# Good Food Choice for an Active Hedgehog



## Honeytastic (May 17, 2015)

Hiya! My Dean is a runner. He spends hours and most of his time at night running, therefore I know he will have an athletic build and not a teardrop shape. However, lately I feel like he's losing weight. This is likely due to the fact that I switched him from Purina (which had 16% fat and was an unhealthy brand) to Blue Buffalo (healthy! but with 9% fat). I wasn't expecting this to be an issue so I was going for low fat content.

So I'm thinking I should buy another food, a high fat one, and mix it with his current one (meanwhile, I'm still finishing that Purina bag. Almost there).

I have him on BLUE Weight Control Chicken & Brown Rice Adult Cat Food.



> *Guaranteed Analysis: *
> Crude Protein 30.0% min
> Crude Fat 9.0% min
> Crude Fiber 9.0% max
> ...


I'm thinking BLUE Wilderness Grain Free Chicken Adult Cat Food could be a good choice to mix it with. It's got 18% fat.



> *Guaranteed Analysis: *
> Crude Protein (min)... 40.0%
> Crude Fat (min)... 18.0%
> Crude Fiber(max)... 4.0%
> ...


I wanted to know what you guys thought or if you'd recommend another brand or to go with higher fat content. There's a kitten one with 20% fat. Oh, and I thought I could solve this issue with mealworms since they're a good fat source, but he won't eat them. He has a bowl of mealworms in his cage and some on his food JUST so get him to try them, but he doesn't touch them.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

The protein on the second food looks really high. I'd hate to have to balance that. You might consider going with a completely different brand to mix in. Just in case of recalls, or a store suddenly stops carrying one, or a recipe change. That way it's more likely you can get a least one of the foods.

Right now I'm using Fromm's Duck A la Veg, which I think has 18% fat, but I can't remember offhand the protein. I know it's within the acceptable range. I'm also using Solid Gold Winged Tiger. The fat is lower(13ish% i think), but I like that it has an unusual meat as the protein. Just for the variety. I would look around. There's tons of good food out there. I'm sure you'll find one that you like.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

The protein in the second food is way to high, you want to keep the protein in the low 30% range. To high of protein can cause health issues.


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## Honeytastic (May 17, 2015)

Gotcha about the high protein, you're right. Thank you for the help guys! So hard to find a high fat one with not so high protein. I liked your recommendation, shinydistractions! I think I'm liking the Solid Gold one because it's sold at Petco and it's 30% protein and 13% fat. I think I'll give it a shot and hopefully that'll be good enough to balance his diet and he can gain some weight =)


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Ok, let's talk about bugs. 
He doesn't eat mealworms, what kind are they? Live, freeze dried, canned? Have you tried any other insects? Had any success with it? Does he any treats, veggies, meats, canned cat food, baby food, anything other than kibble?


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## teddythehedgie (Nov 22, 2015)

Seconding mealworms. They are a great treat, add fat and protein, and they love to eat them. Try adding 1-2 a day (that's it -- no more! I once gave 4 because I was too generous and it hurt his tummy and gave him slightly green poop!)


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## Maverick (Nov 29, 2015)

Mav won't touch mealworms either. Other than his kibble, I've only been able to get him to eat halo chicken moist food, and baby food(chicken). One of these days I'm going to find something else he likes! (Hopefully).


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

When you find something they like, half the battle has been won. 
Because now you have some information to work with. You also have a bribing tool.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Have you tried cutting a meal worm in half and putting some on his lips? Sometimes they just don't realize that meal worms are food and once they realize it they love them.


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## Honeytastic (May 17, 2015)

They are freeze-dried. This kind.









He tried them once a long time ago... probably because he was starving... hasn't touched them since then. I've offered him tiny pieces of them too and nothing. Problem is he won't even open his mouth to try them! He has a bowl full of them right now inside his cage and I put some in his food, hoping he'll eat one by accident and take a liking for them 

I've tried giving him some veggies and fruits and wellness pouches, no success either. He literally won't try anything else. I'm still going to try, but so far I haven't any successes. I'm hoping to try with egg and any kind of meat if I find myself having some that hasn't been condimented. Also baby food.

Only thing I had success with was the new kibble I introduced to him a while ago.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Freeze dried insects can cause impaction. There are two other options when it comes to mealworms. Canned and live. 
With freeze dried there isn't anything to entice him to try.... No goo.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Freeze dried mealworms aren't very good for them. The freeze drying process removes an enzyme from the mealworms which makes it hard for hedgehogs to digest them. To many can cause impaction and that can be serious. I would try some live ones and see how he likes them. If you can't handle live ones you can try canned ones which are much better than the freeze dried ones.


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## Honeytastic (May 17, 2015)

Oh, I didn't know that. Everywhere I saw someone talking about mealworms they always talked about freeze-dried as a choice, so I didn't think it could be bad for them :/ I see now in the insect thread there is a paragraph where it talks about that. Guess it's a good thing he doesn't even like them/try them. I'll buy him some canned ones, then! I don't think I can deal with live ones.

Would these be alright?
Amazon.com: Fluker's Gourmet Canned Mealworms: Pet Supplies


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Those canned ones would be fine. One thing with canned insects, they go bad quickly so you might want to freeze some when you open the can.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Another downside to canned ones, at least for us, they have a smell to them.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

You might give the live mealworms a try tho. I'm not a bug person, so I never actually touched them, but I did use chopsticks to pick them up and offer them. It was good fun. Had to stop offering them because they upset poor little Nico's tummy and caused vomiting. I would have the only hog that can't have mealworms :roll:

You can generally find them at petco and petsmart if you have either of those near you. Or most places that sell reptile supplies have them too.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Live has a major benefit to it. It gives a bit of mental stimulation. 
If you can handle freeze dried, but are not sure about live, you can put them into the refrigerator to slow them down. Then give him a few in his cage. They will warm up and wiggle around.


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