# Food Amount



## princesssteffy23 (Apr 23, 2011)

My first bag of food I bought my hedgie said to feed her 1-2 table spoons of food and then my new bag of food says 3-5 table spoons of food. How much is everyone else feeding their hedgehog?


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## kelybely (Oct 19, 2010)

I free feed mine. Hedgehogs don't tend to over eat until they feel sick.


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## elise5211 (Jun 2, 2011)

About 2 TBS of 3 cat food mixes, plus 6-10 crickets a day


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

I count Herc's food, but only because he has had recurring URI's his whole life. He gets 80 kibbles a night, and eats around 65-70 of them.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Most people on here free feed their hedgehog and count the kibble to be sure they notice any sudden changes in eating habits, which can indicate sickness. If you count out say, 80 kibble, see if your hedgehog eats all of them or not. If they do, offer 100 the next day, and so on. If they only eat say, 40 kibble, then lower the offered amount to 50-60. You just want to have a bit more than what they normally eat, so they always have some left over just in case they have a hungrier night. Lily only eats 10-20 kibble a night, but that's on top of 5-7 crickets, 1-5 mealies, and a tablespoon of baby food.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

What kind of food are you feeding him?


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## princesssteffy23 (Apr 23, 2011)

I've never counted them but I always just gave her 2 level tablespoons and its called premium hedgehog formula it's in a yellow bag. It's the best hedgehog food i could find where i live and thats only in a local pet shoppe that orders it for me. And she has hedgehog snacks that i give her a couple times a week but I haven't done the meal worms or crickets because those are already mixed in with her food. And she always eats all of her food by morning, and hasn't gained any weight because i know that hedgies can get chubby if they are fed too much which can then lead to problems .


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

What are the ingredients and nutritional analysis? 

Hedgehog foods aren't recommended to feed alone, because they are not healthy for hedgehog. There are one or two that are okay in a mixture, but the rest aren't any good. Most people on here feed a mix of high quality cat food. Example, one that is mostly turkey, one that is mostly chicken and one that is mostly duck (that's what I do). 

This is what you want:
Protein: 30-34%
Fat (under 6 months): 20%
Fat (over 6 months): 9-15%
First ingredient: Real meat (turkey, chicken, lamb, duck, etc.)
Second ingredient: Real meat or meat meal (turkey meal, chicken meal, lamb meal, etc)
No corn, wheat or animal by-products.

You will want to count the food over a week period. Over the 7 days, pick the highest number she eats, and add about 10 extra kibbles. 

What are the hedgehog snacks?


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2011)

princesssteffy23 said:


> I've never counted them but I always just gave her 2 level tablespoons and its called premium hedgehog formula it's in a yellow bag. It's the best hedgehog food i could find where i live and thats only in a local pet shoppe that orders it for me. And she has hedgehog snacks that i give her a couple times a week but I haven't done the meal worms or crickets because those are already mixed in with her food. And she always eats all of her food by morning, and hasn't gained any weight because i know that hedgies can get chubby if they are fed too much which can then lead to problems .


Most of our expert long term owners and breeders agree with the list posted here and that hedgehog food is actually considered not so good for a hedgehog.

Commercial Hedgehog Foods

I am not being critical but the first five ingredients do not impress me especially the first two being corn. Corn is not digestible so pretty much just means more poop. Also I can't even find the Nutritional Contents if you can post them that'd be great.

Most people here do a mix from the cat food list link below:

Cat Food List 2.0

A mix of 2 or 3 of these foods will help a hedgehog more often, many grind the pieces or smash them a bit to make it even easier for hedgehogs to chew. Be advised if you choose to do so to slowly mix the cat food into the hedgehogs diet to prevent upsetting their bellies.

1st week - 1/4 New Mix & 3/4 Old
2nd week - 1/2 New Mix % 1/2 Old
3rd Week - 3/4 New Mix & 1/4 Old
4th Week - New Mix

If I am not mistaken. Overall this mixed with some crickets and meal works given are the best in the experience of many owners here.


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> princesssteffy23 said:
> 
> 
> > I am not being critical but the first five ingredients do not impress me especially the first two being corn. Corn is not digestible so pretty much just means more poop. Also I can't even find the Nutritional Contents if you can post them that'd be great.


_Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Meal, Ground Oats, Beet Pulp Fiber, Potato Protein, Wheat Isolate, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Streptococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract Product, Choline Chloride, Casein, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ferric Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, BHT (as a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, and Cobalt Sulfate.

Crude Protein 32.0% (Min) 
Crude Fat 5.0% (Min) 
Crude Fiber 6.0% (Max) 
Moisture 10.0% (Max) 
Ash 4.0% (Max)_

The fat in the food is too low. A young hedgehog, under 6 months, needs around 20% fat in his/her food. Once they are over 6 months, they need 9-15% fat. This can be too low sometimes if your hedgehog is a runner.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Not to be mean or rude, because you didn't know, but with corn as the main ingredients and the fat content that low, your hedgie isn't getting what it needs to stay healthy. Hedgehogs should never run out of food, if you find them getting to heavy you can switch to a lower fat food but they should always have food available. The best we have available to feed to hedgehogs right now is high quality, corn free, cat food.


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