# General Healthy Diet



## Hedgehog Swag (Feb 19, 2016)

New to having a hedgie and have one of the most spoiled little hogs around. Have been reading posts regarding diet and even saw a recent survey by a breeder asking owners opinion of diet and food. My question is how do we really know what is healthy or causing issues with hedgehogs excluding the obvious? I would assume, like all animals, health is based on many factors including weight, exercise, etc yet the focus seems to be on diet alone. Has there been studies on this or is just based on experience/opinions?

The reason I ask is Scrizzie started out enjoying Spikes but once she had her first live cricket and live mealworms she has almost gone on a hunger strike against Spikes and will only eat it as last resort and after a day of not eating. She also loves apple but gets that only once a week in fear of too much sugar.

Just curious if there really is any firm data on diet that takes into account all the other factors of a healthy animal.

Many thanks


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I don't know much but the general consensus here is that hedgehog food is crap. Cat food and dog food are better balanced to fulfill the dietary requirements of a hedgehog. 

There are people like Lillysmom who make the effor to have Bindi in a raw diet and it seems to work well for them, I wouldn't be able to do that dine Ichiro is very picky. 

There is some information on the nutricion stickies.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

We don't really have any firm research regarding hedgehog nutrition, and that's why "hedgehog foods" can get away with being mostly garbage. Based on my own experience and the stickies here, I developed my own personalized hedgehog diet, and that seems to be the best thing to do if you're concerned about nutrition. Unfortunately, this means you have to do a lot of reading, calculating, and testing foods to see if your hog likes them.

Here's the thread I started when I switched to a raw diet. It still contains some wet cat food, so it's a little easier to balance the ingredients. There are stats here for protein, fat, and fiber, plus a little bit more the further you read: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/129409-skink-hedgehog-chow.html

Definitely also look at this thread: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/128865-bindi-s-raw-diet.html

And these stickies: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/114530-advanced-nutrition-guide.html

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/26025-guide-insects.html

And that should get you started! If you feel lost, overwhelmed, or just unsure about something, let us know!


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## Hedgehog Swag (Feb 19, 2016)

Thank you for the replies! I also have read that many of the hedgehog food is crap and really wondering how we know that and how we know what is healthy considering all the variables and how we would know issues unless there was a study of causes of death. I was just worried that Scrizzie was too focused on live food versus Spike. The links were awesome and helpful.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

For what o have read here, hedgehog food is low quality and overpriced cat food repackaged. 

I haven't done any research or anything like that but follow the advise of the people mom here who have more experience.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

There are very few, almost no, studies done on hedgehogs in general, much less on hedgehog nutrition. As said above, that's how they can get away with being crap. We know it's crap by looking at the ingredients - if you do some research on pet food ingredients, you'll find out how poor quality they really are. I discuss it a little bit in the nutrition guides that FinnickHog linked above. I also really like this website for discussing ingredient definitions and the problems with the ingredients that are considered "crap" - http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

While there are no studies done, we do have word of mouth on some hedgehog foods. There have been numerous people that have rescued hedgehogs that had been feed foods like Vitakraft hedgehog food and Pretty Pets hedgehog food, and the hedgehogs are severely malnourished due to the poor quality of the foods. Spike's is considered the best hedgehog food that's available, but IMO, it's still not fantastic. Added to that, the price is much higher than for cat foods with better quality ingredients, which I think makes it pointless to buy. Some people still think it's better because it's made specifically for hedgehogs, but I think that's a silly reason to prefer something. Probably 75% of stuff (food, toys, other supplies) sold in pet stores for a specific animal is inappropriate or even downright dangerous for that animal. There have also been many situations where people have found their hedgie fed on hedgie food will jump straight to eating only a good quality cat food that's offered, & refuses to touch the hedgehog food anymore. While you can't always trust the animal's opinion (as most dog owners know... :lol, I think that does say at least a little something.

Regarding how we know what's healthy in terms of food & ingredients, I tend to look at where the product is coming from. If it's a byproduct of a human product, it's almost definitely going to have less nutrition and likely the main reason it was included in the food is a) they didn't find evidence it would kill Fido or Fluffy, b) they found something they could spin as a good reason to include it (adds protein, easy to digest, whatever), and c) it gave them a way to make money off an ingredient that would otherwise be waste. This is why brewer's rice, animal digest, unnamed meats & meat meals, unnamed fats, and numerous other ingredients end up in pet food. They don't have to be as choosey on where they get it if it's not named, due to how the AAFCO definitions work, and it turns a waste product into a profit. Doesn't mean they're going to be healthy for the animal, and as more studies not funded by those benefiting (the pet food companies) are done, we are finding that some of these ingredients are actually harmful. And I'll just add a couple last comments & then stop before I ramble on forever - First, just because it doesn't kill the animal doesn't necessarily mean it's good for them. We want our pets to thrive, not just survive on what we're feeding them. And second, part of why diet is such a big focus is because it really does have an enormous effect on the health of your pet - the hedgehog I just adopted was severely obese when she got to the rescue. She had a great wheel, big enough for her, and we've found that she does like to run on it now that she can. But her food was nearly 20% fat, which was way too high. It caused her to put on so much weight, despite her exercise, that she got to the point where she no longer could exercise. So yes, it is a good idea to look at other factors as well, such as exercise, mental stimulation, environmental factors, genetics, etc. But diet plays a very big part, and it's one of the things we can control. So it's up to us to give the best that we can.

(Okay, shutting up now, sorry. I get a bit nutsy about nutrition! :lol


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## EmersonTheHedgehog (Mar 20, 2016)

I highly recommend a raw diet! Emerson eats ****roaches which provide a vey high source of protein. He has greatly benefitted, and loves hunting for the little dubias!


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## Hedgehog Swag (Feb 19, 2016)

Appreciate all the great insight to diets. I am moving in the direction of providing Scrizzie an all fresh diet and so far so good as she does not seem picky except for Spikes which she is not thrilled at once she started eating live meal worms and crickets. Any thoughts on the Dubias roaches? I ordered some live ones and if the claims are correct they seem to promote they have higher protein levels than crickets and skeleton more easily digested. Not sure if it is just a sellers pitch or in fact they are better for the diet. Also was puzzled that if they are truly better and easier to keep alive than crickets why pet stores do not sell them?


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## Dumble (Feb 22, 2016)

Dubai roaches are illegal in a few states not many though and I believe all roaches except German and American are Illegal here in Canada. That may be why you are having a hard time finding them?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Besides legality issues, dubias breed a lot slower than crickets, so that drives the price up & makes it harder to find them for sale. Occasionally you can find smaller, specialized pet stores that carry them. I have one near me and I had one at home in Michigan that both carry them. But I order them online anyway because it's cheaper. You might also be able to find a reptile breeder or owner nearby that keeps their own colony & is willing to sell feeders for a cheap price. 

They are a healthier option than crickets though! The values I found list crickets at about 65% protein and dubias at 75%. Dubias are a bit higher in fat (21% versus about 14%), and they have similar fiber. If you don't want to deal with feeding them & keeping them alive, you can stick them in the freezer. That's also nice because then you can leave them in the cage for hedgie overnight. I freeze all of Bindi's insects except for her phoenix worms & mealworms.


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## Hedgehog Swag (Feb 19, 2016)

Thanks for the insight. I ordered over the web and they should be here in a couple days. Will be interesting to see how Scrizzie likes compared to crickets.


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