# On carbs



## Bowsy (Nov 13, 2013)

I am writing this post because I have been pondering hedgehog nutrition for a long time now, and I have serious concerns regarding the food we give to our pets (in terms of both health risks and weight control).

If we take for example a food that seems to be widely recommended on this forum, *Chicken soup for the pet lover's soul (adult light cat formula)*, we can discern the following components from the official website:

protein: 32%
fat: 9%
moisture: 10%
fiber: 8%

One vital aspect that virtually no one seems to take into consideration is the carb content, perhaps because it's never explicitly indicated on the labels. With this particular food, simple math *indicates a carb content of approximately 40%*, which is very high (and this is the same for most/all dry cat food)! Notwithstanding the questionable suitability of dry foods for cats themselves, everyone seems to agree that the only carbs hedgehogs would eat in their natural diets would come from the following sources: a few berries, mushrooms, some leafy vegetables, stomach contents of insects / small animals they would eat. Therefore, it seems that the carb contents of a hedgehog's diet would really not exceed 15% in nature. People seem to generally recommend a low-fat diet for overweight hedgehogs (or even in general) without taking into account that the reduced fat is actually replaced by carbs, which are also highly energetic. From experience with human diets (think coca-cola, pizza, pasta, potatoes), high-carb foods tend to result in weight gain by causing an elevated insulin response and a surplus of easily consumed calories. Conversely, I challenge you to gain weight by eating only blocks of butter. That's virtually impossible because the body's satiety mechanism (i.e. leptin) regulates very well for fat intake, except in the presence of excessive insulin (i.e. elevated sugar consumption). Of course, hedgehog biology is not identical to human, but, as omivores, shouldn't be that different either.

What I'm suggesting is that the so-called tendency of hedgehogs to easily gain weight might be attributable to an unnatural diet containing way too much carbs. The reason why using lower-fat foods is effective in reducing an overweight hedgehog's weight is because of portion control and caloric restriction, not because fat is inherently fattening. In my opinion, with a higher-fat food content (closer to natural conditions), most hedgehogs should be able to self-regulate, as all living creatures are designed to do in their intended conditions. [I will not discuss here the issues of human obesity, but my belief is that in this modern world we are facing similar challenges to hedgehogs]

I am also very worried about the potential impact of carbs on other hedgehog health factors such as cancer. A few months ago, my Bowser died of a lymphoma at 2 years of age, which was incredibly hard to swallow. Generally, it is not uncommon to hear hedgehogs referred to as "tumor factories", but is that necessarily an unavoidable truth? It seems very strange to me that so many hedgehogs die of cancer. In my opinion, it's worth a shot to recreate conditions much closer to the natural diet of a hedgehog. I am getting a new hedgie girl in a few weeks, and I intend to switch her to a raw-frozen commercial diet (Nature's Variety Instinct), which to me seems much healthier, compared to dry food that has been heavily processed with carbs to hold everything together. As the health improvements observed on dogs and cats when switched to a natural diet are remarkable (better health, less dry skin, nicer fur, more energy), I am very optimistic as to the impact on our hedgie friends.

In any case, I would be very happy to know your thoughts, and looking forward to a discussion on the oft-overlooked topic of carbs.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'll be interested to read if anyone has further information or opinions on this.  I love reading about animal nutrition. I know Kalandra has posted before about how she has used a high-protein, low-carb diet with her hedgehogs that have cancer since carbs feed cancer. Other than her mentions of it, it's not a thing I've seen discussed on the forum before in the time I've been here.

There are a handful of people that have been feeding their hedgehogs a raw or home-cooked diet though - there's links to their threads on the Raw/Home-made Diet sticky in the nutrition forum, just in case you want to message them & see how their hedgies are doing with their diets. If I remember correctly, at least one person was using Nature's Variety as part of their diet. Feeding raw or homemade is a diet I definitely look forward to researching more and trying once I can have hedgehogs again. From minor reading with other animals (ferrets, cats, dogs), it sounds like a much more preferable way to feed animals! If you're willing, it'd be fantastic if you'd update with how your hedgies do with the Nature's Variety. There's other people that are curious about trying a raw or home-made diet for their hedgehogs, but are just a bit hesitant with how little information there is out there regarding how hedgehogs do with it. The more shared info and stories we get from those that are willing to make the leap, the better!


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## Bowsy (Nov 13, 2013)

Thanks a lot for your feedback, Lilysmommy! I carefully read all the threads about raw / hollistic diets, and used them to refine my understanding on the topic. I also tried to contact Amlinals and lessthansign3, who were already resorting to a raw commercial diet. Unfortunately, it seems they're both no longer active on HHC. I know that Amlinals at least was reporting very encouraging results with her hedgehog Astrid on Nature's Variety for about a year. Hopefully, they'll both rejoin here eventually. Regardless, I am very determined to follow through with this, and I will be sure to share my experiences with all of you. For me, the risks with the current nutrition by default are too high not to try something better. I just feel this is an issue that really needs to be addressed, and could potentially lead to dramatic quality and length of life improvements for our favourite friends.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

I am interested in this too. My first hedgehog was on Pretty Pets when I first got her. After reading about how poor this food was I put her on a mix of high quality cat foods. She gained weight and became obese eventually. She never did lose weight and eventually died of a mammary tumor at age 3.5.
I now have another hedgie and she was doing well for quite a while weight wise but has begun gaining weight since last summer. She now is 575grams. She can still roll into a ball and whatnot, but it is the fact she's gained 200 grams in short order that has me concerned.
If you look on the home page of this site, there is an old article which discusses giving overweight hedgehogs a higher fat food - for the reasons that you have described rather than low fat. I have to wonder if that is not the logical solution. or, to just feed an entirely different diet. I am going to look in to the food you mentioned and read up on it. Thanks for any updates on what you decide to feed and how it goes.
-Susan H.


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