# Another Poop Obsessed Hedgy Mum



## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

This is a bit embarrassing, but being a new hedgy owner I find Percy's poops absolutlely huge. I have a chihuahua that has poops almost the same size! I feed my chihuahua raw diet which I know makes his poops smaller which a good diet will do. I'm wondering because of Percy's big poops if I'm feeding him propperly. He's on Nutrisource cat food mixed with Nutrience kitten food and I'm planning on switching him to something better such as Royal Canine and wellness. Being in Canada I can't find some of the other foods mentioned on the board. My question is, has anyone noticed if changing their diet makes a difference in the size of poops. His our a consistent brown, firm but with the texture of a marshmallow, and just very large.
Also, are there any other people in Winnipeg that could suggest a high quality cat food that is really good. Price doesn't matter as a bag goes a long way with a little hedgy and I only want the best for the little dude. Thank you in advance for any help. x


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Uhg, please don't switch to Royal Canin. It's really not very good compared to the other options out there - it has corn, which is the main thing. Wellness is fine but some hedgehogs don't do well on it, so I tend to not suggest it. But, yes, it sounds like his poops aren't ideal - the "perfect" hedgehog poop would be fairly dark little nuggets. "Turdlets" is what I like to call them. They should keep their shape and, gross as this sounds, you should basically be able to pick them up off of something like a blanket or the couch without leaving a smudge of poop behind. Don't stress out if you can't get it quite right, because it depends on the individual hedgehog, but I'd definitely try new food. This is the condensed list of suggested food we give to our potential buyers: http://www.volcanoviewhedgehogs.com/kib ... oduce.html

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (adult light or senior; 9% fat vs. 13%) is at the top of my list, I use both in my mix.


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Oh no! Do you mean they are suppose to look like rabbit poops? I have an idea of what you mean.I grabbed a new bag of nutrisource (meat as first ingredient) before I saw this but I don't like the nutrience smell or color so I didn't get another bag of it. I'll grab some chicken soup for cat lover's as I know we have that. 
I bought some meal worms and didn't think I could do it, but gave him 2 just a few minutes ago. Thank god he took it off the towel without me hand feeding it to him. Ewwwwww! Maybe those will help firm up his stools a bit for now. Thank you for the great list!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

No they are not supposed to be like rabbit poop. 

Big poops are a good thing. It means he is getting enough food and water. You don't want to see little dried up pieces. Normal hedgie poop is about the diameter of toothpaste and can be anywhere from 3/4" to 3" sometimes more long. Often it comes out in multiple shorter pieces but diameter is still like toothpaste. Usually I say it's the texture of toothpaste only not as sticky, but the last tube of toothpaste we got was really soft. :lol: So basically, it's like firm toothpaste. It sounds like his are normal.  

My gang always had Chicken Soup Cat lite in their mix and they always loved it. I quit buying it after the last recall. Solid Gold Katz-n-floken is a well liked food too. Do you have Pet Valu's out there? Having one food that you can buy anywhere is always a good idea. For a long time we had to order in Chicken Soup and a few times I would run out before it came in and we'ed have to drive to another city to buy it which is not ideal, but we had a few that wouldn't eat anything but Chicken Soup. :lol:


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

No, they're supposed to be moist. Sorry for not being clear.  The "ideal" toothpaste (like you'd see on a commercial, not necessarily in real life, lol) is a good way to describe it. A little tapered at either end, typically as thick as a pen or pencil maybe. When I think "big" I think large mushy things that don't hold their shape very well. The shape-holding is what I look for, and a nice medium/dark brown color. If it's too light brown (bordering on yellowish) that's not ideal, neither is a poop that settles into a little pile, or one that's too sticky (which is why I said you should be able to pick them up off a blanket or liner without it leaving much or anything). I call them "turds" but maybe that's not the same word everyone would use. They're not like the "pellets" that rabbits make.

Now I want to go take some photos of "good poop", haha. :lol:


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

This was fun to read while eating :lol:


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Whewwww! Percy has ideal big, dark brown, toothpaste poops! lol 
I can pick them up off fleece without leaving a mark. They are even tapered at the ends, so it looks good. How bad is it when you buy a hedgy and have no idea what the poops are suppose to look like. lol
We did have a Petvalue but I think they all closed down here. I loved that place. Anything with a food recall, even if wet only, I won't go near, even if they say it's safe now. It's just a phobia I have. I'll stick with the one being nutrisource due to the first ingredient being meat and that he's doing well on it now, but the nutrience has got to go. I'll see if we have the solid gold here. I thought feeding dog's took alot of thought, but this little hedgy is driving me crazy with making sure diet is good. He's so worth it though.


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Tabi said:


> This was fun to read while eating :lol:


I haven't eaten anything today, but you just made me realize it. LOL


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