# Choosing food



## Pawlove (Sep 16, 2010)

I've been thinking a lot about my hedgie's food and I decided to give him a mix of dry food rather than only one brand. I need help to choose the best fod from what I found! For some reason, the shelves in the pet stores are filled with kitten food and they all have fat content like 20% or so... and most of the ingredients are crap.

This is the food I've been feeding him all this time:
>> Royal Canin Kitten Persian 32
Ingredients: dehydrated poultry meat, rice, animal fats, maize, vegetable protein isolate*, hydrolysed animal proteins, vegetable fibres, beet pulp, yeasts, minerals, fish oil, soya oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides, psyllium husks and seeds, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides), borage oil, marigold extract (source of lutein)
Nutritional analysis: Protein: 32% - Fat content: 22% - Crude ash: 7.4% - Crude fibres: 2.8%

Since last two weeks I fed him that RC and a mix of:
>> Brit Care Kitten Chicken and Rice
Ingredients: Chicken and chicken products (min. 40%), rice, corn, chicken fat, dehydrated chicken protein, dehydrated corn, rice bran, brewer's yeast, dried beet pulp, salmon oil, natural flavourings, natural fibre, minerals, DL-methionine, L-lysine, mannan-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides, copper sulphate pentahydrate, organic selenium, niacin, calcium pantothenate, folic acid, choline-chloride, biotin, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), taurine.
Nutritional analysis: Protein 38% Fat 20% Moisture 10% Ash 7.5% Fibre 3% Calcium 1.2% Phosphorus 1% Sodium 0.25% Magnesium 0.12%

I'm concerned about the high fat content... so I checked the pet stores again. These are the least I can find:
>> Royal Canin Adult Fit 32
Ingredients: Chicken meal, brown rice, corn, corn gluten meal, chicken, chicken fat, natural chicken flavor, pea fiber, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), rice hulls, dried brewers yeast, soya oil, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), calcium sulfate, salt, potassium chloride, DL-methionine, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), dried egg product, choline chloride, taurine, monosodium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, biotin, riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract. 
Nutritional analysis: Crude Protein (minimum) . 32.0% Crude Fat (minimum) . 14.0% Crude Fiber (maximum) 5.8% Moisture (maximum) 8.0%

>> EurekA cat food
Ingredients: Turkey and turkey meal, brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), dried eggs, natural flavors, cellulose, beet pulp, fish meal, tomato pomace, flax seed meal, brewer's yeast, fruit and vegetable (potatoes, peas, spinach, cranberries, carrots, apples), potassium chloride, choline chloride, salt, inulin (source of fructooligosaccharides), DL-methionine, taurine, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid, green tea, yucca schidigera extract, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplements, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium....
.....err, I messed up. I bought only half a bag and I photographed the ingredients.. but it came out blurry. I can read some of it it pretty much the same like the ones above. I can't find it on google. 
Nutritional analysis: Protein 32%, Fat 15%, .......ok, I messed up this one again

Sorry it's kinda vague, but I guess the top ingredients matter the most?

So what kind of mix should I feed my hedgie? So far with RC Kitten Persian diet he never been overweight, he's an active runner, although he didn't eat much, less than 2 tablespoon of crushed kibble.
He's 2 and half years old.


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## Pawlove (Sep 16, 2010)

By the way, that Eureka brand was rather... oily. Is it okay?


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

I've never tried the brands you've listed. The ones I use are Natural Balance Duck and Pea and Natural Balance Chicken and Pea. I also add one more cat food in there. It's a not-so-great Science Diet Chicken and Rice one. I bought it a while back so I'm going to use it up before I switch over to a better one. I'll probably change that one to a Blue Buffalo one because I noticed a good no-seafood version that came in a smaller package.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I don't see anything alarming in the ingredients for either, and they look pretty decent. To be honest, I would go ahead and feed him a mix of all three of the ones you listed - the higher fat one of 20% shouldn't hurt if he's a good runner and has been doing okay on the 22% food. If you do start to see him get pudgy, you can always take it out later. And it's good to have a mix of a few foods, in case a formula changes or a food is recalled, they still have a food they're familiar with and you can hopefully avoid a hunger strike.


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## Pawlove (Sep 16, 2010)

yeah, some of those brand aren't very known. I tried to find the better food which listed somewhere in this forum (I forgot) but no luck. 

I tried mixing 4 of them last night (I still have some of the 22% fat one) well, he didn't like the two newest ones. I wonder if I should do something, or just let him get used to the new food first?


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

Give him a chance to slowly transition to the new food. Add a little bit more per day of the new food and less of the old food. Try to measure out the food so that he will finish all of the food overnight except for a few extra kibbles. 

If he still doesn't like the new food after a while, see if the store will take the food back. Some pet food stores will let you bring back opened food if your animal did not like it. Then you can exchange it for a new one that your hedgehog may like better.


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## Pawlove (Sep 16, 2010)

Alright then, thanks! I hope he will eat his new food. 

I'm not sure the pet shop will take it back, but I can use the food for feeding feral cats if he decides it's not worth eating.


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## Pawlove (Sep 16, 2010)

it has only been two or three days... but Milkiey absolutely don't want to touch the new food. He liked his initial food better, and after that, the second on list. 

When I introduced him to Brit Care he didn't take time to get used to it, although he obviously liked the RC Kitten Persian better. 
He's so picky, last time I try feeding him moistened kibble he hated it so much that he didn't touch it at all, therefore not eating for a day. I'm afraid that if he don't like his new food he might starve himself. Do you think I should switch back?

Just this evening he snuffled to me after sniffing his food, and went to his bowl and back to me again. I think he's telling me that he really doesn't want that stuff? I gave up and fed him RC Kitten Persian for tonight.


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