# Helping River gain weight



## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

For those of you who remember, River is fully back to health and eating on her own. She has been switched over to my mix that all of my hedgehogs are on with a little bit of Royal Canin Mother and Babycat added. She eats great. The only problem is that she is still pretty skinny. She has maintained her weight but hasn't gained any and her sides are still a little sunken in. I don't want to put her on RC because it's not the best of ingredients and incredibly high in fat but I am willing to switch her over to a kitten food. She is also an avid wheeler. Is this the best way to get her to gain weight? Does anyone have any other suggestions to help her?


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

That was such a long process getting her to eat on her own. I'm so glad she's still doing so and at least maintaining weight. I wish I had advice for you. I just wanted to express my happiness that she's doing well.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Thank you! I can tell you it is super exciting to have her eat on her own. I can put anything in her bowl and she eats it up which is awesome!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm also thrilled to hear she's eating so well on her own!  I would personally just look into other good quality kitten foods or higher fat cat foods & find one you feel comfortable with adding in in a larger amount than the RC. I could be wrong, but I think two brands I've seen mentioned with higher fat & good ingredients are Felidae and Castor & Pollux. I think Merrick may have higher fat as well, though I can't recall if the protein percentages are low enough, and it's a really good food & company (one of the kibbles frequently recommended in my raw feeding group for dogs, which is a pretty high recommendation!).


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Hmm, so far I haven't found any kitten food within the protein parameters.


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

What about wax worms? Higher in fat than mealworms, and lower in chitin. Really glad to hear that she is eating, though.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I wasn't sure if wax worms were safe for adults on a long term basis. I fed them to Winter as a baby and I know they can be treats for adults.

Anyone have a suggestion of how many per night/week?


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

I don't really know the answer to that. I did a lot of research on this very thing because putting weight on LuLu has been a struggle. We finally hit a milestone this week: 300 grams! But, as you well know, there isn't a lot of reliable, fact-based information out there on hedgehog nutritional requirements. Everything I read about wax worms says to feed them "sparingly" because of their fat content, but I have yet to find the specific concern with this. Is it because of the potential for obesity, or something else like pancreatitis? Obesity is not a concern for River or LuLu, but I can't find any real data on other health risks of added fat in the diet.

I feed four wax worms daily, along with 8 mealworms and 2 crickets. Honestly, I would feed her more but she seems to self-regulate on everything she eats. 

So, back to the question at hand: I don't know  Maybe there is some research out there I have missed (well duh, of course there is) but I can't imagine that something "natural" in the diet could be very detrimental to their nutritional needs.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm not sure of the answer either. I think most of the concern for too many waxworms has always been more the usual tendency of hedgies to gain weight quickly. 4-5 sound like they'd probably be okay though, as long as you work your way up to it so she can get used to it.

What are the protein percentages of your other foods? You could also get a kitten food with a little bit higher protein (36-38% or so) and add it in anyway. The lower protein of the other foods would help offset the higher one. I forgot, I think one of the foods I'd heard mentioned was actually Fromm. My memory sucks. :roll: They have a few foods with higher fat & low enough protein.
http://frommfamily.com/products/four-star/cat/dry/#chicken-a-la-veg
http://frommfamily.com/products/four-star/cat/dry/#duck-a-la-veg
http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/cat/dry/#adult-gold
http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/cat/dry/#kitten-gold
They still have grains in them, but the ingredients aren't too bad at all. I can't remember who mentioned the brand to me & that they were feeding it. Merrick's Before Grain foods look good too. Protein is only just over at 36% with 18% fat:
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/consu...1=3&cat2=10&categories=--&age=All_Life_Stages

Another idea, though I can't recall if you already do this or not, is adding in wet food. Wet food is usually higher in fat and though it's often higher in protein as well, that's not nearly as concerning as it is with dry food, IMO. The higher moisture content helps with processing it.

Edit: Man, I retract my previous brand mentions. :roll: I went to look at Castor & Pollux and their ingredients are lower quality than I remember. I wonder if they changed them. That's disappointing! They used to be a food I wished I could find for Lily.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Thank you for the information on the wax worms. I'll go get some and get her started on them. She will love them I'm sure. She isn't really a picky eater now that she eats. 

CoffeeKat - 300 grams!! My goodness she is tiny! :lol: My guys must be beasts compared to her. River weighs 380(ish) grams and to me looks so small! 

As far as wet food, yes, she is on that, as well as raw beef, which is also pretty high in fat. My entire mix, wet food and raw food included, comes to just below 35% in protein and 16.3% in fat. I do add in veggie baby food to their mix so that helps with the fat, a little bit, in regards to the others. With the exception of one of my hedgehogs, they are all pretty avid runners. 

All the kitten foods I have seen have been in the 38-45% range for protein. She does get her wet food and drinks plenty of water so if adding some higher protein kitten food will help I will do that. The only one I found close to the parameters was AvoDerm which is just an okay kind of food. Of course, this is everything I could find online. There is this awesome pet store in Denver that I can check out when I am up that way that sells all high quality foods. Not a single bag of Iams or Friskies in sight. They also do sample bags so I can try it out before committing to a big bag.

OH man! Fromm looks great!! I can handle the rice and barley as long as it isn't wheat or corn! Most of my foods are completely grain free so adding a little won't hurt. I found a store that might sell it in town but if not, I found a few about 45 minutes away. (Which for me, is how long I drive to get to school :lol

I might actually use this in my mix later on as well. I have Blue Buffalo in there right now and I want to switch that out eventually. I was actually going to go with Castor and Pollux because like you I heard great things but I guess not so much anymore. :grin:

Thank you!


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