# Hedgehog food?



## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

So I've been feeding Humphry Spike's Delight because that was what I was told he had been given, and that food was good for them. Now the small bag is almost gone and I'm reading it isn't really good for your Hedgie. I am now searching for some other type of food to give him, I would prefer to not give him cat food, and some food made more specifically for Hedgies. 
I found this website selling more nutritional Hedgehog food. I read about it and it seems way better then Spikes. I'm really new at this and am unsure really of what to feed my baby. Rather it be food like this\/ or a healthy brand of cat food. 
http://www.exoticnutrition.com/en741.html
http://www.exoticnutrition.com/hedgehogfoods.html

I just want the best nutritional food for Humphry, and am not sure what exactly that should be.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

There's mixed opinions about which food is best for them (hedgehog vs. cat vs. dog). Personally, I look at the ingredients first - and frankly, most hedgehog foods have awful ingredients and are pretty much crap. Unfortunately, the one you linked is even worse than Spike's Delite (which I'd place on par with medium quality cat foods in terms of ingredient quality). These are the ingredients -

BLOODMEAL, SOYBEAN MEAL, GROUND CORN, CORN 
GLUTEN MEAL, WHOLE ROASTED SOYBEANS, TALLOW, CANE 
MOLASSES, DRIED BEET PULP, DRIED MEALWORMS, YEAST CULTURE, L. 
ACIDOPHILUS,S. FAECIUM, S. CEREVISIAE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, VITAMIN 
E SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, ZINC PROTEINATE, MANGANESE 
PROTEINATE, COPPER PROTEINATE, COLBOLT PROTEINATE, THIAMINE 
MONOITRATE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E 
SUPPLEMENT, ZINC OXIDE, BIOTIN, FOLIC ACID, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, 
PYRIDOXINE HCL, DEHY ALFALFA MEAL, PANTOTHENIC ACID, 
RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT.

Bloodmeal is exactly what it sounds like - dried blood. While yeah, animals would likely end up consuming some of the blood from a kill or scavenged meal in the wild, that's the only source of animal protein in this food at all. You also have no clue where the blood came from, so it could be from a dead, dying, diseased, or medicated animal. The next four ingredients are all fillers that don't offer much in the way of nutrition. Tallow is just fat, and without it being named, you have no clue what kind of animal it came from - which means the animal could have already been dead or dying before used for animal food, or could have been diseased or medicated. Molasses is just sugar to sweeten the food, and dried beet pulp is for energy (usually fed to horses). Pretty much everything after the mealworms is just vitamins and minerals.

If you're absolutely set on feeding a hedgehog food, it's best to stick with Spike's Delite. May I ask if there's a reason you'd rather not go with cat food? There's a lot of experienced breeders, rescuers, etc. that feel it's likely the best commercial food available to give to hedgehogs right now. Dog food works great as well, but the kibble is much larger and some people think it's also harder, and you'd definitely have to crush it before feeding.

If you're looking for something that's going to have the best ingredients, your best bet is cat or dog food - hedgehog foods just aren't made with great ingredients right now, and some of them are downright dangerous (namely Pretty Pets and Vitakraft). If you'd like to know more about what to be looking for in a food, it'd be good to check out this sticky - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html If you decide you'd like to check out some cat foods, here's a couple of suggestion lists - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html and http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/12-dry-cat-food-list.html The second one is a bit outdated, but still has some good ideas. The brands in the first list often have dog food as well, if you'd rather look at dog food.


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## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

I just am uneducated about giving Cat food to Hedgies, and am(was) unsure of it honestly. It just seemed to beth tons of mixed reviews and such. Thank you for your reply. I've done lots of research but have been very foggy on the food options because there is so much back and forth on this ones good or this ones bad, ect.

I'm think i will go with a brand of cat food then. I just want whats best for Humphry. I may go out later and look at all of the cat foods on the list you gave.

May I ask what you feed your Hedghog?


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## ceopet (Sep 20, 2013)

Humphry said:


> I just am uneducated about giving Cat food to Hedgies, and am(was) unsure of it honestly. It just seemed to beth tons of mixed reviews and such. Thank you for your reply. I've done lots of research but have been very foggy on the food options because there is so much back and forth on this ones good or this ones bad, ect.
> 
> I'm think i will go with a brand of cat food then. I just want whats best for Humphry. I may go out later and look at all of the cat foods on the list you gave.
> 
> May I ask what you feed your Hedghog?


Since we don't know their exact nutriional requirements it's actually best to feed a mix off foods. Since spikes delight isn't bad, you can find a cat food you like and mix them together.

I feed my girl a mix of blue buffalo wilderness kitten (though the healthy weight option is better for them this is what she came to me on and since we already had two food crises in our home I am sticking with it), Caster and pollox organix healthy kitten, and Nutro max healthy weight chicken and brown rice.


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## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

Cool. Looking through I like the Blue Buffalo , and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul mixes.
Wow, I seriously feel so overwhelmed with all the food options. Thats why I've been confused on what to give him besides Spikes delight. There is a petco in my area, so thats where I will be going to look at the foods.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It is pretty overwhelming for new owners! That's part of why I put up so many stickies in the Nutrition section because it's just one of the topics that seems to terrify people the most. It can be difficult to figure out what's just marketing, what's true, what to look for, etc. etc. And many people want to know the "best food", but like Ceopet said, there isn't just one...a mix is best, and there's lots of options! Which is kind of nice, but does make it hard to decide. 

Just start out with getting one or two and see if he even likes them. Some hedgehogs can be kind of picky. Make sure you only introduce one food at a time, and you'll want to do so slowly, over at least 2-3 weeks. If you see green poop at any point, slow down a little more since that's a sign of stress.

If it does turn out he doesn't like one of the foods you buy, that's alright - Petco allows you to return open bags of food as long as there's still at least half of the food left. So just hang on to your receipt and you won't waste a bunch of money if he's a picky guy!


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## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

how about Castor & Pollux Organix Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food, 40 Ounce Bag (Chicken Brown Rice Flaxseed ) Any opinions on this brand? Someone recommended it to me?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Looks like a great food!  Definitely sounds like a good choice to try out.


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## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

Awesome! One down


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## ceopet (Sep 20, 2013)

It's x shaped too which a lot of hedgies seem to like


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## Humphry (Dec 28, 2013)

went to petco earlier and they only had Castor & Pollux Organix in dog food. So I got http://www.petco.com/product/118817...oor-with-Hairball-Control-Adult-Cat-Food.aspx which looks like it will work out real well


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## mmu1102 (Jan 14, 2014)

Humphry said:


> So I've been feeding Humphry Spike's Delight because that was what I was told he had been given, and that food was good for them. Now the small bag is almost gone and I'm reading it isn't really good for your Hedgie. I am now searching for some other type of food to give him, I would prefer to not give him cat food, and some food made more specifically for Hedgies.
> I found this website selling more nutritional Hedgehog food. I read about it and it seems way better then Spikes. I'm really new at this and am unsure really of what to feed my baby. Rather it be food like this\/ or a healthy brand of cat food.
> http://www.exoticnutrition.com/en741.html
> http://www.exoticnutrition.com/hedgehogfoods.html
> ...


*Hello,*

*I get that you are scared to feed your hedgehog cat food, but, as many people will tell you it is all about the ingredients. If the first 6 ingredients are meats, then you are great. Some people feed dog food to their hedgehog which is perfectly okay. Just make sure that the protein is around 30% and the fat if around 15%. I am sure you have heard this before. But, just know that it doesn't really matter what animal the food is meant for just as long as it meets that percentage requirements. But, if you are going to get cat food, don't get it with fish because it will make their feces smell worse. Hope this helped and good luck! *


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## ceopet (Sep 20, 2013)

mmu1102 said:


> *Hello,*
> 
> *I get that you are scared to feed your hedgehog cat food, but, as many people will tell you it is all about the ingredients. If the first 6 ingredients are meats, then you are great. Some people feed dog food to their hedgehog which is perfectly okay. Just make sure that the protein is around 30% and the fat if around 15%. I am sure you have heard this before. But, just know that it doesn't really matter what animal the food is meant for just as long as it meets that percentage requirements. But, if you are going to get cat food, don't get it with fish because it will make their feces smell worse. Hope this helped and good luck!*


Meat or meat meal (named meats) should be the first TWO ingrediants. Not six.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Humphry said:


> went to petco earlier and they only had Castor & Pollux Organix in dog food. So I got http://www.petco.com/product/118817...oor-with-Hairball-Control-Adult-Cat-Food.aspx which looks like it will work out real well


Do the %s and ingredients on the bag match Petco's site? I had that food listed as a 40% protein food... which confused me... so I went to Nature's Recipe site and both the ingredients and guaranteed analysis do not match Petco's site. Which is confusing.

http://naturesrecipe.com/cat-food/dry/indoor-with-hairball-control-chicken-and-brown-rice-recipe/



> *Ingredients*
> 
> Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Fish Meal, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Cellulose, Natural Flavor, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Inositol, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Beta-carotene, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Lactic Acid, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Citric Acid (Used as a Preservative), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract.
> 
> ...


VS: Petco's


> *Ingredients:*
> Chicken, chicken meal, oatmeal, salmon meal, brown rice, barley, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fiber, pea protein, natural flavor, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, beta carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), taurine, minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), citric acid (used as a preservative), yucca schidigera extract, rosemary extract
> *Guaranteed Analysis:*
> *Crude protein (min.) 32%, crude fat (min.) 15%, crude fiber (max.) 4%, moisture (max.) 10%*, calcium (min.) 1%, phosphorous (min.) 0.8%, taurine (min.) 0.12%, Omega 3 fatty acids* (min.) 0.4%, Omega 6 fatty acids* (min.) 1.75%


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