# Raw Food and Bones



## lessthansign3 (Jun 1, 2013)

So with baby Sebastian coming home on Sunday, I am planning on gradually switching him to a natural diet, if possible. My cats and ferrets all eat raw, and my degus are on a "species-appropriate balanced diet" consisting of a seed mix and dried plants and timothy hay, no pellets. The guinea pigs, rabbits, and chinchillas all get pellets and the rats get lab blocks, but that's because an all-natural diet simply doesn't work as well for those animals, though I did look into it, and it's possible the rabbits could go pellet-free someday. 

Anyway, point being, I like to feed my critters as naturally as possible  They seem healthier and happier, and I enjoy it. I don't begrudge anyone their kibbles - this is just what works for me.

Now, my question is in regards to hedgehogs and raw food mixes containing bits of bone. The raw food we get is a grind that contains tiny chunks of bone. While the bits of bone are small and easily chewed and digested by cats and even ferrets, those bits seem pretty large in comparison to a small critter like a hedgehog. I'm also not sure that hedgehogs consume bone in the wild - they are more omnivorous, not obligate carnivores like cats and ferrets.

The place I get my raw food from sells cooked foods that contain no bone, and I've already bought a pound of their cooked chicken to start us off with. Still, it'd be nice to go raw, because you lose nutrients in the meat by cooking it. I could make my own blends that contain no bone, but that takes much more work and as you can see, I have a lot of other critters I care for. I would rather feed the already prepared cooked food than try to prepare a fully balanced raw diet (fully balanced, meaning it contains proper ratios of organ meats and such). 

Any other advice in regards to raw or natural feeding would be much appreciated! I think the biggest challenge will be getting him to accept new and different foods. My previous hedgehog would eat nothing but kibble - he didn't like mealworms or any other treats - so I doubt this diet would have gone over too well with him. We're starting fresh and new with this baby, and I'm hoping all goes well.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

We've had a number of other people interested in trying out raw or home-cooked diets with their hedgehogs, and I ended up making a sticky regarding doing so - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23066-raw-home-cooked-diets.html You probably already know most of what I mentioned on there, but at the bottom there's a handful of threads started by those that are currently feeding their hedgehogs raw/home-cooked. The last thread on there might be very useful for you - the OP said that she does give her hedgehog raw chicken neck vertebrae and he doesn't have any issues with it. So if the pieces aren't TOO big, maybe it'd be okay? Or is it possible you could pick out any pieces that are a little on the large side from his nightly portion?

Edit: Also, I'd love it if you came back to this thread & updated with how it goes when you start switching him over, how he does with eating it, what your full diet is for him, etc., if you're willing! I could add this thread to the ones in the sticky, it'd be a great addition.


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