# citrus



## littlemissgeo (May 20, 2009)

I was talking to my hedgie the other night, and he actually looked interested in what I was saying, so I put my finger on the screen wall and he almost started climbing on the screen (never did that before), and he licked the screen, the water dish and then he anointed himself. Well guess what, I had just eaten an orange, and didn't think of it before.  

I heard citrus isn't good for hedgehogs ... how bad is it really? Is it in frequent to occasional treats OR can just a small dose cause him harm ???


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## Amy1024 (Mar 18, 2010)

I've heard that people say the actual fruit itself can be very harmful to our little friends. But I've also heard that people have given orange peels to the hedgies and most of them have anointed with the peels and are fine. So if you're talking about the actual fruit being the treat, I won't feed that. I hope someone else can chime in later and clarify!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Letting him annoint with a bit of peel isn't bad for him, but it's not good to let him eat any of it because of the citric acid. You could rub a bit of the peel onto a piece of his food or something, so if he does end up eating it (which he might try with a bit of peel), you don't have to worry.

In extremely small amounts, like a lick or two, it's no problem.


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## Keltrey (May 31, 2010)

So the citric acid causes burns on their mouth or disrupts enzymes?


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