# Baby food for hedgies



## Hoshi

So I've been reading a lot about incorporating baby food into a hedgie's diet. If they are used to eating a kibble mix (half Purina Naturals, half Purina One Chicken and Oatmeal), how should I incorporate baby food into her diet, and which ones? Is it meant as something supplemental( (like crickets or apples), or as an active and full part of her diet?

Also, since I added the Purina One to her kibble mix yesterday, she's started having slightly more wet poops. Is this normal when adding new foods into the mix?


----------



## Hoshi

Sorry if I'm being repetitive, but I was wondering if I could get some feedback on this.


----------



## shawnwk1

i just deleted everything i'd said lol. lets try this again ha ha. wet poops can be normal when adding in or switching foods. hedgies little stomachs are very sensitive when it comes to food changes and what not and it may take some time for her to get used to it. also purina one is not the worst food to give them, but it's also not the best (i use purina one chicken formula for now until its gone anyway, but also have a much better food mixed in with it). as far as the baby food goes i have only ever used it as a treat or to syring feed with illness. if you are going to do any kind of baby food make sure it doesn't have any onion or garlic powder in it as they are toxic to hedgies and most animals. you will need a stage 2 (i believe) baby food like turkey, but make sure you check the ingrediants.


----------



## Hoshi

My goal is to get her accustomed to this diet first, then I want to possibly get a big bag of Innova Pro and do a mix of that and the Purina One, and give my cats a mix of the Innova and their Purina Naturals. 

If I could afford it, I'd feed my cats nothing but Innova, but they're kinda pigs...

But either way, I think I'm going to be picking up some baby food to start giving Idris soon. Thank you so much for the feedback!


----------



## Lilysmommy

I give Lily baby food as a nightly thing (most of the time). She's not getting it at the moment since she's been sick and needs to put on weight. What I usually do though, is get several different foods together, with at least one meat, several veggies, and a fruit. I dump them all in together, mix them up and freeze them in ice cube trays. She gets one tablespoon a night. I've had various rates of success on whether she likes a particular mix or not. I find the baby food an easy way to give her veggies in a way that only takes a couple minutes to get ready every night. It also helped her start losing a few grams she needed to lose, which is why I haven't been feeding it recently since she needs to gain instead.

As far as what kinds of baby food, I'm not picky. :lol: I've gotten ones from all three stages, depending on what they have in them so I can get a wide range of veggies. I usually stick with chicken and turkey for the meats though. I avoid the fruit baby foods that have a citrus-y fruit in them, but if you see citric acid (I think?) in them, I don't think that's a problem. I've never avoided the foods with garlic powder in them because of HedgeMom's comment here - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2620&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=garlic I haven't had any issues with Lily and her baby foods yet.


----------



## shawnwk1

hedgemoms comment states that it only refers to raw garlic and onion (which may or may not be true, but why take the chance). garlic and onion powder is made from basically baking and grinding raw onion and garlic so personally i'm not taking the risk with my little ones, it's on the spca do not feed list for a reason i would think. the freezing thing is a good idea though and i might try that with the garlic/onion free ones to use as a treat (one of mine is also on the path to gaining weight due to malnutrition and neglect from the previous owner and the other needs to stay at the weight he's at so losing wouldn't be good for my boys).


----------



## Lilysmommy

Well, baking is cooking, so... XD And I trust HedgeMom's advice, as she was around for a long time with a lot of experience with hedgehogs and life in general. She almost always had advice that was helpful and correct. I can understand not wanting to take the risk, though.  Another thing you might try to help them gain weight and give a good treat is wet cat food. You could also mix that with baby food to give the mix a higher fat percentage. And Wellness Healthy Indulgence packets (basically little packages of meat chunks in gravy with great ingredients) are a HUGE hit with Lily. She'll wake out of a dead sleep and leave her igloo with the lights in the room all on, just to come eat some. :lol:


----------



## shawnwk1

they both get wet cat food right now as well as the dry mix and plenty of mealworms and other treats. ill keep the wellness pouches in mind though thanks


----------



## Hoshi

So, tried out a few baby foods last night with Idris. 

She anointed with three of the four I tried. :lol: 

It seems Turkey and Sweet Potato was her fave, though that's not surprising since it seemed that sweet potatoes went over really well with everyone else's hedgie.

She was also quite a fan of peas and squash, but apparently has no interest in carrots. She tried a little bite, but then turned away.

I'll try offering it again soon since it was the last thing and maybe she was full.


----------



## ellachelsea

hi my name is ella and for my hedgehog i was wondering if i should let her use a litter box or not?


----------

