# How Many Mealies Is Enough?



## Brayrox (Aug 16, 2010)

Hi so my friends telling me that a 2 month old hedgie can't have any mealies at all. the pet store owner said 2 every month. How many mealies should i fead my 2 month old hedgie pokey heres some pic of her


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

I give Stub anywhere between 1-5 a night


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## Brayrox (Aug 16, 2010)

Sarahg said:


> I give Stub anywhere between 1-5 a night


ok thanks


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## Aleksia (Apr 15, 2011)

Can't believe this only got one reply so far. And sorry that I currently can't offer you an expert opinion in addition. But I'd definitely do as much searching as you can for the answer to this. Or wait until more people respond as well. Or even post this question up on the hedgehogworld.com forum as well.
I think I remember reading that feeding a hedgehog too many insects can result in obesity, which can lead to other health problems. I believe I read (could be wrong) that they're good for snacks but that they shouldn't make up a main part of the hedgie's diet.
You may be aware of this, and just asking for snacking purposes. Either way, I can't give much advice myself.
I'm not trying to scare you or anything, or confuse you. I'm just suggesting that you at least go easy on it until you find out for sure, which I hope you are able to.

By the way, Pokey's very cute! And so is Stub!


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

Aleksia said:


> By the way, Pokey's very cute! And so is Stub!


Thanks!  She's my baby


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

I give Herc max 5 every couple of nights. Usually mealies are only a problem if you have an overweight hedgie. Did your friend say why you can't give them to a 2 month old?


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## Aleksia (Apr 15, 2011)

Sarahg said:


> Aleksia said:
> 
> 
> > By the way, Pokey's very cute! And so is Stub!
> ...


No problem. I really like her color!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I think no one answered because 1-5 seems to be the norm. 

And it's perfectly fine to incorporate more insects as long as you adjust the rest of the diet accordingly. Of course there are special cases like LG's Inky who eats up to 30 a night because otherwise he'll lose weight. 

That being said these are all live mealies we are talking about. If you feed freeze dried I wouldn't feed more than 1 daily cause it can cause impactions...mind you I only feed live so I'm not sure what a safe amount of freeze dried is.


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## Brayrox (Aug 16, 2010)

Sarahg said:


> Aleksia said:
> 
> 
> > By the way, Pokey's very cute! And so is Stub!
> ...


Thanka! Stub Is Cute!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Immortalia said:


> I think no one answered because 1-5 seems to be the norm.
> 
> And it's perfectly fine to incorporate more insects as long as you adjust the rest of the diet accordingly. Of course there are special cases like LG's Inky who eats up to 30 a night because otherwise he'll lose weight.
> 
> That being said these are all live mealies we are talking about. If you feed freeze dried I wouldn't feed more than 1 daily cause it can cause impactions...mind you I only feed live so I'm not sure what a safe amount of freeze dried is.


Yeah, Kashi's kinda like this. I give him 10-15 per night because he loses weight. He's also still on kitten food lol.


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## Aleksia (Apr 15, 2011)

Okay. Well this is good to know then for the future! I have read about main foods and treats in the diet, as well as foods to avoid, but have not read much about amounts yet. So, what I read about insects and obesity made this subject a bit unclear to me. 
But I am glad you guys posted for the certainty and clarity of the mealworm subject. Though I do suppose this is probably information that is out there, available to read. I shouldn't have even replied at all, unless I had read more myself on the topic first.
Though at least I was not giving an answer or passing out advice.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Every hedgie is different & you'll figure out what's good for yours. Keeping track of how many kibbles they eat & their weight will help. 
I give Zoey only 1-2 a night & they have to be the new, white mealies that just shed their skin, otherwise she can't eat them. Zoey's missing a few teeth, is a little fluffy & doesn't run much.
Cholla gets about 15-20 every night. We have a hard time keeping weight on him, he runs about 6-8 miles every night & he absolutely adores mealies.
So, like I said, each hedgie is different. I don't see how a couple a night would hurt - especially if your hedie loves them. It's a great reward after getting them out of the cage.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

According to my vet, since Snarf (and adult BTW) is an insectivore, he SHOULD be eating insects as part of his diet. She suggested 10-15 insects a night...more crickets than mealies as they're lower in fat.


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## Aleksia (Apr 15, 2011)

Yes, that makes sense, of course. Since they would be eating them in the wild anyway. And I have been reading in the food section and have seen examples of exactly what PJM said. That it depends on the hedgehog, and the hedgehogs's weight and activity. 
I was only saying, since I did not know for sure at the time myself, that making sure of this would be good, to be safe. And stating something that I had read. Perhaps I remembered it a bit incorrectly, or perhaps it was not completely well-informed. I did not mean it to be advice. The only advice I meant was to read or get the opinions of several people who had the experience and/or knowledge about this.
Again, I shouldn't have even bothered posting at all on this, because eventually others probably would have, with actual answers. Sorry. >_<
And this site doesn't let you remove or edit posts after a certain period of time, where another forum I am on does. So doing that is not an option now.
*So, everyone who visits this thread and sees what I said earlier, just go ahead and ignore my comment completely now.*


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