# fridge life of baby food



## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I know some people like to use baby food for a treat occasionally. After strolling down the baby food aisle and taking a look at the different jars available, I have a question: what do you do with expiration dates? Most of the jars say refrigerate after you open it, then discard after 2-3 days. I know my hedgie definitely will not eat that much that fast, though. How many days would you typically say is okay to keep jarred baby food (fruits and veggies, not meat) in the fridge without it going bad? I would guess no longer than a week, but I wanted to ask how others usually do it to be sure. Do any of you usually keep baby food around for your hedgies?


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

I've tried it with all the hedgies in my herd, and not a single one of them will eat baby food. 
They like canned cat food, and I buy the one with the WHIPPED EGG soufflé base, rather than the stinking gravy base. They love that stuff!


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## Coco (Oct 2, 2008)

I have some hedgies who like that and what i do is :

when i open a jar ,i give some to my hedgie and i frozen the rest in smal part for one treat i freeze that in baggies (I put some parts on the flat of the baggies and freeze it) after I can put the part in a plastic bowl and save it for later ,,,,if you do that you can have treats for couple of week in one jar, you just have to let it in the fridge the morning you think to give them on the evening to defrost it ,,,,,,


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Toss it after the second day. I figure there is no need to risk bacteria growing and getting a hedgehog sick.

I freeze left overs as well in a similar fashion as Coco. However I started to use small plastic rubbermaid/ziploc containers that I put serving size portions in, freeze, then pop out the small disc shape of food and place in a freezer bag. When I want to feed one, I take one out, and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator.

Some hedgehogs will eat baby food, some won't. Some will only eat certain types. I've had 2 now that wouldn't eat anything if they had to lap/lick it to eat it. I think they felt food should be chewed. So baby food wouldn't work.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I feed baby food to my rescue girl Mirabelle, she has no teeth and can't eat anything hard. I also feed her moistened cat food. She really likes the Gerber turkey sticks so she gets one every night with either sweet potatoes or some fruit mixed in. Its the first thing she heads for when i feed her. The day I open a jar, I freeze it in icecube trays, a spoonful in each cube, and do the same with the turkey sticks. Once its frozen I can put it in ziploc bags and take out a cube a day for her. Works great.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I figured there had to be some way to keep from wasting too much extra food. Thanks for the freezing tip.  
The ice tray thing is a good idea. I'll try that and see how it goes--and if he even likes baby food. I wanted to find out the best way to preserve it if he did like it before I bought a bunch that would just go to waste.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

The ice cube tray thing is a really good idea-- I'll have to try that!


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