# Bene-Bac



## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I want to get some benebac to feed to my hedgies. My boy has some gnarly squishy poos and makes a mess. Here's what I've found. Is it the right thing? 
http://www.amazon.com/Bene-Bac-Plus...=UTF8&qid=1347400403&sr=8-3&keywords=bene-bac


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

I'm interested in this answer too. You say squishy poo, but what is the healthy constancy for hedgie poo? Should it be really firm like rabbit poo? Fitz's seem to be "normal" as in they are all the same for him, but I think they might be a little soft in general sense. Is the only answer to this probiotics? Sorry for all the questions, I don't mean to hi-jack your thread Tabi.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I mean squishy as in light brown and smear easily. Normal poos should be dark brown and be able to pick it off the sofa without leaving a poop smudge


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

They should be fairly firm, definitely hold their shape, darkish brown (though the color can be various shades of brown depending on what they're being fed), and moist - not dry pellets like a rabbit. The most important part is that they hold their shape well. If they're a little softer than they should be, it might just be that the diet needs more fiber.

To answer the benebac question, I use it all the time. That one in particular is the probiotic + FOS, which is an extract of chicory that's included along with probiotics sometimes as a food source for the "good" bacteria. I haven't used the one with the FOS, but I can't see anything wrong with it either.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I could take a picture of his poo, but I'd feel weird about that. How can I give him more fiber?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Adding more insects to the diet that have a harder exoskeleton (like mealies, roaches, crickets, not waxworms or other soft bodied worms) helps a lot with added fiber. Just be sure to keep in mind how much fat is in the insects as well. Roaches and crickets aren't very fatty, but mealies are.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

LizardGirl said:


> Adding more insects to the diet that have a harder exoskeleton (like mealies, roaches, crickets, not waxworms or other soft bodied worms) helps a lot with added fiber. Just be sure to keep in mind how much fat is in the insects as well.  Roaches and crickets aren't very fatty, but mealies are.


What about darkling beetles ? (beetles the mealies turn into) I've given him some before. I'll add more mealies to his diet, and get him some dry crickets or roaches. I couldn't deal with live crickets >_< I can't purposefully cause harm to an animal, like pull their hind legs off. I don't mind feeding live animals because thats nature


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

LG covered the insect option.  Roaches and crickets are the better option because you can feed more of them at a time without worrying about the fat content.

Also, feeding live crickets doesn't require pulling the legs off - just a bin with tall sides.  

In general, you can include higher fiber dry foods in your mix. For instance, the two kinds of Chicken Soup I use are each 8% fiber, whereas some of the other popular brands (Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken, Natural Balance Green Pea/Duck) are closer to 4%. Grain-free cat foods tend to be low in fiber as well.

You can also supplement with vegetables that are particularly high in fiber - for instance sweet potato, pumpkin, beans, broccoli, spinach. In general, raw vegetables have more fiber than cooked ones, so veggies that are hedgie-friendly without having to be cooked/softened are a good choice.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

My food contains 3.5% so thats probably my issue. I'll get the crickets  eeek!


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

Also, Uno is rather skinny still. He runs like nobody's business which is annoying with his squishy poops! I'll give him some mealies! The fat content shouldn't be an issue for him :lol:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Oh, totally forgot about darkling beetles. Those are great too! They are bitter to most animals, but hedgies don't seem to mind them.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I gave him two beetles and a few worms. He gobbled them up


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

http://www.petco.com/product/102427/Hills-Science-Diet-Mature-Adult-Indoor-Cat-Food.aspx
I may add this to my mix with my blue buffalo chicken and rice. It has 10% fiber.

Or this. Better ingredients but only 5% fiber...
http://www.petco.com/product/114850/Innova-Low-Fat-Adult-Dry-Cat-Food.aspx


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

Are dry crickets like Tabi said ok? I'm not really feeling the live cricket thing but I wanted to try some insects and Fitz's breeder said he didn't like mealworms. I think I'll try more fiber before bene bac. His current food only has about 4% fiber. His poos can smear sometimes, but they pretty much hold their shape so it sounds like fiber might do the trick.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

Uno's poops are dreadful. his wheel is smeared with poo all over and stink up and I have to SCRUB it down every day


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

Yeah Fitz's don't seem quite that bad in comparison. I def have to wash his wheel every day but it seems about half falls off in litter and half gets smeared. And he doesn't get the poop boots like every mentions. Rather he just gets it stuck under his toe nails and smears on his feet and legs. Hearing how yours is, his poo seems soft but not _that_ bad. I'm glad you started this thread.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Benebac is great to use on occasion even if there are no poop problems. It's not like "medicine", it's just a probiotic, which is beneficial under any circumstances. I use it daily for those that are transitioning to new foods, and every few days for everyone else to help regulate their systems and promote general digestive health. 

Tabi - I'd stay away from Science Diet, period. It's really not good stuff. You can look around for foods with fiber more around 8% to include in your mix, I know there are some out there, but they're not necessarily all good quality. Off the top of my head the one I can recommend is Chicken Soup in either adult light (9% fat) or senior (13% fat). Both are 8% fiber.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

ktdid said:


> Are dry crickets like Tabi said ok? I'm not really feeling the live cricket thing but I wanted to try some insects and Fitz's breeder said he didn't like mealworms. I think I'll try more fiber before bene bac. His current food only has about 4% fiber. His poos can smear sometimes, but they pretty much hold their shape so it sounds like fiber might do the trick.


I wouldn't recommend freeze-dried crickets. There's been problems before of hedgehogs becoming constipated or having an impaction from freeze-dried mealies and with crickets already having a pretty tough exoskeleton, I'd be iffy on having them be freeze dried as well. If you don't want to deal with live crickets, you can buy a bag of live ones from the pet store (you can usually find them already bagged or have an employee bag some for you), stick them in the freezer overnight, then transfer them into a plastic container for storage. They only take a minute or two to thaw out for eating. If you want, you could also get a smallish plastic container (big enough for the crickets to move around a bit, but small enough to fit into a freezer) to take to the pet store and take it prepared with some carrots & veggies in it. Then ask the employees if they'll put 10-20 crickets in the container. Then you can leave them overnight to eat the veggies (gutloading with healthy stuff is preferable to whatever the pet store might be feeding them) before putting them in the freezer to kill them.


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

What about canned crickets like these? It says they are soft and cooked not freeze dried.
http://www.petco.com/product/7768/Zoo-M ... SiteSearch

If not I might try gut loading them and then freezing.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I think a few people have tried those. My only experience with them was a customer returning an open can and OMG the smell! :? :lol: They go bad after a few days, so you may want to freeze half the can or something if you try that route, to make sure you get a chance to use all of them.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I'm okay with live crickets >_< I'm just terrified of them if they get loose


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