# new owner help cont'd



## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

Hi Everyone - sorry for all the posts! But I'm so glad I found this resource!!

i posted an intro in the general topic forum and a post with pics of Eddie in the color help forum...Now i'm hoping someone can help me with his diet! LOL.

We bought Sunseed hedgehog food: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=16627

and some hedgie treats:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=17124

We also bought 30 meal worms.

He loves the sunseed food. ( i have been remiss in measuring the food which I will correct) Originally the bag said feed three to five TBS - I put three in his dish but it took him three days to eat it. i think it's just b/c he's on the small side b/c he sure does seem to have a healthy enough appetite.

The hedgie treats are about as big as his head and he is interested in eating them but can't really chew them and I'm worried about him choking. There was a green ball peice of food that he gnawed on - but wasn't truly able to eat. And some pieces that look like meow mix style cat food - those are too big and hard for him to bite also.

I have not fed him an table foods yet.

Live Mealworms - absolutely no interest. I know this is a really important piece of his diet but he refussed to eat them. i left two in his dish for three days (he had access to his regular food too) and he sniffed them but wanted nothing to do with eating them. So i removed them. Any suggestions? is this really important that he eat live bugs? is he just too small yet? the smallest worm the pet store had was a small thin grub like white worm - but no where in my searching of hedge hog diets does it list this kind of worm as appropriate for him. And i know it's the harder shell that is supposed to contain the chitlin which is what he needs most.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. THANKS! Jessica


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

As far as I know, mealworms are simply treats for captive hedgehogs and not required by their diet. Most of them are accustomed to eating dry cat food. Insects/bugs are rather high in fat for captive hedgehogs so they shouldn't be given too many too frequently.

Most of the people here seem to free feed their hedgehogs, meaning they just fill the bowls and let the critter decide how much it wants to eat and when. If yours is taking 3 days to eat 3 tablespoons, there's no harm in leaving it at that amount so he can eat at his leisure. Some, however, are complete pigs and will eat whatever is left for them or eat more than they should and gain too much weight in which case you'd need to ration his food, but it doesn't sound like you're having that problem. 

I haven't tried giving mine any commercial brand treats and don't plan to. If they're as big as his head you can break them into smaller pieces for him. The same goes for dried kibble. If it's too big, just break it into smaller pieces. I just give mine cooked, unseasoned turkey and chicken which he goes bonkers for. A small piece of apple is next on my list of treats to try out.

What sort of "table foods" were you considering?


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

That treat looks dangerous to me. Please list the ingredients/contents on here.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

it seems a lot of information I read off breeder sites was wrong. hmmm...Well doubly glad that I found you guys!

I was thinking about trying scrambled eggs and maybe some earth worms although not table food LOL i was told that they like them. What about deli ham? I have that at home. No turkey or chicken in the house currently. And some sites said fruits were OK some said they were too fiberous...and no nuts correct? So I'm pretty confused at this point.

Hmmm...The treats aren't listing the nutritional content online I'll look again when I get home...that probably should have been my first thought.  I bought them when i got him. i just got excited that it said hedgie treats. I didn't think about the nutrition and size at first. I'll probably just throw them out.


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

I'm not certain about scrambled eggs. The only egss I've seen mentioned for a hedgehog are hard boiled. I wouldn't think there's a difference between scrambled and hard boiled eggs, but I really have no idea. I'd avoid deli meats altogether. A lot of them have added preservatives, chemicals and seasonings that could be bad for them. Most deli hams are also smoked which is different than actually cooking it. The smoking agent might also be bad for them (guess work on my part). Everything I've seen has said they should only be given cooked, unseasoned, natural meats. Nuts pose a serious choking hazard for hedgehogs.

Worst case scenario is he can survive a few days without a treat.


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

Nebular said:


> I'm not certain about scrambled eggs.


Unseasoned scrambled eggs are fine.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

THank you all!!! LOL - 

"Worst case scenario is he can survive a few days without a treat. "
thanks nebular - i'll try to remember that  LOL. BTW what kind of Hedgie do you have as your avatar? He looks similar to Eddie.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Hedgies shouldn't be introduced new treats until they have settled into their homes, and their diet changes have been done and over with. 

The very center of SOME smoked deli meats(I can't remember which ones exactly) are ok in moderation. As in once in a blue moon type of treat. 

The treat you listed was asked about because the picture shows raisins. And raisins(and grapes) cause renal failure in our four legged children. 

Have you tried smooshing/cutting up the mealworms? Also, earthworms should not be fed, especially if you dig them up outside, or get them from baitshops. 

Sunseed is an...ok...food, and is good to be used as a junk food. What cat food staple are you planning on mixing in with the sunseed?


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

To my knowledge he hasn't had any diet changes - b/c the food they gave me (Sun seed) was his food in the store. And i only offered him the treats a week after i got him - he was pretty settled. But they are just too big and pose a choking hazzard I think. 

It makes me more than a little upset at the company that creates these treats if they would put something in it that is not only bad for the hedgies but possible fatal. Seems pretty irresponsible. Although I don't think they are raisens. They look more like dried cranberry - not sure if that's better or not.

I have not tried cutting up meal worms. ick...i would do whatever is best for him though.

Everything I read said a hedgehog food or cat food. So i didn't realize i should feed both. Suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. THANK YOU again


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

JLM said:


> BTW what kind of Hedgie do you have as your avatar? He looks similar to Eddie.


That's my 8 week old boy Spiny Norman. I'm fairly certain now that he's an Algerian Chocolate, though his belly doesn't show any of the Algerian mottling.

It seems that a lot of the hedgehog stuff that's made isn't actually safe for hedgehogs (hedgehog treats, hedgehog foods, ...) which is rather disturbing. My little guy has only ever had dry cat food though I slowly moved him over from what the breeder started him on to one with less fat and more protein.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

Also for the cat food - B/c my hedgie is so small - he has not been able to eat the cat food like items in the Ultra Bites Treats. I would worry about getting him a cat food that he might choke on. 

I read the very helpful list of cat foods and see that Chicken Soup for Cats seems to be the best liked - however - how big are the pieces? I'd spend anything on my hedgie to make sure he's healthy - but I'd rather not waste money if i know it won't be right...You know?

I might be better off feeding the sun seed and some fruits and veggies and cooked plain chicken which is less likely to hurt him.

I understand that sunseed has like a 37% protien and hedgies should have more around 30% is that correct? So by mixing up the foods not only do you give them better variety but healthier lower protien low fat options...Correct?


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

It varies for each hedgehog, but my guy was able to handle the little T-shaped kibble from the day I brought him home. He had to crunch on it quite a bit but he managed. If they look a little too big, you can always break the kibbles into smaller pieces, either just in your hand, or put them in a zip top bag and crunch them up in your hands that way.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

Would there be anything wrong with wetting them?


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

I wouldn't think it would a problem. Norman has dropped and retrieve food from his water dish a few times and didn't seem to mind. Not sure how long they stay softer from wetting them. I suppose it depends on the food's mosture content and room's heat and humidity. You could always try a little bit and see if he's even willing to eat it before trying it with a larger amount of food.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

Great! Thank you! I'll try that. I'll get the Chicken Soup cat food and If it's too big I'll try breaking it up - and wetting if necissary!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

If you are really worried about size, you can try Royal Canin babycat. something else you can try is Spots Halo(or something along those lines), which also come in smaller kibble pieces. Both can be found at petsmarts. That being said, my boy is little too, only around 310g, and he eats his big boy kibbles just fine. I feed Blue spa select, natural balance green pea and duck, and solid gold.

Most people here feed a mix of at least 2 different brands of good cat food. As I said above, sunseed is only "ok" and should really be considered a junk food.


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## JLM (Jan 5, 2011)

Thank you! 

I tried meal worms again last night and he ate them!!! YAY! Also ate a bit of apple. 

Went out and purchased the chicken soup cat food and it took him a couple min to eat one morsel but he went right for it over the Sunseed. So tonight I'll break it up a bit (just for owner's piece of mind) My love bird choked on seed when I was young and I'll never forget loosing him - so that's a hot button issue for me LOL. 

Good to know that he's settling in even more. Thank you all for all of your help yesterday!
He's also got new fleece lining 

My mom snuggled onthe couch with him last night for the first time - she imediately fell in love. They haev a away of stealing our hearts don't they. he cooed and purred for her. Put on quite the show LOL.


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