# What's so bad about "Pretty Pets" brand?



## Gibbz (Jan 17, 2011)

I've read a lot of dislike towards this brand, what is the specific reasoning?
Thanks


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

It has very little nutritional value, the majority of the food is made up of corn and other fillers.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ingredients: Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Meal, Ground Oats, Beet Pulp Fiber, Potato Protein, Wheat Isolate, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Streptococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract Product, Choline Chloride, Casein, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ferric Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, BHT (as a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, and Cobalt Sulfate.

As Hedgieonboard said, there's way too much corn, hardly any meat, a whole lot of things I can't pronounce, along with BHT, which is on the list of toxic things because it's suspected to cause cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, liver disease, etc. So...it's more or less utter crap.


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

There doesn't appear to be any meat in it at all. Flavoured styrofoam probably has the same nutritional value as this stuff (and fewer chemical ingredients to boot).


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Lilysmommy said:


> Ingredients: Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Meal, Ground Oats, Beet Pulp Fiber, Potato Protein, Wheat Isolate, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Streptococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract Product,* Choline Chloride, Casein, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ferric Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, BHT (as a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, and Cobalt Sulfate.
> 
> As Hedgieonboard said, there's way too much corn, hardly any meat, a whole lot of things I can't pronounce, along with BHT, which is on the list of toxic things because it's suspected to cause cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, liver disease, etc. So...it's more or less utter crap.


The acidophilus and Aspergillus are good bacteria I beleive (seem to remember them as being in yogurts?) but wth on the Streptococcus... correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that what causes Strep Throat in humans?

These highlighted things aside, I think I agree with other posters in saying it's nutritionally crap...


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

> The acidophilus and Aspergillus are good bacteria I beleive (seem to remember them as being in yogurts?) but wth on the Streptococcus... correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that what causes Strep Throat in humans?


Streptococcus is just a classification of bacteria based on shape - any bacteria in this group will be spherical (coccus) and be in pairs (strepto). (So, under a microscope, they look like this: OO) You're right, one type of streptococcus does cause strep throat, but the one in this mix is just another bacteria that aids in digestion and is naturally found in the gut, like the lactobacillus and the acidophilus.

Anyway. /microbiology nerd. 

But yeah, back to topic: what everyone else said, the food doesn't seem to have very good nutritional value. In fact, all those bacteria are probably added to help the hedgie digest the food - which, if it was a good food, wouldn't be necessary. The bacteria the hedgie already has would do the job just fine.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Whew! I kinda freaked myself out for a minute there...

Yay for nerds! Without them, the rest of us would be so lost....


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Alastrina said:


> Yay for nerds! Without them, the rest of us would be so lost....


'zactly what I was going to say...nerd posts are always so funny cuz everyone else (me included) is doing the 'maybe....? i think... i heard... What if....'then a nerd comes along and in two succinct lines tells us everything we need to know.

YAY for the    !!!


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

Aw, you make me blush, thanks! 

Don't get to whip out the ol' nerd card too often - but it's fun when I can! I just don't want to come off as condescending. But I work in a science lab and I'm training to become an EMT, so if it's general science/medicine stuff I can probably help out a little bit.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

If you've got it, flaunt it!  

I was thinking I'd discovered the secret to why Pretty Pets was such a bad food >_> The only kind of strep I knew of was the makes-us-sick kind!

On topic, I think the cheapie grocery store cat food brands would be better for a hedgie than this stuff :? And that's saying something...


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

cylaura said:


> Aw, you make me blush, thanks!
> 
> Don't get to whip out the ol' nerd card too often - but it's fun when I can! I just don't want to come off as condescending. But I work in a science lab and I'm training to become an EMT, so if it's general science/medicine stuff I can probably help out a little bit.


You never sound condescending...you sound very matter-of-fact & confident: 'here are the facts, do what you will with them'. From now on when you inform us, you're getting the uber geek, hereforthto to be known as "Uber NERD" :ugeek:

Are you sure our (HHC's) needs wouldn't be better served if you became a nerd in a more useful area than a silly ol' EMT, like, say hedgie care? Just saying... :?


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Yay! I learned something new today! That's not (completely) hedgie-related!! Woohoo! Now, how do I incorporate this into casual conversation? :lol:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

PJM said:


> Yay! I learned something new today! That's not (completely) hedgie-related!! Woohoo! Now, how do I incorporate this into casual conversation? :lol:


I double-dog dare you to entertain a co-worker with your insightfulness. :ugeek:


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

> You never sound condescending...you sound very matter-of-fact & confident: 'here are the facts, do what you will with them'. From now on when you inform us, you're getting the uber geek, hereforthto to be known as "Uber NERD"


Hehehe, Uber Nerd. I like. :ugeek:



> Are you sure our (HHC's) needs wouldn't be better served if you became a nerd in a more useful area than a silly ol' EMT, like, say hedgie care? Just saying...


I'm definitely more of a people medicine person than an animal medicine person. I don't think I could deal with all the nasty stuff if it was a cute animal involved.  Plus, once I realized that vet school would be 'Dog Anatomy' followed by 'Cat Anatomy', 'Horse Anatomy', 'Cow Anatomy', 'Rat Anatomy'... ad infinitum, I said no to that path. However, one of my co-workers is starting vet school in the fall, so I'll know at least one person in the biz.


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## Gibbz (Jan 17, 2011)

Ok, thankyou all for answering. I've always been a "why" person, sorry about the many questions. :roll:


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Don't feel bad about asking questions! Questions lead to answers, and we all need to learn 1 new thing daily anyway, so it helps everyone out ^_^

Not to mention now that you know, you can find better food for your hedgie, and the topics are searchable through the forums so others can know too!

~Katie


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

I would be really happy to throw in the nerd card if someone would be kind enough to throw in a mathematical question. 


:ugeek:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

abrowndog said:


> I would be really happy to throw in the nerd card if someone would be kind enough to throw in a mathematical question.
> 
> :ugeek:


okay...say I am 5'6", run marathons (26miles) at a pace of 7 miles an hour...and say I have a hedgie who has legs about 2.5-3" long and he runs 5 miles in roughly three hours...how do we compare? How far is he running in 'people distance'? how fast?

:ugeek:


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

That's an easy one. 

The hedgie is much cuter than any mere human can possibly be and is much more likely to be the master of the household. 

The hedgie can make the human jump hurdles, run marathons and drive long distances in search of supplies with a simple sneeze. 

While the hedge might be smaller in stature, a mere purr or extra large poo commands great attention and pleasure in the small minded human.

Humans (like myself), who are extremely buga-phobic will actually store disgusting little creatures in their refrigerators (AND FEED THEM!) just to glean a moment of pleasure from said hedgie, even if the moment is fleeting and a huff and a poke is forthcoming. 

Sigh... Hedgies can't be measured mathematically, their psychological holding is far too strong for that.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

abrowndog said:


> That's an easy one.
> 
> The hedgie is much cuter than any mere human can possibly be and is much more likely to be the master of the household.
> 
> ...


OMG this is too funny :lol:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

MissC said:


> PJM said:
> 
> 
> > Yay! I learned something new today! That's not (completely) hedgie-related!! Woohoo! Now, how do I incorporate this into casual conversation? :lol:
> ...


Don't you mean double-hog dare me??? :lol: But I have no co-workers. Only a "boss". Which is wonderful, except that I work & he gets paid. :roll:

I accept your challenge!! I will educate my boss on all that I have learned today! (Once I review & see what it was  )


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

PJM said:


> I accept your challenge!! I will educate my boss on all that I have learned today! (Once I review & see what it was  )


 :roll: 
<snort>


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