs -shudder- they just freak me right out.

Zephyr seems to like the sweet pea baby food. It's the only kind I try with him. I usually just dab my finger in a bit and he'll sniff and lick it off- then go annoint for a while. I leave a little bowl in is cage at night, and when I wage up some is missing. So he either eats it or just decided to step in it XD


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