# Appropriate Mixture



## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

Hello everyone!

So my hedgie "Rolo" has just gotten over his diet transition. We have him off the stuff he was eating when i got him and now we have him on a premium protein cat food. My question is the following:

Currently i give him a tablespoon and a half a day of the cat food. Every two to three days I give him a few meal worms as a treat.

I am concerned with his fiber and vitamin intake. After some research i found that some people will mix in baby food with the dry food for their vitamins. 

How often would you want to do this? Like a tablespoon dry food and a tablespoon baby food? Should i do that only every other day or so? 

What would be a good source of fiber for a hedgehog. I ask about the fiber because my girlfriend is concerned that a hedgehog must have a strong fiber diet 


Thank you for your answers and comments

Happy New Year


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

What kind of food are you using? There's no need to add extra vitamins as long as you're using a high quality cat food with good ingredients. It's a good idea to use more than one food in a mix, though - it adds variety, such as different protein sources, and also ensures that you won't have to deal with hunger strikes if the single food your hedgehog is used to becomes unavailable due to a recall or the formula changes. Hedgehogs are notoriously picky, I had a boy who didn't eat for two days because I tried to change the bowl used for his food. (He went back to eating immediately when I gave him his bowl back.)

Insects are a great source of fiber. Mealworms shouldn't be overfed, they're high in fat and for most hedgehogs a few a day is the right amount. Crickets and dubia roaches are lower in fat and can be fed pretty much as much as you want. You can also supplement the diet with vegetables. Sweet potato and pumpkin are some good options that are high in fiber. However, it's not completely necessary - plenty of hedgehogs do well with only cat kibble and nothing else.


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> What kind of food are you using? There's no need to add extra vitamins as long as you're using a high quality cat food with good ingredients. It's a good idea to use more than one food in a mix, though - it adds variety, such as different protein sources, and also ensures that you won't have to deal with hunger strikes if the single food your hedgehog is used to becomes unavailable due to a recall or the formula changes. Hedgehogs are notoriously picky, I had a boy who didn't eat for two days because I tried to change the bowl used for his food. (He went back to eating immediately when I gave him his bowl back.)
> 
> Insects are a great source of fiber. Mealworms shouldn't be overfed, they're high in fat and for most hedgehogs a few a day is the right amount. Crickets and dubia roaches are lower in fat and can be fed pretty much as much as you want. You can also supplement the diet with vegetables. Sweet potato and pumpkin are some good options that are high in fiber. However, it's not completely necessary - plenty of hedgehogs do well with only cat kibble and nothing else.


Hey there!

We feed Rolo the "Blue Basics" - http://bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/basics-fish

They advertise the food as having Life Source Bits - http://bluebuffalo.com/health/lifesource-bits

It does not really say how much of the vitamins are in the bits but it appears that he gets a good amount of protein from the food itself. The Life Source bits say they have all kinds of vitamins and what not but it just didnt feel like it was everything he needed.

I am guessing we should maybe give him some baby food like 2 times out of the 7 day week for that variety?


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

I see now that it appears the baby food is more of a treat then to be used as a diet supplement. Other than that we feed him the mealworms as a treat 2 - 3 times out of the 7 day week. 

We could do like a table spoon and a half of the dry food and then a half tablespoon of the baby food but how many times a week would you think is appropriate?

*Edit i can switch his mealworms to crickets if thats a better fit 


Thank you again for the information! I want to kee my little Rolo as healthy as i can!


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Blue Buffalo is excellent and there's no need to worry that he's not getting everything he needs from just the kibble. Offering baby food or whatever else is great for variety, but the best option would be to choose a second food to make a mix. At least 2 foods in a mix is really ideal - my hedgehogs get a mix of 7, but that's overkill when you just have one hedgie, which is why we sell our mix as well.

You can give baby food, cooked unseasoned meat, etc, daily as supplement to the kibble, but you'll want to be feeding at least 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the kibble as the staple of the diet. Also be mindful of fat content of whatever extra you're offering.


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> Blue Buffalo is excellent and there's no need to worry that he's not getting everything he needs from just the kibble. Offering baby food or whatever else is great for variety, but the best option would be to choose a second food to make a mix. At least 2 foods in a mix is really ideal - my hedgehogs get a mix of 7, but that's overkill when you just have one hedgie, which is why we sell our mix as well.
> 
> You can give baby food, cooked unseasoned meat, etc, daily as supplement to the kibble, but you'll want to be feeding at least 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the kibble as the staple of the diet. Also be mindful of fat content of whatever extra you're offering.


Ok that sounds great! You have been so very helpful i really appreciate it. At this point i am thinking of sticking with my ratio of 75% kibble and a quarter of the baby food.

Would you consider feeding him a cricket 2 - 3 times a week on top of this diet overkill? It would be nice to give him something as a treat.

He REALLY loves the babyfood/kibble mix 

I posted in a different section regarding his wheel because he is not using it. We play with him but i am not sure he is getting enough of a work out and i dont want to over feed him haha.

Thank you again for the information i can finally at ease with what we are feeding him.

Happy New Year to you


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Crickets would be fine to give him more often - they're not as fatty as mealworms are, so you could feed them every night or every other night if you wanted. Roaches are another good treat that isn't very fatty either, but they're usually harder to find. Just make sure you're gutloading the insects (feeding the insects some veggies & healthy foods) before you feed them to him, to make sure they're healthy for him.


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

Lilysmommy said:


> Crickets would be fine to give him more often - they're not as fatty as mealworms are, so you could feed them every night or every other night if you wanted. Roaches are another good treat that isn't very fatty either, but they're usually harder to find. Just make sure you're gutloading the insects (feeding the insects some veggies & healthy foods) before you feed them to him, to make sure they're healthy for him.


Ok that sounds great  Do you think it would be wise to feed him two different types of kibble and a quarter of the baby food in case something happens to one of the food sources? My girlfriend thinks we should feed him two different dry meals in case one brand changes up on us.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yes, that would definitely be a good idea.  Like Moxie and your girlfriend said, it's a good safety net in case one food's formula changes and your hedgehog doesn't like it anymore, or if it becomes unavailable due to shortage, pet store changing stock, or a recall. A lot of people also take the opportunity to use a food with a different main protein than the first food, just to give some variety in the diet. For example, a lot of cat foods use turkey and/or chicken for the main meat - there's a few brands that use different meats, like Natural Balance has a green pea & duck formula, and Solid Gold uses lamb for the main meat.


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

Lilysmommy said:


> Yes, that would definitely be a good idea.  Like Moxie and your girlfriend said, it's a good safety net in case one food's formula changes and your hedgehog doesn't like it anymore, or if it becomes unavailable due to shortage, pet store changing stock, or a recall. A lot of people also take the opportunity to use a food with a different main protein than the first food, just to give some variety in the diet. For example, a lot of cat foods use turkey and/or chicken for the main meat - there's a few brands that use different meats, like Natural Balance has a green pea & duck formula, and Solid Gold uses lamb for the main meat.


Ok that sounds good  I appreciate the help!

Happy New Year to you


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Jumping in a little late here, but just wanted to mention that I've spoken to a Blue Buffalo representative about the lifesource bits (was also worried that my picky hedgies who leave them behind wouldn't get what vitamins they need) and was told that the regular kibble has everything they need, and the lifesource bits are just a supplement, not necessary. Good to know for anyone feeding Blue!


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## Das Disco (Dec 12, 2012)

LizardGirl said:


> Jumping in a little late here, but just wanted to mention that I've spoken to a Blue Buffalo representative about the lifesource bits (was also worried that my picky hedgies who leave them behind wouldn't get what vitamins they need) and was told that the regular kibble has everything they need, and the lifesource bits are just a supplement, not necessary. Good to know for anyone feeding Blue!


Thats good to know  I believe we are going to keep him on the current diet and let him get used to it for a while before introducing a 2nd kibble meal.


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