# what to feed her



## ILOVElily (Dec 5, 2009)

hi, so my hedgie lily has been eating her commercial hedgie food with some cat food called royal canin is that high quality? i think it is but i am not sure could some1 recomend a specific cat food that is VERY good 4 her , i just want the best 4 her & i waz also wondering what is healthiest bug to feed her i do vary it but i was just wondering is there one? if so which 1???


thnx


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## Herisson (Jan 7, 2009)

Here is an excellent food chart Reaper created: 
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15
My hogs favorite is Natural Balance- reduced calorie cat food. His second favorite is Wellness Indoor. I give him a mix of both 50/50.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

My hedgies like mealworms and crickets for snacks..don't feed to many mealies your hedgie might get fat :lol: I give 2 a day for my smaller sized hedgies the big ones only get one a day :lol:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

If you want the best for her I would recommend not feeding any commercial hedgehog food.  The foods listed in the link above are all good quality.


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## ILOVElily (Dec 5, 2009)

oh thanx!!!  1 more thing so do you think it would be better to feed her live mealies or is it just as fine to buy dried up ones, or canned mealies??? cuz i dont really think i want to head up to the pet store every day . . . . . . . . .


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## Herisson (Jan 7, 2009)

Mine likes ZooMed canned crickets (large) and live meal worms. You keep them in a small tub in the refrigerator. It's really not as gross as it sounds.  :mrgreen:


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I raise my own mealies not very hard to do but since you only have one hedgie it's probably not worth the effort :lol: 
Alot of people use the canned ones I have heard they stink


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## Ariel (Oct 26, 2009)

Sophie gets two live mealies each night, but also has some canned ones that she doesn't like as much. While she'll eat them she definitely seems to prefer the live ones. The canned do have an odor to them, but it's not overwhelming or awful, just mildly unpleasant.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I personally think live is healthiest.

I also raise my own mealies. You can buy some live ones at the store and keep them in the fridge until your hedgie eats them all, if you want. The cold will prevent them from pupating and turning into beetles.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

LizardGirl said:


> I personally think live is healthiest.
> 
> I also raise my own mealies. You can buy some live ones at the store and keep them in the fridge until your hedgie eats them all, if you want. The cold will prevent them from pupating and turning into beetles.


Do the mealies have to be took out of the fridge and feed once a week to live?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I rarely put my mealies in the fridge, but from my experience no, they don't need to be taken out to feed. They should be fine for several weeks.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Sorry to take the thread but I did have a question too about the mealworms. I feed live mealies to my hedgehog and when I bought my latest container of them yesterday I noticed that there were the aliens mixed in with the mealies. I know from other threads that I have read that its one of their life cycle steps but wondered if its bad they were in with the other mealies. When I opened the container the mealworms look nice and healthy but there are a bunch of the shed exoskeletons and a good amount of the aliens. I was lucky and still had some from my old container but wanted to check in case it wasn't a good idea to give the new ones. Another question is are the Aliens ok to feed to them or is it not recommened? Sorry for all the questions but I really was unsure and was planning to bring them back if I couldn't find an answer tonight. I haven't found a thread yet that discussed it.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Yep, the pupae are fine to feed! A bit higher in fat and messier if spat out, but safe. :lol: 

Sometimes if the mealies are hungry they will snack on the pupae. Since they are in the fridge though, I wouldn't worry. If you want you can pick them all out and put them in a separate container to feed first, if you don't want them to turn into beetles. As pupae they do not eat or move (well, they can twitch, but that's about it).


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Ty Lizardgirl, this helps me out a ton  Now my eyes can take a break from all the reading lol


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## ILOVElily (Dec 5, 2009)

o and is there an important difference in super worms, meal worms and wax worms or can i feed them all to her ( i have been feeding mealies


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Superworms are similar to mealworms but not the same. Superworms are larger, have darker stripes, and pupate into different beetles (and more creepy looking ones at that :lol: )

Giant mealworms you should avoid as they are hormone enhanced to make them keep growing instead of pupating.

Waxworms are like little fuzzy white boogers. Squishy and fatty. Some hedgies love them, some don't like the texture. They are very high in fat though so they should be fed in extreme moderation or only to hedgies that need to gain weight.


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## ILOVElily (Dec 5, 2009)

ok i was wondering cuz everyonce in awhile i will give her a superworm my nearest petstore only has them, but she does like um better  
anyway i have heard u can give them crickets...alive....quick question, how the heck is a little stubby cute hedgehog gonna chase and leap 4a cricket :lol: ...i just cant see a hedgie doing that lol not becuz a crickets gross but bcuz how will a hedgie jump i have had a gecko so i know crickets jump. how wil a hedgie get a hold of it? 
has any of u fed urs a cricket? cuz i am really curious....do they chase it ? should i try to feed lily a cricket ??????


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Inky is pretty lazy and unless it walks right under his nose, he won't go after it. 

I freeze mine for 15 minutes, let thaw, and feed them dead. That was I don't have to worry about escapes and Inky isn't discouraged by having to chase them.


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## ILOVElily (Dec 5, 2009)

ok thnx


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