# Wellness Core as food?



## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

So I was perusing the cat food section trying to find items that fit into the hedgies strict diet guidelines and came across this:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_well ... _core.html

Apparently some friends of mine use it for their cats and they say that they would never switch to anything else because their animals have improved so much on it. Well, great, it's good for cats. But can hedgies eat it? Here is the breakdown:

Crude Protein Not Less Than 50.0% 
Crude Fat Not Less Than 18.0% 
Crude Fiber Not More Than 3.0% 
Moisture Not More Than 11.0% 
Calcium Not More Than 1.8% 
Phosphorus Not More Than 1.45% 
Magnesium Not More Than 0.10% 
Vitamin E Not Less Than 400 IU/kg 
Taurine Not Less Than 0.3% 
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)* Not Less Than 200 mg/kg 
Omega 6 Fatty Acid* Not Less Than 3.50 % 
Omega 3 Fatty Acid* Not Less Than 0.80 % 
Total Micro-Organisms* Not Less Than 90,000,000 CFU/lb

PROTIEN! It's so high! But then, it's because this food is made without using grains, etc. If hedghogs don't even eat grains, then why do we feed them diets with such low protein? Just want to sort this out in my head. Would any more experienced people feed this in a mix? I ask because my little guy will not eat fruit, not even eggs. All he wants is meat and insects! :lol: Has anyone tried a higher protein diet, and if so with what results?

I didn't buy any yet because it is really pricey, but I really hate the idea of feeing him soy, corn, etc etc. I don't even eat soy and I'm an omnivore


----------



## raisinsushi (Jun 13, 2009)

I beleive that the more experienced people on this forum will say: It is too high in protein and fat. I dont go higher than 30% in protein and 15%in fat. Also its better if the foods main ingredients start with a meat rather than corn and soy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CC ... F8&s=photo

This link has a list of cat foods that Reaper has put together. This is how i chose the foods i wanted for my baby Raisin  
I feed him a type of Nutro(cant remember which one at the moment), the Natural Balance (Pea and Duck formula) and the Wellness Healthy weight


----------



## raisinsushi (Jun 13, 2009)

As for the fruit....have you tried them in the forms of Organic baby foods?
My little guy likes organic baby applesauce...and boiled egg(that disappeared really quickly haha)


----------



## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Yeah, I've read the list and am currently using foods off of it  This one does have a high protein content, but is also made out of all meat. All the other ones have soy, corn, etc, even after the first few ingredients. I was just wondering if this one would be good as they don't eat grains at all in nature. Maybe though, it's more healthy for us to give them grains? Hahah.

Winston hates eggs. Loves ground turkey, and his crickets and mealies. Any veggies or fruit and he just annoints then ignores them, hahah.


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

From what I remember (sort of) off the top of my head, too high protein hurts an internal organ... Kidneys? I'm not completely sure, but I'm sure someone here will know the answer.

And I found it lol From here: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2246&p=17994&hilit=protein+levels#p17994

you get:


Nancy said:


> 40% protein is too high. High protein is hard on the kidneys and can lead to renal failure.


----------



## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Ahh. Is that for hedgehogs? I know at one point it was thought that high protien diets can cause renal or kidney problems in dogs and cats, but that has since been proven to be not true (I think what they did was a study on rates, who are omnivores, not carnivores). If an animal already has kidney issues they can have a hard time with high protien, but high protien does not actually cause kidney failure. 

Which makes total sense, because in the wild all cats eat is meat :lol: Imagine if that could kill them? Haha 

So just wondering if insectivores are different than carnivores in that way then?


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Since we don't know a whole lot about hedgehog nutritional requirements we really just have to go with whatever has resulted in good health and longevity before. I personally don't feed any foods over 35% protein, since we don't know exactly what kind of effect it will have on them. IMO, it's better to be safe than sorry.


----------



## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I think that the reason we have to regulate the protein is because hedgehogs in the wild have to hunt for their food, they are scavengers and therefore would not be eating such a rich diet. 

High protein I think can also cause liver problems (same with high fat). The debate about whether or not kidney problems result from high protein for dogs is still going on (cats are mainly carnivores so can have mostly protein diets). 

Also I had my hedgehog exclusively on wellness (healthy weight - high 30's protein) for the first few months we had him (I was transitioning to a mix, wanted him to get used to one thing at a time). I realized that the animal protein was too high because his poop was always really loose and smelly. I know that in dogs this means the food is too rich so I added a food with more veggies and grains and his droppings firmed up a lot. Based on this experience I think that a grain free high protein food (while great for cats) would be too rich for a hedgehog.


----------

