# How do I introduce an older hedgie to new food?



## Dansie (Feb 3, 2010)

I just got a hedgehog that is about 1 1/2 years old from my friend who couldn't take care of him anymore, and as of right now, he is eating the vita exotics brand hedgehog food. I've heard that this isn't very good for him, so how can I introduce him to a new food? Also, I know there's a list of good cat foods for hedgehogs on here, but there are so many and it's so overwhelming, so any suggestions on what kind of food would be helpful! (I've heard the Chicken soup for the cat lover's soul food is really good). Also, What are the best treats to get him?


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Chicken soup for the soul is a good one recommended on here a lot. You could always print that list and take it to your local pet store to compare it to what they have available. It doesn't really matter what brand the food is as long it's a good quality food and you have access to it. Get the smallest size they have or the sample size if possible to try it out. Some hedgehogs don't like the size or shape of particular kibble so it's good to test for a few days-weeks just in case. Mix a small amount of the new food in with his old food and gradually add more over time. so that in a few weeks you've completely switched over to the new food by phasing out the old food. Make sure to keep track of how much is eaten so that you know the hedgehog is actually eating the new food. Most of the time they switch pretty easily.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

To add to hedgielover's advice, some other popular brands among forum members are Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, and Innova. There's plenty of other good foods though, the main things to look for are 28-35% protein, 15% or less fat (unless he's skinny and/or a runner, then he'll probably need higher). For the ingredients the big things are a meat or meat meal for the first one or two ingredients and no corn.

For treats, some mealworms would be great! Other than that, I'd hold off a while before you introduce new things - a new food will be change enough. Once you have his food settled, you can try things like plain cooked meat, crickets and other insects, and safe fruits/veggies from this list - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19408

Also, I'd recommend that you and the other people taking care of him (saw your other thread on behavior) all download and read this book - http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files ... index.html It's written by a mod of ours, LizardGirl, and it's the best hedgehog book out there! Lots of information, most of it also on this forum, but well organized and with great pictures.


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## Dansie (Feb 3, 2010)

Lilysmommy said:


> To add to hedgielover's advice, some other popular brands among forum members are Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, and Innova. There's plenty of other good foods though, the main things to look for are 28-35% protein, 15% or less fat (unless he's skinny and/or a runner, then he'll probably need higher). For the ingredients the big things are a meat or meat meal for the first one or two ingredients and no corn.
> 
> For treats, some mealworms would be great! Other than that, I'd hold off a while before you introduce new things - a new food will be change enough. Once you have his food settled, you can try things like plain cooked meat, crickets and other insects, and safe fruits/veggies from this list - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19408
> 
> Also, I'd recommend that you and the other people taking care of him (saw your other thread on behavior) all download and read this book - http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files ... index.html It's written by a mod of ours, LizardGirl, and it's the best hedgehog book out there! Lots of information, most of it also on this forum, but well organized and with great pictures.


Ok, I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and try out one of those brands. I've picked out a few that sounded good from the list on here. Also, I am currently feeding him Vita Exotic hedgehog food and the bag is almost gone, should I buy more food so it's easier for him to transition into the new food? I don't really want to buy another bag of it because it isn't that great of food from what i've heard and it's almost gone already anyways, but he's never had any other food so I don't want him to be freaked out by the change since there are so many other changes going on also.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If you still have at least a little bit left, I would hold off on buying a new bag tomorrow - see what he does when you add in the cat food. A lot of times when you're switching from one of the worse hedgehog foods to a good cat food, the hedgehog will do an instant switch on their own. They refuse to touch their old food, and dive right into the new food. If he does that, you can just finish out the bag of hedgehog food and give him cat food. It'll probably make his poop green for a few days, but if he's doing the sudden change on his own, it's alright. You can try giving him some probiotics (small animal Benebac or human acidophilus, found in the pharmacy section near the vitamins) to help his system with the switch. 

If he's still eating some of the hedgehog food though, or seems reluctant to switch, then I'd suggest going back to the store for another bag of hedgehog food so you can continue with a slow switch. Whatever's leftover, you could see if you have a wildlife shelter nearby at all - they'd probably use it for opossums, I know we tend to use just general dog foods for our opossums at the shelter I work at. They don't need anything too fancy. :lol: If you'd rather get the money back, you could always see if the pet store would let you return an open bag, I know some can do that for open bags if there's at least half the bag left.


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