# Update and questions about food



## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

So we just left the vet and I got two different prescriptions. One is an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin, which they said should help the runny nose in a few days, and a probiotic called Bene-bac gel to help with his stomach because of his abnormally soft poops, which he said could also be because of low fiber. The vet said he didn't really recommend the blue Buffalo I've been giving him and printed out an amazon page of this cat food called Royal Canin for indoors, which should have a higher fiber content. Have any experience with these prescriptions or that brand of food?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

I have no direct experience with URIs, but I've seen people repeatedly post about using Ciprofloxacin for their hedgehogs. It seems like a normal prescription, nothing concerning.

Food is such a tricky thing. Everyone has different opinions on what is best. You can certainly add additional higher-fibre foods to Colin's mix. It looks like the vet is suggesting this food: Royal Canine Cat Indoor Adult 27

Ingredients
Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, corn, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, natural flavors, pea fiber, wheat gluten, rice hulls, dried beet pulp, soybean oil, calcium sulfate, sodium silico aluminate (zeolite), dried brewers yeast, fructo-oligosaccharides, dried egg powder, anchovy oil (source of EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids), salt, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, L-lysine, DL-methionine, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, biotin, riboflavin (vitamin B2), D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], trace minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], decaffeinated green tea polyphenols, L-carnitine, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.

With the breakdown:
Protein 27.0%
Fat 11.5% 
Fibre 6.0%

I'm not the greatest with foods, but the numbers are fine (maybe a little low on protein). The ingredients contain a lot of grains, which some people deliberately avoid.


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Its the light 40 formula. 40% protein, 8.5% fat, 8.8% crude fiber. Its has 2 corn and 2 wheat ingredients from what I read; I'm on my phone in the car so I'm doing my best, I'm not the one driving though of course. Food is tricky.. he said it might be a little easier on his digestion which he thinks he might be having some problems with, which is what the bene-bac gel is for.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

40% protein is pretty high. You typically want no higher than 35%. Why didn't he like the Blue Buffalo?


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Said it wasn't high enough in fiber and something about what other people had been saying. I've stressed out about picking out food before and this isn't helping ><


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Ah, Natural Balance is good for that. Most of their flavors are about 32% protein, 12% fat, 8% fiber. I think Blue Buffalo only has like 3.5%, so I give my hedgie a mix of the two.

Edit: some plain (unseasoned) canned pumpkin can also help with the soft poops.


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Ah, okay, so I'll try that, and the pumpkin, thank you!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

A note about vets & foods - Science Diet and Royal Canin are probably the two foods most frequently recommended by vets. Reason: the companies give vets money to do so. That doesn't necessarily mean they're good foods, and personally I'm not a huge fan of either because they're rather expensive for medium-quality foods that have corn plus other grains. 

Switching to Natural Balance wouldn't be a bad idea. It could be the low fiber, or there's also been speculation recently about issues going on with Blue Buffalo - there was a discussion on Facebook at some point about issues with hedgehogs & BB, and if you look online there's been a ton of reviews left on sites about BB causing issues in cats & dogs. Hard to tell if those reviews are legit though, considering how common it is to trash your enemy company online, etc. Nancy was looking for the FB discussion last I knew, so that would be a more trustworthy source, IMO.


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

This is becoming frustrating, and to make it worse now my mom's trying to push hedgehog food on me because the vet only mentioned to my stepdad and me that there is commercial hedgehog food, and she _will not listen_ when I'm trying to say it's unhealthy and isn't made properly.

"Just try it."
_"No."_

And now I don't even know what I'm supposed to be giving him at all anymore. This has been my biggest stress since getting him, I just want him to be healthy and there's always something wrong with everything. I wish there was one food (or two or three to make a mix) that was just perfect x(


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I recently changed Pig's food mix around and I found this list to be really helpful: http://www.volcanoviewhedgehogs.com/kibble--produce.html


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Thank you! I'm sorry if I'm making it hard for everyone by being stressed out about this... 

From this list I was thinking Professional Adult Complete, 9% fat, 32% protein, 8% fiber, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, same analysis, and the rabbit and salmon Natural Balance, which is 14% fat, 30% protein, and 8% fiber.

He runs quite a bit so he might need some more fat than that. When he was weighed today he was going around 3 and a half pounds. I'm going to check the sticky in a moment to see how that settles.

I did take a look at hedgehog foods and yes, they're pretty bad.


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## ceopet (Sep 20, 2013)

The mix you are thinking of making actually sounds really good to me. I mean from what you are posting  

I am worried about BB too, BUT so far I am still uncertain of things I am reading on the consumer sites...I try and read tings with a skepitcal eye. I would love to see the FB disscussion since it's about hedgies.


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## ceopet (Sep 20, 2013)

Also I wouldn't feed RC too many fillers like Lilly said


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Okay, great, thank you!  I'll keep the BB in the meantime while he's taking his medicine and getting better, since it wouldn't be a good time to change, really. But I'll slowly mix in the other ones until it runs out, or proves to be causing issues.

But regarding my list, should I be using two foods that give the same analysis, since they're supposed to be supporting each other would it be better to mix in three fluctuating foods, or is that alright?


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

One of the main reasons I liked BB, aside from being highly recommended and high quality, was that it had cranberries rather high on the list. and as someone with a personal need for cranberries, I'm always preaching them to everyone for bladder and UT health. Can I just buy some cranberries and mix them in with his food? Or are they on the same spectrum as raisins?


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## Aupolei (Dec 24, 2013)

I'm a huge fan of BB and my dogs eat it, so when I got my Hedgie I started switching her from the breeder's stuff to BLUE Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe
for Indoor Cats. Here are the ingredients and stats for this formula.

Ingredients
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Starch, Pea Fiber, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Cellulose, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Dried Chicory Root, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 32.0% min
Crude Fat 13.0% min
Crude Fiber 7.0% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Taurine 0.15% min
Magnesium 0.08% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.5% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 2.5% min


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## Lady (Dec 30, 2013)

Hmm. The BB that I have right now is 32% protein, 15% fat, and 4.5% fiber. If I stick with BB I'll definitely give that one a go instead.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

If you would like some different suggestions... Depending on how high calorie you need.

Now Fresh Senior Protein 30%, Fat 14%, Fiber 5% 3371 kcal/kg, (small pellet).

Organix Adult Indoor, Protein 30%, Fat 12%, Fiber 6.5% 3537 kcal/kg
I haven't used this exact one, but other foods in their line are X shape.

Halo Spot Stew Grain free Chicken: Protein 33%, Fat 18%, Fiber 6.5% 4490kcal/kg (small flat disc)


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## Buckiegirl (Oct 23, 2013)

I have to laugh when I read recommendations by the vets. Mine wanted me to feed it only hedgehog specific food. Gave me the name and everything. She wouldn't touch it! Also I made the comment that she liked fish. Oh don't feed them fish. They would never come in contact with fish in the wild. His recommended food... first four ingredients... seafood and fish!!!


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

You could always try it as part of a mix--my Nara really liked it but I took it out of her mix for awhile. She would NOT eat Natural Balance. There are a LOT of hedgehogs that won't eat Natural Balance. 

The Royal Canin used to come in some pretty small bags, so it wasn't too expensive. 

Making a "bad" food a small part of a mix can be a way of adding some variety into hedgie's diet.

There is a "recommended foods" sticky on HHC or there used to be. Unfortunately, sometimes good companies get bought by another company or they make "improvements" and hedgies no longer like the food. Chicken Soup.... went from being "X" shaped to round and now I have to break it into smaller pieces. 

You just have to stay flexible!

ML


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