# Can hedgehogs have grains?



## Ang (Apr 29, 2014)

I recently bought a relatively large bag of a new brand of food (Nutro Natural Choice Adult INDOOR). It is the chicken & whole brown rice formula. I have had some sources tell me no, grains are not good for hedgies, while others say it doesn't have any negative affect them. So I need some more information on whether or not hedgehogs can have grain.


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## Mozart (Oct 20, 2013)

The majority of the cat foods I feed mine have grains and I have noticed no negative side effects. I've been feeding her cat food for the two years that I have had her. Additionally, if you look at the long list of brands that are approved for hedgehogs, there are some with rice listed in them, however it is not a main ingredient, and many include rice in the formula even if it is not in the actual flavor. If you are worried, keep an eye on it's stool, look for any potential symptoms in it's behavior or appearance and you can change accordingly. Use http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/12-dry-cat-food-list.html as a potential guide as approved foods that are available for your hedgehog.


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## writergirlmel (May 16, 2015)

It would be rather difficult to avoid grains entirely, as most grain free foods are very high protein, and it's important to keep that under 35% to avoid renal stress.

The general recommendation here is to avoid corn -- both because it isn't easily digested and because the foods that use it tend to be lower quality -- and any food with _too many_ grains. When choosing my mix, I viewed anything with more than a couple of grains listed before the first fat as being less desirable.

That being said, my vet (very experienced, highly recommended by a reputable local HWS rescue) doesn't see a big issue with corn. In fact, he actually prefers many more widely available kibbles -- think of the higher end stuff you can still get at Target or Walmart, not the lower end -- that have corn in them over some of the "higher quality" foods you have to buy in a pet supply store or online. Yes, it's a filler. So are a lot of the ingredients in our recommended foods here (and everywhere else). The most important things to look at are the numbers (protein, fat, fiber) and the quality of the ingredients. If everything else looks good, but there's corn, it's likely still okay -- particularly as part of a mix.

There's no "one way" to approach nutrition. Here, the recommendation tends to boil down to the recommendation of making a mix of at least 2 high quality kibbles with no "big box" available brands making the cut.

In other groups, foods are divided into Tier 1 and Tier 2 type groups with the foods highly recommended here often falling into the former while high-end box store brands fall into the latter. The recommendation there is usually that you need one Tier 1 food, but it's okay to fill out your mix with mostly Tier 2 and maybe even a smidgen of "It's worthless crap, but my hedgie loves it."

And still other (usually smaller) groups shy away from kibbles altogether.

The best thing you can do is read up and make the choices that work for you and your hedgie.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Another point on grains, without knowing much about hedgehog nutritional need we would look at what we know they eat in the wild. That would initially be bugs and maybe small critters. Yes they eat other things too. 
But bugs, hedgehogs in the wild eat bugs, amounts and percentages we don't fully understand but they eat bugs. Then take another step back into the food chain, what do bugs eat? Bugs like grain, and other plant matter. Where does it go? In the buggy stomach. 

So even if bugs are the main part of wild hedgehogs diet and they themselves wouldn't eat grains, they still are getting some grains in their diet. It's not a large amount but it is there. 

Grains aren't great for them, can be bad in large amounts. But you would want to see the grains listed later on in the ingredient list. You want the first choices to be proteins. Don't let some grains be a deal breaker for you.


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