# Baby food question



## Bossyxox (Sep 27, 2013)

I was given some fruit baby foods (more or so apple sauce) that I was planning to add to Gingers diet as a treat, or to have on hand for syringe feeding if need be.. Gerber seemingly is no where to be found around where I am from.. The brands I have are Heinz and Baby Gourmet.
Both have a small ingredients list, BUT- the last ingredients are lemon juice.. I know hedgies shouldn't be directly fed citrus fruits as they are acidic and can hurt the enamel, but will such a small amount hurt her? Is it toxic or just too acidic to eat on its own. Thoughts?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Mine doesn't like applesauce nearly as much as apples, but he's eaten it to no apparent ill effect. Lemon juice is a lot less sketchy as a preservative than some artificial alternatives.

My understanding is that citrus fruits are acidic enough to cause mouth ulcers on their own, but are fine in small quantities diluted with something else. I wouldn't give him daily orange juice, but I'm not concerned about incidental amounts embedded in a mixed food.

I haven't seen anything about citrus being inherently toxic (like grape, avocado, or onion can be), but I'm totally open to learning something new if someone has different information.


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## Bossyxox (Sep 27, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> Mine doesn't like applesauce nearly as much as apples, but he's eaten it to no apparent ill effect. Lemon juice is a lot less sketchy as a preservative than some artificial alternatives.
> 
> My understanding is that citrus fruits are acidic enough to cause mouth ulcers on their own, but are fine in small quantities diluted with something else. I wouldn't give him daily orange juice, but I'm not concerned about incidental amounts embedded in a mixed food.
> 
> I haven't seen anything about citrus being inherently toxic (like grape, avocado, or onion can be), but I'm totally open to learning something new if someone has different information.


Thank you Annie!! That puts me at a piece of mind. It's a very very small quantity at that, I was worried it may be bad for her or worse.. But I am TOTTALY open as well to anyone else's opinions!


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## Tongue_Flicker (Jun 11, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> Mine doesn't like applesauce nearly as much as apples, but he's eaten it to no apparent ill effect. Lemon juice is a lot less sketchy as a preservative than some artificial alternatives.
> 
> My understanding is that citrus fruits are acidic enough to cause mouth ulcers on their own, but are fine in small quantities diluted with something else. I wouldn't give him daily orange juice, but I'm not concerned about incidental amounts embedded in a mixed food.
> 
> I haven't seen anything about citrus being inherently toxic (like grape, avocado, or onion can be), but I'm totally open to learning something new if someone has different information.


I've been using orange water or watermelon juice to soak up my dry kibbles for 2 of my hedgies that ignore normal dry kibble. Will this have the same effect as orange juice if used for a long time?

P.s. my orange water = a glass of water with 1 orange slice steeped overnight.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Again, the orange water seems like really small levels of actual citric acid. It's not even a squeezed out orange (which is still less concentrated and sketchy than commercial orange juice).

I've read on the board about people using cranberry juice for hedgehogs with UTIs, and that's a really acidic juice but doesn't seem to have an impact short-term. If your hedgehogs started showing any signs of mouth-discomfort, it'd be something to check out, but as for worrying about or modifying it? I don't know.

I hope someone with far greater hedgehog experience, particularly about oral health, can come wandering along and give input on this.


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