# What Would You Guys Recommend?



## mauvecat (Jan 6, 2013)

Hi,

My hedgehog, Albie, is nearly one, and is a relatively active, slim male. He's definitely the friendly, hyper protein addict type hedgehog, and doesn't like vegetables or most food in general. I had some previous problems with him not eating properly for months, but he seems extremely happy now and eats a lot every night.

I have tried almost every food on Albie and, as anyone who read my previous thread will know, he is very prone to hunger striking. So, this last month or so (before then he barely ate), I've let him have essentially what he wants because he will not bother with anything he doesn't like. I'm so relieved he's eating, but want to take this opportunity to introduce a really good, stable diet for him to prepare him for longevity.

Albie loves Applaws chicken dry food. It's high quality, but also 35% protein and 25% fat. This is too rich, right?
When this food is an option, he will not eat his less 'heavy duty' Royal Canin, so I need some more brands to look for to ideally slowly remove the Applaws food from the mix. It's probably so palatable as it is a small, oily, very strong smelling kibble,

I'm in the UK, and everyone on here seems to talk about Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover (?), something Gold (Solid Gold) and Blue Buffalo. And Wellness Core.
Can anyone suggest where to get these foods from, and are they 'heavy duty', very high in protein or fat, or good foods to make up a stable diet?

Also, can you guys just list any good quality names of cat food and maybe let me know what you feed your small, athletic young hogs?

Thank you so much


----------



## sarahspins (Jun 25, 2013)

It's high in fat, but if you have a runner it might be okay, some need higher levels of fat to maintain their weight than what is typically recommended. My older hedgehog runs 4-6 miles a night and anything less than 15% fat is too little for him - he'll start to lose weight. He's a good eater though, and will usually eat most of what I give him every night, but I can tell his preferences based on what is left over.

That said, when I looked up Applaws, the nutritional info for all 3 varieties looked like closer to 45% protein and 20% fat.


----------



## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Honestly it's easier just looking for the right ingredients and proper nutritional analysis.

Look for ~30-40% protein, less than 15% fat, and as much fiber as possible. I have my runner hog on a 18% fat content food and he does fine on it.

Ingredients wise I look for named protein meals as the first or second ingredient at least and if possible, and no grain (just because I don't believe in grains in pet foods but if you aren't as hardcore as me you can look for no corn/soy/wheat formulas). I don't feed anything that has just whole meats as the first few ingredients before they have other veggies, because it's all precooked weight -- meat is 70% water so post-cooking it moves at least 5-6 down the list.


----------



## mauvecat (Jan 6, 2013)

sarahspins said:


> It's high in fat, but if you have a runner it might be okay, some need higher levels of fat to maintain their weight than what is typically recommended. My older hedgehog runs 4-6 miles a night and anything less than 15% fat is too little for him - he'll start to lose weight. He's a good eater though, and will usually eat most of what I give him every night, but I can tell his preferences based on what is left over.
> 
> That said, when I looked up Applaws, the nutritional info for all 3 varieties looked like closer to 45% protein and 20% fat.


Oops sorry, you're right . In that case, it is way too high in protein. Do you have any names of brands of medium level protein cat food I should look into? Thank you so much


----------

