# Hedgehog will ONLY eat cat food



## Togepi McSniffles (Dec 21, 2017)

I heard hedgehogs usually aren't picky and like a variety of treats and snacks, fruits and veggies and worms....my hedgehog Togepi is 4 months old and wont try ANYTHING!! like not even mealworms....he loves his cat food that the breeder that sold him to me choose and had all of his hedgies on but he told me that the others did eat mealworms at least...maybe others did but not Togepi, the ONLY treat he likes besides cat food is my pet ferret, Cashews chicken flavor ferret treats....IDK is this okay?? I've tried scrambling eggs I've tried all kinds of fruits and veggies and all he likes is the cat food he came with that he is used to. It appears to at least seem like a good choice over some of the other cat food it is called Purina naturals and comes in a earthy green color bag. Any ideas? is there a special way to get them to try new food? any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, i'll try anything for his health, I love Togepi to pieces and want his to be healthy and live the longest happy life! he is my best friend <3 Thank you in advance


----------



## Togepi McSniffles (Dec 21, 2017)

Funny update I had to share... After a whole 60 seconds of "torture" by me trying to shove a grape in his face to get him to at least SMELL it and crushing it open to get the taste on his mouth and him not even acknowledging the grape existence I gave up and let him hide back under the blanket I casually told my boyfriend "watch him eat it when I cover him up." SURE ENOUGH! I pulled blanket back and the little dude is nibbling at it and finally trying it hahah it is like he doesn't want to be observed being cute or he knows he will get smothered in annoying mommy kisses and cooties, LOL! <3 Pure love, Enjoy!


----------



## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

I'm glad you had some success with offering treats but I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news ~ grapes and raisins are severely toxic to hedgehogs (and most other pets) so please do not give him anymore and remove whatever he hasn't already eaten!

Here is a useful list of hedgie safe foods (and ones that should be avoided):

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/17725-treat-list-safe-fruits-veggies.html ~ perhaps try your same method again, using a safer treat . My boy also likes to eat in privacy sometimes! 

Have you tried live insects, it works for my boy and he's pretty picky ~he doesn't even like cat kibble lol, unless I mix live insects into it :roll:


----------



## Togepi McSniffles (Dec 21, 2017)

Nope, wont eat worms either!! IDK why not.. But yeah I actually dd find out about the grape thing afterwards so maybe it is good he didn't eat it but I did read they are a "controversial" food item, meaning they cause debate in the hedgehog world whether they are ok for them to eat in moderation and the other side says they aren't good at all so I figured it would be for the best not to even mess with them cause I don't know what is true, people will always disagree but it didn't seem worth the risk in my opinion after reading. I found he LOVES sweets though...I gave him a tiny piece of a custard filled eclair and he went nuts....I can't find out why he wont eat anything healthy or even worms, maybe not getting the right ones? the mealworms I tried were kinda tiny and thin even though the container said "large" it was a total lie lol


----------



## N33k (Jan 4, 2018)

Togepi McSniffles said:


> Nope, wont eat worms either!! IDK why not.. But yeah I actually dd find out about the grape thing afterwards so maybe it is good he didn't eat it but I did read they are a "controversial" food item, meaning they cause debate in the hedgehog world whether they are ok for them to eat in moderation and the other side says they aren't good at all so I figured it would be for the best not to even mess with them cause I don't know what is true, people will always disagree but it didn't seem worth the risk in my opinion after reading. I found he LOVES sweets though...I gave him a tiny piece of a custard filled eclair and he went nuts....I can't find out why he wont eat anything healthy or even worms, maybe not getting the right ones? the mealworms I tried were kinda tiny and thin even though the container said "large" it was a total lie lol


As far as mealworms go, I just rescued a hog. Previous owner said she wouldn't touch mealworms. I couldn't get her to eat them either, but I buried one in her food bowl anyway. I think she accidentally grabbed it because it smelled like her food, but now she loves them and will take them from my hand. The ones I got are massive though, much bigger than the ones I used to feed my scaly friends. Got them from Petsmart. Also, I've been slowly switching her from cat food to VitaSmart hog food, by mixing it together in her bowl. She wouldn't touch it at first, just picked out the cat food, but I *think* she's eating it now. Just switched to a fleece liner, so now it'll be easy to tell if she actually is, of if she's just knocking it out of her bowl.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Hedgehog food is crap. Cat food is much better for them. If you look at the ingredients the Vitasmart food you'll see the first ingredient is wheat bran which is just a filler. Soy protein is another filler as well. It's best to feed a good quality cat foods with meat as it's first ingredient and less fillers. You also don't want the protein to be more than 35% as high protein is hard on their kidneys.


----------



## N33k (Jan 4, 2018)

nikki said:


> Hedgehog food is crap. Cat food is much better for them. If you look at the ingredients the Vitasmart food you'll see the first ingredient is wheat bran which is just a filler. Soy protein is another filler as well. It's best to feed a good quality cat foods with meat as it's first ingredient and less fillers. You also don't want the protein to be more than 35% as high protein is hard on their kidneys.


Glad I saw this, I've been trying to switch my girl from cat food to Vitasmart, which I thought would be better for her. Guess I've got $24 of useless garbage instead. On the bright side, that'll be less mess in the cage, since she mostly just throws it out of the bowl. Never does that with the cat food, though.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Togepi, have you tried just leaving a couple of mealworms in the food dish with the food? Sometimes it seems that they don't realize that the mealworms are food but if they're in with the food it helps them to try to eat them.


----------



## happytreecompany (Dec 15, 2016)

i found with wylie that he would not touch bugs of any variety (grasshoppers, mealworms, superworms) live or canned or whatever until he turned 1 year old. as soon as he "grew up" so to speak, he would eat just about anything! i dont know how truly scientific this is, just my observation. sometimes wylie will even go for my snacks!! he went from the pickiest hog, to a curious hog who will taste just about anything.


----------



## Angellilly (Jan 21, 2018)

*Need help*

Hello,I'm new to hedgehogs but looking to buy one in the next month but I am a bit confused on their diet.Just want to know what dry cat food brand is the best (Uk brands only) and what wet food to feed


----------



## HedgieloveHershey (Apr 15, 2020)

You should feed Blue Wilderness Chicken for Kitten! Available on Amazong, VERY good for hedgehogs.


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

please do not post on old threads, it's against the forum rules


----------

