# Purina Kitten Chow, yes or no?!



## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

I just bought a small bag of Purina Kitten Chow to mix in with Vita Prima Hedgehog formula, because he didn't seem to be eating a lot of the formula. I noticed he's having trouble chewing and breaking up the kitten chow, is this okay for his teeth? I normally mix in half a strawberry and some mealworms into his food as well. Also, his bowl is a decent size and I give him two tablespoons of each food (hedgehog formula and kitten chow). Is this too much? Should I cut back to one tablespoon of each, or even one teaspoon of each? I feel awfully weird with his bowl so empty, but if I'm over-feeding him then I will cut back if needed.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Neither of those foods are good. 
Here is the nutrition basics http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html
Read that first. 
Here is a post where I basically broke down the kitten chow. 
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...-thoughts-purina-beyond-natural-cat-food.html

Is there a reason you picked that particular food? Every food in a mix needs to be there for a reason. It needs to alter the nutrition, add another protein, balance something out ect.


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## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

twobytwopets said:


> Neither of those foods are good.
> Here is the nutrition basics http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html
> Read that first.
> Here is a post where I basically broke down the kitten chow.
> ...


I picked Purina kitten chow because I have read other posts on this site, where people have expressed that Purina or Wellness kitten chow was a good brand of cat food to feed your hedgehog. This hedgehog was a present from my sister and she bought the hedgehog formula. I noticed he wasn't eating a lot of the hedgehog food so I decided to buy some kitten chow and see how he liked that, and if he ate any more of that than the formula. And alright, I will take a look at those posts! Thank you


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

You've had him what 4 days now? What was he eating before you got him?


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## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

twobytwopets said:


> You've had him what 4 days now? What was he eating before you got him?


Yes, four days. And I'm not exactly one hundred percent sure, I would have to ask my sister if she knew what the breeder was feeding him. The breeder didn't give us the food she was feeding him. She gave us no materials, we had to buy everything for him.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Get ahold of the breeder and find out what food the hedgehog is used to. Chances are, he will eat that much easier. Then once he's settled back on his old diet, if you need to make changes, you can do it from there.


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## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

Okay, I will contact the breeder right away! Thank you for the help


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## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

twobytwopets said:


> Get ahold of the breeder and find out what food the hedgehog is used to. Chances are, he will eat that much easier. Then once he's settled back on his old diet, if you need to make changes, you can do it from there.


Turns out the breeder fed him Purina One Chicken and Turkey dry cat food. Should I buy some of this and mix it in with something new? What are some good hedgehog food brands or even cat/dog food brands that I can feed him?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I would get some of that & keep him on just that food for at least a week or two. Let him finish settling in at your house & getting used to his new home and owner without having any other changes.

Once he's had that time to settle in, I would recommend switching him to a mix of two higher quality foods. Purina One is definitely better than Cat Chow, but still not fantastic, IMO. No hedgehog foods - they all have horrible ingredients, some worse than others. Cat foods tend to be easiest as dog foods almost always have to be broken up for hedgehogs. If you check out the threads that Twobytwo linked earlier, they explain what to look for in a food and what ingredients to avoid.  There's also a thread at the top of the Nutrition section that has a list of some commonly found brands that would be suitable. Make sure when you switch that you go slowly - it should take 2-4 weeks to introduce one food and you want to go one food at a time to avoid upsetting his stomach.


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## lmaoemily (Dec 22, 2015)

Okay, thank you so much! I will look into those links and good brands for my baby boy  Also, is a water bowl better than a water bottle? He's been drinking from a water bottle when he was with the breeder. I noticed that he got his quills stuck in the bottle once, and that concerned me. Should I try switching to a bowl in about 4 weeks maybe, when he's more adjusted to his new life?


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Bowls are better than bottles. That's something you could switch now.


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