# Mazuri Insectivore Diet



## Mjesska93 (May 27, 2018)

Hi all!

Honey just went to her first checkup today which went very well; the vet said she was the most cooperative hedgie she's had before 

Anyway, she sent a summary email and in it she reccomended i give her more variety in her diet (she's on Chicken Soup for the Soul Kitten food that I got from the breeder and she loves her mealies). She then reccomended Mazuri insectivore diet or the hedgehog formula they also make, and I'm a little concerned about the ingredients. Here's the ingredients for the hedgehog specific mix:

_Poultry by-product meal, ground soybean hulls, whole wheat, chicken meal, dried beet pulp, ground brown rice, dehulled soybean meal, dried egg product, ground aspen, porcine animal fat preserved with BHA and citric acid, poultry fat preserved with BHA, natural poultry flavor, powdered cellulose, dried apple pomace, wheat germ, fish meal, shrimp meal, whey, lecithin, soybean oil, brewers dried yeast, fish oil, phosphoric acid, dl-methionine, taurine, choline chloride, tagetes (Aztec marigold) extract (color), l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized vitamin C), pyridoxine hydrochloride, salt, thiamine mononitrate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K), d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (form of vitamin E), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), preserved with mixed tocopherols (form of vitamin E),, calcium carbonate, biotin, inositol, rosemary extract, vitamin A acetate, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, citric acid, riboflavin supplement, calcium pantothenate, nicotinic acid, canthaxanthin (color), ferrous sulfate, calcium iodate, copper sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, ferrous carbonate, zinc sulfate, sodium selenite, cobalt carbonate.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude protein not less than 28.0%; Crude fat not less than 12.0%; Crude fiber not more than 13.0%_

And here's the ingredients for the insectivore mix:

_poultry by-product meal, rice flour, wheat, wheat middlings, fish meal, fructose, coconut oil, soy lecithin, limestone ground, oats, flax seed meal, algae meal, egg product (dehydrated), vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e supplement), niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, taurine,vitamin A acetate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin k activity), biotin, riboflavin-5-phosphate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, l-lysine, dlmethionine, calcium propionate (preservative), l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), ferrous sulfate, manganese oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: crude protein (min) 34.0%, crude fat (min) 12.0%, crude fiber (max) 6.0%, ash (max) 9.0%, moisture (max) 12.0%._

Is this something I should switch her to, supplement with, or just not feed altogether?


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Hey, nope definitely not! Vets love to recommended it, but the first ingredient is unnamed poultry by-product meal. It also contains ground aspen as one of the fibre ingredients! 

My boy was being fed this by the pet store he came from. He had severe dry flaky skin, bald patches and very small and underweight for a 4.5 month old. I switched him to high quality cat foods and his skin is really healthy now and no more bald patches, and he's no longer underweight.

Most, if not all commercial hedgehog foods are unfortunately garbage. If you'd like to give your hedgie more variety in his diet, introduce more feeder insects. There's a whole insect feeding guide on here with more information. Some great feeders are, Dubia roaches, crickets, locust, silkworms, superworms, wax worms, caterpillars as well as mealies. You can also feed whole prey foods like pinkies, raw or cooked meats (unseasoned), scrabbled or boiled eggs and occasional veggies and fruit (there's a safe treat list on here too). These would all be more natural and closer to their natural diet in the wild, feeding alongside the kibble you're already feeding, which is a good quality kibble


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