# Nutritional Values of Pinkies



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

Hello, sorry if I'm posting something well known. I searched for it, but did not come up with any findings.

This is for those who feed their hedgehogs pinkies.

I keep a lot of reptiles, and it's well known nutritional charts for mice, especially pinkies, are woefully inaccurate. This can cause serious issues with feeding and owners not feeding the right things in the right amount. It's pretty much impossible to get exact nutritional values on anything, but especially so in pinkies, and even more especially when getting from mass breeders.

Here's why:

In the first few days of their life, the assumed ratio of the average well fed pinkie will have 4% fat. At 5 days, they're hitting closer to a whopping 15%. This is because they're becoming fuzzies, and don't yet have fur. A lot of shops sell fuzzies as anything with peach fuzz, and actually throwing small fuzzies in with pinkies. You never really know how old your mice are.

This is important, because pinkies are mostly cartilage and develop bone as they grow up. But! They can still have sufficient calcium ratios if they are flash frozen at a time when their bellies are filled with their mother's milk, also given that the mother is healthy, unstressed, and eating lots of the right food. 

This means: Large orders or shops that get them in are not likely to have the best nutritional value, especially chain stores with no nutritional value. Injecting with some liquid calcium is usually recommended for pinkies, and to make sure that what you're getting is really a pinkie. I'm not sure about hedgehogs and liquid calcium - I'd assume that a mammal would be able to digest that easily, but don't take my word on it.

Just some info for people who desire to feed their hedgehogs some treats. Pinkies can be really great and nutritious, you just have to source them right or breed your own. I breed my own to assure quality (as well as quality of life).

Again, sorry if this is repeat info.


----------



## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I don't see the need in feeding pinkies as treats. They get enough protein and calcium from their foods as long as you feed them correctly. 

I feel like you're putting the hog in danger by trying to feed pinkies.


----------



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

I don't believe at all that pinkies are dangerous in any way if fed properly. Considering that I raise them and feed them myself, I know what they are and how to feed them to my own animals as well as the animals at my shop. Meat is meat. But that's for another thread.

This wasn't really a debate about whether or not to feed pinkies. That's up to the keeper. This was just providing information on nutrition that I do not believe most people would know just from looking at a chart. If anything, this would discourage feeding without knowing exactly what is in your pinkies and how they were raised.


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm with eskye here. Thanks for the info and encouraging people to think twice before feeding to be sure they're offering something that's good quality. If you're careful about it I think pinkies (as well as any other feeder, primarily insects) are great and offer a lot of mental stimulation. I raise my own mice, rats, roaches, mealworms, nightcrawlers, etc. and wouldn't feed most of what I find in pet stores, but if you raise them properly yourself or know someone who does, using whatever miniscule risk that can be made up about feeding anything, as an excuse to not feed it, is like "not using stairs for fear of breaking an ankle" as a friend once put it. Everyone can decide for themselves if they'd like to offer different treats.


----------



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

Exactly so! I could say right now that feeding excessive mealworms to a hedgie will back up their digestive system completely and could cause fatal constipation and possibly internal bleeding (this can happen with severe forms of IBD in humans as well) but that doesn't mean feeding them in moderation will absolutely kill your hedgehog. Everything needs to be fed in moderation.

I'd argue that anyone buying feeders from anywhere has the possible chance of killing their hedgehog by feeding it, because of parasites and not really knowing what goes on behind the scenes. Pinkies are the same way - sometimes bad, sometimes good.

The point is - know what you eat. Especially know what your animals eat, because they're much more likely to succumb to something caused by dietary issues than you are. Moderation and caution produces the healthiest and happiest animals.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thank you for posting! I never did try to give Lily pinkies, but I was rather interested in the posts from people who did try pinkies with their hedgehogs, and I was confused by all of the different remarks that were made on fat content, calcium content, healthiness, etc. Seemed like everyone said something different!


----------



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

Lilysmommy said:


> Thank you for posting! I never did try to give Lily pinkies, but I was rather interested in the posts from people who did try pinkies with their hedgehogs, and I was confused by all of the different remarks that were made on fat content, calcium content, healthiness, etc. Seemed like everyone said something different!


Yes, nobody seems to know what the nutrition values really are. Every chart is different, and those charts created by the rodent seller will always be exaggerated as a sample of those pinkies that they've taken some extra special care with. It's never the same.

I don't think pinkies should be ignored, as I'm sure hedgehogs will absolutely love them. Pretty much every animal I have freaks out as soon as they see or smell the pinkies (reptiles and amphibians, mostly). It's very exciting for them, and produces feeding responses that are really enjoyable- you know that the animal is happy.

I figure this ought to also encourage responsible and careful breeding of mice. So many companies keep theirs in disgusting conditions. They're skinny, covered in feces, and you can tell when you get a bag of frozen that the company has not given them the right care. Why buy from feeder places that have these ethics? It's almost the same as buying a puppy from a mill! Best to breed your own and make sure it's done right, or, much like what you eat, find a local source where you can see their breeding operation.


----------

