# Feeding actual meat



## phoenixjay (Nov 18, 2014)

I'm a vegetarian, but I don't force my pets to eat vegetarian if they need meat. I actually hate when I hear horror stories about cats being starved to near-death because their owners tried to feed them vegan. However, things like chicken or turkey are realistically things I will never have around. If I have to get them, I will, but I would rather not if my hedgie will only eat a small bit of it. 

Is it okay to not feed my hedgehog physical meat out of a package? I have high quality cat foods that include meat or meat meal, and I plan to get mealworms. I told my boyfriend that if he ever wants to bring over little bits of cooked, unseasoned chicken, he can do that. Plus, because I'm a vegetarian, I don't really cook meat that well because I really don't know how. If Moyo doesn't ever get fed something like chopped chicken, will it be bad for his health?

Again, I recognize that hedgehogs need meat even if I don't. This is just the little grey area I want to clarify. If it's recommended that he should have physical meat, I'll get it and learn how to cook it. If it isn't necessary, I'll go with the plan I have right now.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It's not required to feed whole meat or anything like that.  They're mostly treats, though it's not a bad thing at all to include as a regular part of the diet. If you do want to be able to give your hedgie treats without having to buy a package of meat just for him, baby food might be a good option. You can get however many jars you want, and once opened, you can freeze what's left in an ice cube tray & store in a bag in the freezer so you only need to thaw out small amounts at a time. I used baby food for Lily. She liked it and it was simpler and less wasteful for me to deal with. But if you don't want to, it won't harm him.  In my opinion, it's more important to give insects as regular treats/part of the diet than meat, so if you can give him those, that would be even better.


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## sc2001 (Oct 12, 2014)

I think your hedgie will be fine not eating meat  

As long as his cat food mix has various types of proteins in it and he gets some type of insect to eat he will be fine. You can vary his diet on other ways that don't include raw/cooked packages meats.

But it's nice to hear that your boyfriend can bring meat over once in a while


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## phoenixjay (Nov 18, 2014)

Thank you! I'll get some meat baby foods then! I'm going to try introducing mealies after a few weeks so he can get used to me first. His breeder doesn't give him any type of insects, so I want to start slow.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm a vegetarian too, have been all my life, so I don't really know how to cook meat either. :lol:

I feed my hedgehogs a mostly raw diet which includes meat too. I feed them raw meat, I buy it at the pet store. It's in these sausage packages and contains organ meat, muscle meat and ground bones.


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## Nick120180 (Oct 27, 2014)

No need to start slow with insects. Best get them used to them when they are young. Insects are such a staple of their natural diet that they should definitely make up a chunk of a captive diet. Mine gets a mixture of insects per week and loves them. He is not overweight, very active with no dry skin. I feed locust, ****roaches, mealworms and associated beatles.

Good exercise / stimulation, putting live insects in a bath or high sided play area for him to chase


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm vegetarian too.

I feed Nara meatballs made with babyfood meat along with kibble.

Recently, I have added a pet food--meat/veggie food from the Honest Kitchen, which is dehydrated meat and vegetables that you add water and mix. It's human grade food. You can get samples for about a dollar each. You can try the cat or dog, since it's a powder, there aren't any food size concerns. They also have the veggie portions that you can add your own meat or protein source to.

Try it, I know other hedgies won't eat it, but Nara seems to enjoy it.
Lol--I DO know how to cook meat because I have been vegetarian for about 6 yrs now. The rest of my family are carnivores. I can cook a steak better than my husband.


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## PennyRosa (Mar 2, 2014)

Heheh! I'm a vegetarian too, guys! Since birth.

Is there some correlation between hedgehog owners and vegetarians?


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## phoenixjay (Nov 18, 2014)

I dunno  I used to be a meat-eater but I never actually cooked anything myself. Except chicken one time, and I had help. I don't remember how to do it. My brother is a carnivore to the soul. It's funny. We were on vacation and he was chowing down on nothing but meat, so I put a green bean on his plate as a joke. He looked at it, and then went "it's not your fault you're a vegetable." Then he proceeded to roll it up in meat and eat it. :lol:

Btw, all of these ideas sound great. And thank you for the suggestion with the bugs. I'll try earlier. He might not want it though, but I can try.


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