# Freezedried, canned, or live insect treats?



## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

I just got my very first hedgehog Quillbert about 8 days ago. Currently he is eating the same blend of kibble that the breeder used, a mix of Canin kitten and Purina One chicken and rice kitten formula. He is eating just fine and his poops are a nice, solid brown. The breeder had never given him any treats before and I have been trying to introduce mealworms as a bonding treat but it seems that he really couldn't care less about them. I was wondering if it might be because they are freeze dried and not fresh (which my pet store did not carry).I was wondering if you guys had seen any sort of consistency towards preference for live, canned, or freezedried insect treats. I know that each hedgehog is different and that he probably just needs more time to realize that it's food and it's not poisonous. Would I have better luck if I got my hands on some live ones?


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## Hedgehogs (Apr 8, 2009)

Well my little Oreo loves freezedried mealies but I've heard of ones that will only eat live ones so I guess it's just your hedgie's preference. And live mealies have a stronger scent which your lil guy might like. Canned worms have an even stronger one.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

Freeze dried insects have little to no smell and no moisture, so many hedgehogs don't even think about them being food. They've also been known to cause internal blockages when too many are fed, so most people stay away from them for that reason. I personally avoid freeze dried entirely and opt for live or canned.

Many pet stores don't sell live food. If this is the case and you can't readily get live ones, canned insects from the reptile section usually do well. Since they're canned, they're moist and a lot smellier than freeze dried. I can't keep crickets alive for any period of time, so if I'm going to feed my hedgie crickets I buy those canned. I raise live mealworms, however, and he thoroughly enjoys those so I've never tried canned mealworms. It's mainly the scent that's a factor in getting hedgies to eat. Canned or live will likely get a much better reaction than freeze dried.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

My guy will eat the freeze dried ones, but I've never tried the canned or live ones. It's funny, everyone says they smell the least, but I think they totally STINK! :lol: I can't imagine how bad the canned or live ones smell :mrgreen:


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

lol the lives ones don't smell at all, at least not by the human nose. I don't find that they have any sort of real distinct smell to them, and I keep them in my room.

Though I'm sure they smell yummy to our hedgies. My boy LOVES live mealies, he always have. Although he can always smell them, and he'll try to climb up on the container I have them in :lol: 

I would think the canned ones smell the most, because they're kept moist. Also be careful with the canned as they DO expire and go bad after you've opened the can for a few weeks and kept it in the fridge.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

I bought some canned small crickets to give those a try. The smell absolutely revolting and are really, really juicy which is extra gross. I'm not a squeamish girl by any means, but at this point I'd rather deal with live bugs than this stuff. I'll give them a try for a few days but if he doesn't like them it won't break my heart.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Oh, I forgot to mention in my last post, my hedgie didn't eat the freeze-dried ones the first time I offered them to him, either. I think they are nervous at first? It took three days or so, and then he realized that they are better than sliced bread! Well, not that he could care less about sliced bread, ahaha! Anyways, if you already have the freeze dried ones then keep offering to him here and there, he might one day just go for them. Also, my guy ate freeze-dried crickets before mealworms. The cricketws do smell a bit more then the wormies, so maybe that helped him realize they were yummy treats. Try leaving some of them by his food dish but not in it, that way you can see if he ate them in the morning. Good luck!

And sorry to hear about the canned ones, ugh! I am so glad I didn't go with those now, I have a really sensitive sense of smell and probably would have vomited!  

Immortalia, that's too funny about your hedgie going after your worm farm, you should take a video of that - I would love to see it! :lol:


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## Tasha (Feb 24, 2009)

Just a suggestion, but i buy canned meal worms & crickets & freeze them. They separate really easily so i just get however many i need out each night, let them defrost and then ready to go. It helps stop the smell (well to us anyway), they are not as squidgy & they last a lot longer.

I did try snails as well, but they don't freeze very well or last too long in the fridge, he did like them though.

I also feed dried meal worms because henry loves them, he even recognises the sound of the bag now!


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## Chinchi (Jul 8, 2009)

With live you have the choice to gut-load them. Then they can be quite healthy.
You can't be sure what they were fed when you buy the other stuff...


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## Snickers Mom (Aug 31, 2009)

I know this is somewhere but I cant find it. How many should be feed a day at most? My little girl Just went spastic for the canned ones today. They are the small ones though called Mini Mealies.


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## Anny (Jul 17, 2009)

Live mealies are in my opinion better than canned or freeze dried. They smell less than canned bugs for sure and are easy to keep live or freeze yourself.

I have a really hard time handling crickets myself, I have a pretty severe phobia about them along with grasshopers which is a long story! If you can offer your hedgie some live ones that would be great, if not I'm sure you can find canned ones or other treats that he likes and that you can handle without too much ickiness  

My hedgies aren't that keen on treats, my Kiwi absolutely loves mealworms and recently has taken a liking to a bit of chicken but after a few bites she went back to her kibble. My new little girl Stella went nuts over the chicken, I'm sure she would have eaten a whole lot of it had I offered it to her! 

I guess it depends on your little guy, try different kinds of mealies (I'd try live first , then canned or freeze dried) and see what he likes best. If you aren't too squeamish try some live ones (don't smell and are easy to keep), if not try canned or dried.

Personally, I have no trouble feeding live mealies. The one time I bought some in a can I almost fell over after opening the can, they stank so much!!!! Seriously, it's some nasty smelling stuff (same for canned crickets, double ewwww), I bow to anyone who feeds from can on a regular basis, I wouldn't be able to handle it myself honestly!

I'll always offer some mealies for my girls a couple times a week but I'm quite happy that they are starting to enjoy other things as well. Chicken and scrambled egg have been good ones so far, it's always fun trying new stuff to see what the little buggers like!


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Anny said:


> Live mealies are in my opinion better than canned or freeze dried. They smell less than canned bugs for sure and are easy to keep live or freeze yourself.


I buy live crickets and freeze them. It's not nearly as gross. I don't even touch them just shake a few out of the container into Quigley's treat dish and then give him his treat dish while he is on my lap. You can do the same for meal worms or just shake the live ones out of the container if you don't want to touch them (I use a small plastic bag or small container not a bin like you'd have if you farmed them) Quigley wouldn't eat a live cricket but he will eat either live or canned meal worms.



Tasha said:


> Just a suggestion, but i buy canned meal worms & crickets & freeze them. They separate really easily so i just get however many i need out each night, let them defrost and then ready to go. It helps stop the smell (well to us anyway), they are not as squidgy & they last a lot longer.


I've also done this. Canned stuff is much less smelly when frozen and again easy to just shake a few out of the can without touching them. But they are not as gross to touch as live ones.



Snickers Mom said:


> I know this is somewhere but I cant find it. How many should be feed a day at most? My little girl Just went spastic for the canned ones today. They are the small ones though called Mini Mealies.


I feed 1-2 crickets/day (he usually only eats one) or 4-6 mealworms per day. I'm not sure if that's the official recommended amount. Quigley gets treats on most nights mealworms are fed most often and crickets are fed once or twice a week.


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## hedgewawa (Apr 25, 2009)

I used the canned. I have to say that I do not smell anything at all. They do not smell when I first open the can. I keep them in the refridg. for awhile and they don't smell. I freeze them when I get down to about half a can so they wont go bad. I use those pill organizers you can get in the drug store. I put five mealies in each little compartment and use them as I need them. My hedgies eat them even though they have been frozen and thawed.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

After trying to get Quillbert to eat the freeze dried mealies for five days and with absolutely no luck I bought some canned ones. They don't smell strongly, especially once I put them in the fridge. It only took two attempts to convince him that they were food. Now when I show him his special treat dish he gets all excited and hoovers them up in 0.5 seconds flat.


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## Pipkin (Aug 26, 2009)

There is no way i could feed any live animal to anything. eurgh. I feed Turbo ones that are sold in tubs and they stink. I dont think they're frozen, but they're definately dead. He absoultely loves them. He scoffs them down and annoints himself everytime for about 10 minutes. So cute! 

Although Turbo does not like banana at all, he loves chicken and he likes melon, but i dont think hes a fruity kind of fella. He much prefers manly meals to little pieces of fruit hehe.


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## Erik_Julius (Aug 18, 2009)

My Julius absolutely loves the freeze-dried mealworms. He can smell them from a mile away it seems, and will devour whatever I give him in a matter of seconds. Since he loves them so much, I like to hand feed them to him.


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## meralgia (Sep 16, 2009)

I have a new six-week-old hedgie (who still doesn't have a proper name). She won't touch a live mealie--neither when it's wiggling or sitting still. She was brave enough to eat a moth but only when I squished it so that its legs would stop thrashing about.


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