# Question about Insect Eater food.



## daisy209 (Feb 9, 2010)

I have tried to find an answer by searching this forum, but haven't. I am trying to change my newly acquired hedgehog, Daisy, to a better diet. I have been doing research on this forum and on the internet. I saw your list of hedgehog foods, but didn't see one available thru Exotic Nutrition called Insect-Eater Diet. I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on this food, the nutrition info looked interesting- I would use this with a suggested cat food! Thank you for your input! We are new hedgehog owners-we've had Daisy for 2weeks! We love her!


INSECT-EATER DIET
Highly fortified balanced diet suggested for: Sugar Gliders, Hedgehogs, Skunks, Opossums, Tamanduas,
Armadillos, Coatimundi, Omnivorous Reptiles, and other insect eating mammals, reptiles & birds.
Feeding instructions:
Spoon out appropriate amount of Exotic Nutrition Insect-Eater Diet. Insect-Eater Diet ® is designed to be
fed free choice to Insectivorous and Omnivorous Animals. Most Animals will consume about one-fifth of their
body weight per day. Feed requirements of animals will vary according to species, stress factors,
environment and activities. Supply ample fresh drinking water at all times. Exotic Nutrition Insect-Eater Diet
® may be introduced by mixing with the present diet in increasing proportions until it is the sole diet being
fed. Some species may require supplemental hard foods (Pellet Diets) to be provided for proper heath of
teeth and gums.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, min ……..30.6%
Crude Fat, min …………...5.9%
Crude Fiber, max ……..…. 6.3%
Crude Ash, max …………..5.9%
Moisture Content, max …56.8%
Calcium (CA), min ………..2.2%
Phosphorus (P), min ……..1.1%
Ingredients:
Chicken meat, blood meal, whole eggs, apple, pear, bananas, carrots, sweat potatoes, wheat
germ, honey, whole crickets, whole mealworms, whole grasshoppers, Fish oil (source of omega-
3 fatty acids) lecithin (source of phospholipids) vitamins and minerals.
COVER & REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

It looks interesting but I have never heard of it. It doesn't look like it would be harmful but I'm by no means an expert on hedgehog food.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

That actually sounds a lot better quality than any other insectivore diet I've seen. In a mix with other good cat foods, I don't think it would be a problem.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

That does seem like an interesting food to look into. The fat percent is a lot less than most foods but the ingredients seem very good. If you end up trying I would be interested to see how your hedgie likes it


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

It looks like it's a moist food, which is good for treats but the main diet should typically be a kibble-based diet. I wouldn't feed it as a main food, but as an occasional treat it would probably be better than most canned cat foods--might be a way to get some fruits into a picky eater.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Just a note (in my experience) on moist foods - they often end up in messy wheels. Sylvie gets a treat of moist cat food every once in a while & the wheel & her poop booties are always very messy the next day compared to when she's strictly dry food.


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

You must be VERY careful when you're comparing different types of foods, such as dry and wet pet foods. Do not fall into the trap of comparing apples to oranges just by looking at the numbers listed in the guaranteed analyses. 

The only meaningful way to compare different types of pet foods is to compare their nutrient values based on the same moisture basis, specifically on Dry Matter Basis (DMB).

High-quality low-fat dry cat foods widely recommended as staple food for our pet hedgehogs typically contains 28 to 32% crude protein and 8 to 12 % crude fat *at 10% moisture*. These numbers translate to: crude protein 31 - 35% DMB and Crude Fat 9 - 13% DMB.

If you examine the guaranteed analysis of INSCET-EATER DIET above and adjust the nutrition values for true comparison using DMB, it will read more like this:


Crue Protein, min... 70.83% DMB
Crude Fat, min ...... 13.66% DMB
Since hedgehogs are prone to renal diseases and an excessively high-protein diet is believed to be one of the causes, I would refrain from feeding this product as part of your hedgehog's staple diet. Occasional treats? Perhaps, only in very small amount.

You can read and learn about how to properly compare different food types of pet foods and how to adjust guaranteed analyses provided by manufacturers by using the dry matter basis *HERE*.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Wow! Thanks for that advice! 

*runs to cupboard to compare all the wet & dry foods*

edit to add:
Wow! That link is really informative. I have Whiskas cuts & bites that I give Sylvie as a treat on occasion. The label reads 8% protein so I though it was great. Using that formula I find out it's 44% proteit - HUGE difference. Even the fat quantity jumped up from 3% to 16%

I wonder if this formula would apply for feeding baby food or if that's different as it's human?


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## corepiedra12 (Feb 24, 2010)

Wow, a lot of good info above..
I'm just on the process of taking hedgehogs in my pad and this info here is a one big help..
Thanks guys..


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Ty Hedgiemate  That is definately good to know because that is a big difference in the numbers when compared like that.


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