# Would it be ok for hedgehogs to eat this kind of food?



## Westonman21 (Apr 28, 2013)

Well I have too very small dogs and I was wondering if hedgehogs could eat there food (its def not too big). Here's the link to it if it doesn't work plz say so.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/m/produc ... &pl=1&ct=1
I also heard it can be to hard but moisture says at most 11 
If this isn't ok plz tell me why  THANKS


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## llankfo (May 2, 2013)

This food might be a little too high-fat and low-protein for a hedgie. Also, the first few ingredients should be only meats (e.g., turkey, chicken, salmon), not turkey/chicken/salmon _meal_, as that is all the gross stuff like intestines and bones and all the other yuckies. Those would be my only concerns. I started feeding Reggie Royal Canin Kitten 36 food because that was what his breeder fed him, but now I am weaning him onto Hill's Science Diet Adult Light Dry Cat Food because it is lower fat and Reggie is getting a little pudgy.

here are the links to the two foods:

Royal Canin:
http://www.royalcanin.us/products/produ ... /kitten-36

Hill's Science:
http://www.1800petmeds.com/Hill's+Scien ... 60586.html

Hope this helps!


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Ok,meat meals are good, you just don't want one that doesn't specify the type of meat in the meal. They are just the pure meat that has been dehydrated and ground up, its CORN meal that you don't want. The fat is good as long as your hedgie isn't overweight and the protein is perfect.


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## Westonman21 (Apr 28, 2013)

nikki said:


> Ok,meat meals are good, you just don't want one that doesn't specify the type of meat in the meal. They are just the pure meat that has been dehydrated and ground up, its CORN meal that you don't want. The fat is good as long as your hedgie isn't overweight and the protein is perfect.


So does that mean it would be ok if I fed my hedgehog this. I mean this would just make my life so much easier if he could but if they can't then i could definitely buy the right thing for them. I don't have a hedgehog yet but I'm just planning everything out before I get one and thanks guys


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

The fat is on the high end of ok, and you should feed your hedgie a mix of more than one food. You'll have to watch to make sure that he can eat it and that he actually will eat it, but you can try.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I fed that food to Lily for awhile in her mix...But I don't remember if she approved or not! I think she did eat it a little bit, at least.



llankfo said:


> This food might be a little too high-fat and low-protein for a hedgie. Also, the first few ingredients should be only meats (e.g., turkey, chicken, salmon), not turkey/chicken/salmon _meal_, as that is all the gross stuff like intestines and bones and all the other yuckies. Those would be my only concerns. I started feeding Reggie Royal Canin Kitten 36 food because that was what his breeder fed him, but now I am weaning him onto Hill's Science Diet Adult Light Dry Cat Food because it is lower fat and Reggie is getting a little pudgy.
> 
> here are the links to the two foods:
> 
> ...


Science Diet isn't actually a great quality food. It's pretty expensive for being only an okay food. Like Nikki said, meat meals are just fine, and actually a bit better than just a plain meat - ingredients are listed by weight before cooking, and plain chicken (or turkey or whatever) has a lot of water in it that goes away once it's cooked down. So the amount of chicken actually in the final product could be less than the ingredients listed after it. Whereas meat meal has already been cooked down and had the water removed, so if it's the first ingredient, it's definitely the food with the most weight in the food. The intestines, bones, etc. would be something like chicken by-product meal - and they're not /always/ bad, I don't think. While you don't want the only source of "meat" in a food to be by-products, animals would normally eat all of those things like organs and bones - that's where they can get some good vitamins and calcium. It's still better to have a meat and/or meat meal though. Corn of any form isn't a good ingredient to have, since it's usually just added to boost the protein content. Unnamed meats and fats (like the Animal Fat that's in that food) are also a bit iffy - having them be unspecified means that the product could have come from dead/dying/diseased animals, rather than healthy animals specifically slaughtered for food.

I'd suggest checking this site out for some more information on how to read labels and what ingredients are good/bad - http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ It's a great site and very informative!


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## llankfo (May 2, 2013)

Sorry for the bad information- the breeder in my area told me meat meal was bad! Didn't mean to confuse, that was just the impression I was under :?


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## Westonman21 (Apr 28, 2013)

llankfo said:


> Sorry for the bad information- the breeder in my area told me meat meal was bad! Didn't mean to confuse, that was just the impression I was under :?


It's ok


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

llankfo said:


> Sorry for the bad information- the breeder in my area told me meat meal was bad! Didn't mean to confuse, that was just the impression I was under :?


No worries! There's a lot of misinformation and misconceptions out there about pet food and ingredients. It's very easy to get confused!


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

The thing that got me was the metals in it. Copper Sulfate is used to clean ponds ~ it kills all the fish and vegetation by depleating the oxygen in the water supply. Very bad stuff.


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## Westonman21 (Apr 28, 2013)

momIImany said:


> The thing that got me was the metals in it. Copper Sulfate is used to clean ponds ~ it kills all the fish and vegetation by depleating the oxygen in the water supply. Very bad stuff.


Why would they put that in small dog food?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

www.dogfoodproject.com) 
"Copper Sulfate"
Effects: bone growth and maintenance, conversion of iron into hemoglobin, immune function. 
Deficiency: loss of hair and skin color, anemia, improper bone formation. 
Toxicity: Liver damage. 
Note: Some dog breeds are prone to copper storage disease, an inability to utilize and store copper properly. This can result in liver disease and other problems. It is important to watch the level of copper intake of these dogs and avoid additional amounts in supplements. 
Sources: whole wheat, beef liver, nuts, beans, seeds, shellfish.


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## Westonman21 (Apr 28, 2013)

nikki said:


> http://www.dogfoodproject.com)
> "Copper Sulfate"
> Effects: bone growth and maintenance, conversion of iron into hemoglobin, immune function.
> Deficiency: loss of hair and skin color, anemia, improper bone formation.
> ...


 Wow so I'm guessing a hedgehog can't eat that. Well that sucks. Oh well


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