# New Owner - Questions about food



## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm a new owner and new member to Hedgehog Central and I just had a couple of quick questions about food (not sure if this should go under the nutrition section?)

1) After much research and help from hedgehog central (which is awesome  ) I've decided on a mix of Wellness Indoor Health, Blue Spa Select Weight Control and Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul Light. Is there such things as too many foods in a mix? She is currently on Nutro Nat Choice Kitten food which is too high in fat (20%) but what the pet store had her on, and Royal Canin Indoor Light 40 which is on the recommended list but has a lot of corn in it and isn't her favourite. Should I remove these 2 foods eventually or can the Nutro be kept as a "junk food"? (She really likes it) 6 foods seems like a lot but maybe variety is better? Also I add freeze-dried crickets, she seems to eat around 2 a night, should I keep adding these as well?

2) I've read you should only add one new food at a time, slowly increasing the mixture. How long do I have to wait before adding the next food? Should I hold off on introducing new treats such as fruits and wet food until I've introduced all dry foods? 

3)I also purchased wet food (Wellness and Nat Choice). Should this only be fed as a treat every few days or is a little bit each night okay instead of feeding meat, which I'm not very good at cooking. Is leaving wet food out overnight (when she eats) for 6-8 hours okay? Or do I need to remove it before then because of bacterial growth?

4) I bought organic oatmeal flakes for fiber (oat flakes, oat bran, wheat bran, flaxseed) and was wondering if flax seeds are safe. I know flax seed oil is safe but also that some seeds can be dangerous, so are feeding flax seeds themselves safe? (I haven't given her any yet until I know they're safe) Or should I just buy some grape-nuts cereal for fiber instead?

Thanks so much, any help is appreciated!!!  Sorry it's so many questions, being a hedgie owner can be a bit stressful at first until you figure everything out!


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

I am only commenting on #1) Wellness is a very rich food and some hediges can't digest it fully and it makes for very stinky poops. But know there is no such thing as to much variety, although some hedgies will only eat a select few foods.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

1) Yes, you'll have to see how your hedgie reacts to the Wellness. Some, like mine, do fine on it, but some don't handle it well. I think the Nutro would be alright in small amounts as a junk food. You could probably remove Royal Canin one, though, unless you don't mind having six foods. There's a couple of owners here who have up to 9-10 foods in their mix. The crickets are also fine to keep feeding as treats, they're less fatty than mealworms.

2) Yes, only introduce one food at a time, and don't give any new treats while you're introducing it. You want to be able to tell if she has an allergic reaction, and you don't want to overload her with too many new things at once. I think I added new foods in on a two week stint, adding in more and more every few days until I had the amount I wanted. Then I started on the next food. Lily still hasn't gotten to try many fruits and such since I've been messing with her diet the last few months.

3) Sorry, I'm not sure on this one.

4) I'm not sure on the flax seeds. I tried giving Lily Grape Nuts and she refused to eat any of it, so with that, you'd have to see if your hedgie will even eat it. You can also use infant rice cereal for fiber.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

> I am only commenting on #1) Wellness is a very rich food and some hediges can't digest it fully and it makes for very stinky poops. But know there is no such thing as to much variety, although some hedgies will only eat a select few foods.


How do I tell if she isn't digesting it fully? Her poop is still solid and the right colour (with the exception of some of the stuff on her wheel which gets mushed down because I think she runs over top of it) and I haven't smelt any changes....will it just be a bad smell if she isn't digesting or will I notice its runny and a different colour as well?


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Lilysmommy said:


> 4) I'm not sure on the flax seeds. I tried giving Lily Grape Nuts and she refused to eat any of it, so with that, you'd have to see if your hedgie will even eat it. You can also use infant rice cereal for fiber.


I have a box of Heinz Wheat Baby Ceral with Banana, but its a fine powder. Can I mix that in with her dry food? Or sprinkle it over some wet food?

Thanks for all your help!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If she's not digesting the Wellness well, her poop will smell horrible. You'll notice, from what other owners have said, lol. Azyrios said that his hedgehog does fine as long as he doesn't eat too much Wellness, so even if her poop gets stinky with say, 30 kibble, you might be able to feed 20 kibble and have it not bother her.

I'm not sure about that cereal, we'll have to see if anyone else knows.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I'm not sure about the cereal, but if you could tell us the exact brand, or nutrition + ingredient list, it would help those who know more about it.

I found http://www.heinzbaby.com/english/pdfs/Ingredient_Guide_Cereals_EN.pdf But it's an awefully long list and I don't know which one you have :lol: Pages 1 and 2 are regular infant cereals, 3-5 are cereals mixed with formula.

Though I'm liking the looks of the organic cereals found on the bottom of page 5.

*Edit - Oh ya, about the flax seed. I think it would be fine to feed if you grind it up into a powder first, and then sprinkle onto food. Just don't grind too much, because flax seed can spoil fast. I use a coffee grinder to grind my flax seeds that I use for my horse, so those work well. That, or boil the seeds, filter out the seeds and use the remaining gelatin liquid. Though I don't know how that is for hedgies, just horses :lol: My horse loves it when I add in boiled flax seeds to her treat mix, but of course I keep the seeds in.

I'm just not sure about feeding whole seeds.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Immortalia said:


> I'm not sure about the cereal, but if you could tell us the exact brand, or nutrition + ingredient list, it would help those who know more about it.
> 
> I found http://www.heinzbaby.com/english/pdfs/Ingredient_Guide_Cereals_EN.pdf But it's an awefully long list and I don't know which one you have :lol: Pages 1 and 2 are regular infant cereals, 3-5 are cereals mixed with formula.
> 
> ...


It's Heinz "Wheat Cereal with Banana":

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Dried Banana Flakes, Dicalcium Phosphate, Safflower Oil, Malt Syrup, Inulin, Oligofructose, Reduced Iron, Vitamins (Niacinamide, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate)

Per 10 tbsp (28g):
110 Calories, 1.5g Fat, 10mg Sodium, Carbohydrates 20g (2g fibres, 5g Sugars, 12g Starch) 3g Protein

% Daily Value:
Calcium 60%, Iron 100%, Thiamine 100%, Riboflavin 100%, Niacin 100%, Phosphorous 60%

Thanks for the advice about the flax seeds too, I'm still too paranoid to feed them though so I think I'll stick to the baby cereal (if it's safe) or just buy some grape-nuts cereal cause I've heard that's good.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Lilysmommy said:


> If she's not digesting the Wellness well, her poop will smell horrible. You'll notice, from what other owners have said, lol. Azyrios said that his hedgehog does fine as long as he doesn't eat too much Wellness, so even if her poop gets stinky with say, 30 kibble, you might be able to feed 20 kibble and have it not bother her.
> 
> I'm not sure about that cereal, we'll have to see if anyone else knows.


She onlys eat around 10 kibbles of the wellness out of her mix anyways so I'm guessing she'll be okay either way. I bought some wellness wet food too as a treat, should I be worried about that not being as digestible too or is it just the dry food?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The baby cereal looks fine to me, but might want to wait for a second opinion before feeding it to her. 
And I haven't heard anyone mention the wet cat food causing problems. I think she'd probably do okay with it, just make sure you wait to introduce it until you're done introducing dry foods, and only give her a small amount at first.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

its not so much a problem with digestion as and upset tummy, it is just it has so much stuff in it by the time it goes through the hedgehogs system all the good stuff hasn't been absorbed. This gives the poop a very rich smell.

If you notice stinky poop, i would limit the wellness first as going from 50 pieces to 20 pieces a night helped a lot (even 20-15 made a difference, now it doesn't smell at all)

The wet food may have similar stinky poop effects, but other than that i see nothing wrong. Just make sure there are no artificial preservatives in it.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

azyrios said:


> its not so much a problem with digestion as and upset tummy, it is just it has so much stuff in it by the time it goes through the hedgehogs system all the good stuff hasn't been absorbed. This gives the poop a very rich smell.
> 
> If you notice stinky poop, i would limit the wellness first as going from 50 pieces to 20 pieces a night helped a lot (even 20-15 made a difference, now it doesn't smell at all)
> 
> The wet food may have similar stinky poop effects, but other than that i see nothing wrong. Just make sure there are no artificial preservatives in it.


Thanks to everyone for the advice! I'm a lot less stressed about feeding now. I was just wondering what kind of artificial preservatitves I should watch out for? What will they be called? (I don't know if I'd recognize them if I saw them and just wanted to make sure). Thanks


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The main ones to make sure you avoid are BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Lilysmommy said:


> The main ones to make sure you avoid are BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin.


All the foods I bought are only preserved with mixed tocepherols which are apparently a source of Vitamin E as well so I think I'm good  Thanks to everyone for the advice


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