# Orijen vs Taste of the Wild



## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi all

any review to share for the mentioned 2 brands? Is both brand doing good for our hedgehogs?


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## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

from the PetFoodRating website, both are actually look fine. Anyone feeding your hedgehog with these brands?

http://www.petfoodratings.net/cats.html


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Ok while the review says it's good, it's reviewing the food for cats not for hedgehogs and hedgehogs have different needs. Orijen has about 40% protein if I remember correctly which could be too high for a hedgehog. Usually the recommended protein level is 30-35%. Also the fat percentage I think is about 15 or 16 (It may even be higher I can't remember) which would be a problem for most hedgehogs. The problem I have with this review is while interesting it doesn't give enough necessary information. You really need to know the Guaranteed Analysis which tells you the fat protein and fiber percentages. I don't know about Taste of the wild but it looks pretty similar to orijen. As part of a mix one of these would probably be fine as long as the other foods had lower protein and lower fat. On it's own I'd say no to both.


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## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

hedgielover said:


> Ok while the review says it's good, it's reviewing the food for cats not for hedgehogs and hedgehogs have different needs. Orijen has about 40% protein if I remember correctly which could be too high for a hedgehog. Usually the recommended protein level is 30-35%. Also the fat percentage I think is about 15 or 16 (It may even be higher I can't remember) which would be a problem for most hedgehogs. The problem I have with this review is while interesting it doesn't give enough necessary information. You really need to know the Guaranteed Analysis which tells you the fat protein and fiber percentages. I don't know about Taste of the wild but it looks pretty similar to orijen. As part of a mix one of these would probably be fine as long as the other foods had lower protein and lower fat. On it's own I'd say no to both.


For orijien, i would like to choose this: Orijien for Adult Dog. This is after considered the accessibility of this pet food, nutrition and price. hopefully anyone that fed your pet hedgehog with this feed can share your thought? 

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude protein (min.)	38.0 %
Crude fat (min.)	17.0 %
Crude fiber (max.)	3.0 %
Moisture (max.)	10.0 %
http://orijen.ca/products/adult_dog/analysis


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Dog food is usually to big of pieces and to hard for hedgies to eat. Cat food is better for them


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## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

nikki said:


> Dog food is usually to big of pieces and to hard for hedgies to eat. Cat food is better for them


cat food of this brand are too high protein, and 30% more expensive here 
this is one of the reason i choose this adult dog formula


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I think what people are trying to tell you is that it is not a good brand for a hedgehog. The cat food is too high in fat and protein and the dog food is too hard and big and still too high in fat. I think if you can find Orijen then you can find another brand of cat food that is a better choice for a hedgehog, usually where there is Orijen there is natural balance, wellness, blue buffalo and others that would be appropriate. If you are absolutely set on the dog food then you will have to crush it and possibly wet it so that your hedgehog will be able to eat it. You will also have to make sure that your hedgehog is not putting on weight once you switch to the food, with the high fat percentage in this food it's likely that your hedgehog will become overweight and need to be switched to a lower fat food.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Where do you live, Kaye? We have to remember that everyone has different foods available to them depending on where they live, so they may not be able to get what we can find easily. Kaye, if you can find a food with similar ingredients that has a lower protein, that would probably be better to get. However, if most other foods that you can get have bad ingredients, then this one is NOT terrible. The protein is on the high side, and dog food is bigger. But if you crush it, your hedgehogs should be okay eating it. There are other people on here that include dog foods in their mix, either meant for little dogs, or not. Watching your hedgehog's weight gain would be a good idea too, though, just in case. If it's only of the only high quality foods you have available though, personally I'd say it's worth a try.


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## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

hedgielover said:


> I think what people are trying to tell you is that it is not a good brand for a hedgehog. The cat food is too high in fat and protein and the dog food is too hard and big and still too high in fat. I think if you can find Orijen then you can find another brand of cat food that is a better choice for a hedgehog, usually where there is Orijen there is natural balance, wellness, blue buffalo and others that would be appropriate. If you are absolutely set on the dog food then you will have to crush it and possibly wet it so that your hedgehog will be able to eat it. You will also have to make sure that your hedgehog is not putting on weight once you switch to the food, with the high fat percentage in this food it's likely that your hedgehog will become overweight and need to be switched to a lower fat food.


thanks for the reminder. i should have remind myself on this.



Lilysmommy said:


> Where do you live, Kaye? We have to remember that everyone has different foods available to them depending on where they live, so they may not be able to get what we can find easily. Kaye, if you can find a food with similar ingredients that has a lower protein, that would probably be better to get. However, if most other foods that you can get have bad ingredients, then this one is NOT terrible. The protein is on the high side, and dog food is bigger. But if you crush it, your hedgehogs should be okay eating it. There are other people on here that include dog foods in their mix, either meant for little dogs, or not. Watching your hedgehog's weight gain would be a good idea too, though, just in case. If it's only of the only high quality foods you have available though, personally I'd say it's worth a try.


Kelsey, i am from Malaysia here. not all the recommended brands are available here. I will go and survey again for the food choice again for my food mix.
as now, for sure one of the mix will be Taste of the Wild. if Orijien is too rich for our hedgehog, i will see what are the other brands that i can replace it. I am eyeing on Natural Balance Indoor Ultra® Chicken Meal & Salmon Meal Dry Cat Formula, but still not found in the pet shop in my living area. is this good?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I thought I remembered you being from another country, but wasn't for sure. Taste of the Wild should be fine - I think I remember LizardGirl using it, and a few others. Definitely check the store again and see what other options you have. If you want second opinions on what you find, maybe you could take a picture of the ingredient/nutrient label & post those for us, too. Especially if it's a food that's hard to find information online so we can see. That Natural Balance would be a great choice, everything looks good on that one. If they do not have it in the store, can you check and see if the store will special order it for you? Some pet stores will do that here, I know, but not sure about other countries.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Because you're in a different country, I think you're better off forgetting about looking for specific brand names, but rather look at the ingredients and nutritional analysis in the nearby stores. I know there are many different brands over there that is different, but the ingredients and nutritional analysis still look appropriate. 

So if you go through the stores and just look, you might find something local that works for you. If you are unsure, I would suggest taking pictures of the nutritional analysis and the ingredients and posting it on here for advice. It's probably much easier for you that way, than looking for something specific.


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## kaye (Sep 4, 2012)

Taste of the Wild i can find it here, for the natural balance, i still need to survey pet shop in my area.


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