# switching foods,advice??



## kailey lane (Apr 7, 2012)

So my prinkles came home friday and shes 7 weeks old,she came with some spikes delight.im waiting for her to get comfy in her new to before i mix in her new food.Before i got her i bought a bag of wellness healthy wieght but im now reading that can cause tummy issues.Should i donate the wellness to the shelter bin at my work and buy another brand? if so is chicken soup for cats a better food? what formula?


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2012)

i use wellness in my mix and never had problems. maybe get another kind to mix with the welness tho most people have a mix of 2 to 3 different kinds so if something happens to one kind like a recipe change, the hedgie is already us to a different kind.Tummy problems can happen if you switch to fast, so you have to change it slowly over a matter of weeks.


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## kailey lane (Apr 7, 2012)

ok sounds good ..... iv slowly switched my dogs food over before so im familar with that part.ill go grab a few differnt brands on the list then,thank you so much.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It totally depends on the hog for whether or not the Wellness will bug them or not. I used Wellness Indoor for Lily for awhile and had no issues, and there's a couple people on here that use one of the Wellnesses in their mix. Some people have also found that any amount will make their hog have loose stools, while others found that they could use it in small amounts, but if they offered over, say 15 kibbles, then they'd get loose stools. I personally would try switching over to another food first, then try mixing in the Wellness and seeing how she does with it. Chicken Soup would be a great food to go with it! Some other popular brands are Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, and Innova. Solid Gold is nice because it's one of the few cat foods to have lamb for the main meat (it's kind of nice to get a few different meats in their diet, as long as you're including a few different foods), and it was Lily's favorite.


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## mary ellen (Mar 1, 2011)

kailey lane said:


> So my prinkles came home friday and shes 7 weeks old,she came with some spikes delight.im waiting for her to get comfy in her new to before i mix in her new food.Before i got her i bought a bag of wellness healthy wieght but im now reading that can cause tummy issues.Should i donate the wellness to the shelter bin at my work and buy another brand? if so is chicken soup for cats a better food? what formula?


*Most pet shops will take back your cat food and exchange it for you or give your money back if you have a receipt. Without a receipt I get instore credit . I've taken several dog food bags back, until I found one that my dog liked. For my new, 9 month old hedgie, I'm going to try the Blue Buffalo Heathy Living Adult Chicken and Rice that her breeder recommended. I try to stay away from the fish flavored ones since I understand it makes them have smelly poop. There are a lot of good food choices and from what I've read, Chicken Soup for Cats is one of them. I'm sure you'll find a cat food that Prinkles likes. Let us know what you end up getting.*


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## kailey lane (Apr 7, 2012)

i went back and got chicken soup light thanks guys!


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## kailey lane (Apr 7, 2012)

also how many kibbles should a 7 wk old baby eat a day? i know i read they are opportune eaters so i don't leave a full bowl in there,can anyone give me an idea of how much she should eat everyday?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

kailey lane said:


> also how many kibbles should a 7 wk old baby eat a day? i know i read they are opportune eaters so i don't leave a full bowl in there,can anyone give me an idea of how much she should eat everyday?


The number of kibble pieces can vary because they come in different sizes. A tablespoon can be 30+ kibble pieces; even 20 for particularly large ones. If you want to be paying attention to the exact number of kibble, see about how many fit into a tablespoon. (For instance, of the kinds I use, one is 30 pieces per tablespoon, one is 45 or so, and the kitten food I use as a treat is much tinier than either of those.)

An adult hedgehog will generally eat 1-2 tablespoons of kibble. Babies will sometimes eat more. For the most part, hedgehogs won't overeat, so they can be "free fed". What that really means around here is figuring out around how much the hedgehog eats, and giving that much every day, plus a little more. For instance, if your hedgehog were to be eating around 2 tablespoons, put in about 2.5 tablespoons. The idea is for there to be a little left over when they've had their fill - that means that there's food available for them whenever they want it. So, for a 7 week hedgehog, I'd suggest starting with 2 tablespoons and see how much is left over. If all of it has been eaten, then give 2.5 tablespoons the next day. Or, if only about half is eaten, give 1.5 tablespoons the next day. Keep adjusting until you get to an amount that leaves a little bit left in the bowl when you check the next morning.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Hedgehogs should be free fed, they should always have food in their dish. Babies especially need to be free fed because they are growing. Hedgehogs rarely overeat and if you find that once your hedgie is full grown they are becoming a bit overweight then you just need to cut back the fat content in the food, but never restrict the amount of food they get.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Just a note about having several foods in your mix: just make sure that you just add one food at a time, then wait a couple weeks before introducing another food, just so you know if they have a reaction or allergy to something. It's easier to pinpoint what is causing the problem if you create your mix slowly. Best wishes.


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## kailey lane (Apr 7, 2012)

thank you moxie berry!,thats great info. youv all been so helpful.and rainy,thank you i wil for sure give her time to ajust tot he first shes on before adding a new one,i dont want any upset tummys


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