# I gave my hedgehog lettuce - should I be concerned?



## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

I gave my guy lettuce figuring it is harmless and mostly water. I washed it like I would my own lettuce. He LOVED it. After reading other forums I see that some have disputed over it possibly carrying salmonella? Should I be concerned?


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## Hannah (May 15, 2014)

The breeder I bought my hedgehog from was very adamant about not feeding hedgehogs any sorts of fruits or vegetables. In fact, she said feeding fruits and vegetables to our hedgehog would void her health-guarantee. Your guy will probably be fine, but personally I wouldn't feed him any more lettuce.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

IMO, it's ridiculous to consider fruits & veggies a major health threat to hedgehogs. There's nothing wrong with offering the fruits & veggies that are safe unless they happen to have an allergic reaction to something, which is why you offer one new thing at a time, and in small amounts to begin with. Plenty of people feed their hedgehogs fruits & veggies with no problems.

That all said...I wouldn't be too alarmed about the lettuce personally. It seems like it's more a possible risk than a definite one, for one thing. For another, unless there's a ton of it on there, it doesn't seem likely that it would cause a major issue for him? I could definitely be wrong, but after all, hedgehogs can handle eating raw meat just fine, even our hedgies that no longer exactly wild. I wouldn't feed lettuce again either, but mainly because there's not much nutrition since like you said, it's mostly water. Too much of a water-heavy fruit/veggie can also possibly cause a bit of loose poop or diarrhea.


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## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

So he seems like he is doing okay. He did have slightly looser stool than normal, but nothing to worry about. It seems normal now.


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