# Gave a Pet Store employee something to think about



## Katis228 (Aug 19, 2012)

I went to our local Pet Store yesterday to get Mal some mealies. Turns out this is the only pet store in my town that sells live mealies!! Anyway, Mal really appreciated the new treat and turned into a mealie hoover at the first sight of them. :lol: 

The employee who helped me out with the mealworms told me that she had a hedgehog too. Of course that leads to the small talk between hedgie owners. But then she said a couple of things that set off warning bells in my head. She said that her hedgie is fat (I'm wondering if she has a wheel), and will not eat the hedgehog food she has in her mix, and will only eat the cat food. I, of course, told her that her hedgie was smart (especially if she was feeding the hedgie food that the store sells) and that most people in the hedgie community recommend cat food that is high-ish in protein and low in fat. 

She then proceeded to tell me that she was thinking about getting a male so that she could breed them and have tiny babies. I thought I remained rather calm for all the thoughts that were going through my head. :lol: I then told her that breeding should never be considered lightly. She said she thought it was just as simple as putting the two together and then Voila! babies to fawn over she hadn't even thought about anything that could go wrong. I suggested that she first take a look at this community. And that she should first think of all of the health risks involved if she tried to breed them. 

Even if I just made her think twice about it, or take a peek this website, then I'm glad I talked with her. 

I hope she or her sister do take a look at this website. And if they see this thread, I'm glad and would give them a big HHC welcome.  I would be glad that she listened to a complete stranger, and is seeking out more information on a very tough subject.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Well as for the breeding situation you certainly did the right thing by saying something. As for the food, my hedgehog has done the same thing and it is because if you give a hog a choice between a food with 18% fat vs. 10% fat, guess which one they are going to choose! However, not all hedgehog food is terrible....it really depends. Some of them are just really low in fat (such as Sunseed VitaExotic) but the ingredients are not actually bad. I guess it is kinda like eating rice cakes vs. bacon! 
-Susan H.


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