# What do you guys think about this food?



## zombiesatenine (Jan 9, 2012)

Do you think this food is acceptable? Also, where do you find little bowls for water and food?

http://www.amazon.com/Exotic-Nutrition- ... 43&sr=1-48


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I wouldn't feed it, nor suggest feeding it. Went to their website to get the ingredients -

INGREDIENTS: BLOODMEAL, SOYBEAN MEAL, GROUND CORN, CORN 
GLUTEN MEAL, WHOLE ROASTED SOYBEANS, TALLOW, CANE 
MOLASSES, DRIED BEET PULP, DRIED MEALWORMS, YEAST CULTURE, L. 
ACIDOPHILUS,S. FAECIUM, S. CEREVISIAE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, VITAMIN 
E SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, ZINC PROTEINATE, MANGANESE 
PROTEINATE, COPPER PROTEINATE, COLBOLT PROTEINATE, THIAMINE 
MONOITRATE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E 
SUPPLEMENT, ZINC OXIDE, BIOTIN, FOLIC ACID, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, 
PYRIDOXINE HCL, DEHY ALFALFA MEAL, PANTOTHENIC ACID, 
RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT. 

No actual meat and two of the five first ingredients are corn. It also looks in the picture like the dried mealworms are freeze-dried mealworms, which can cause impactions. This food's just like most of the other hedgehog foods - not good. A mix of at least two high quality cat foods would be a much better diet.

Bowls you can find literally anywhere! A lot of people have grabbed some from dollar stores, or stores like Walmart. Just make sure the bowl is low (1" sides would be the highest I'd get) and heavy (ceramic, glass, pyrex, etc.) so they can't be tipped over.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I wouldn't feed that to any creature, except maybe a duck.

I have a dipping sauce bowl from Target I picked up for $1.99.
http://www.target.com/p/Porcelain-Dip-B ... A-12647589


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## zombiesatenine (Jan 9, 2012)

Lilysmommy said:


> I wouldn't feed it, nor suggest feeding it. Went to their website to get the ingredients -
> 
> INGREDIENTS: BLOODMEAL, SOYBEAN MEAL, GROUND CORN, CORN
> GLUTEN MEAL, WHOLE ROASTED SOYBEANS, TALLOW, CANE
> ...


So what high quality cat foods should I get? Or what should I look for? (and thanks so much for saving me from buying that!)


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## zombiesatenine (Jan 9, 2012)

Christemo said:


> I wouldn't feed that to any creature, except maybe a duck.
> 
> I have a dipping sauce bowl from Target I picked up for $1.99.
> http://www.target.com/p/Porcelain-Dip-B ... A-12647589


Perfect, thank you!


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

There is a wonderful dry cat food list here on HHC:

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15

That should give you a good idea of what foods are the best for our little ones.

Personally I buy a mix of foods here from a really nice lady named Pat for my thinner guy because this is a regular fat mix:

http://web.me.com/cierrawolf/Site/Thistle_Dew_Hedgehogs.html

and this one for my fluffier guy because it is lower in fat:

http://dormanexotics.com/store.html <-- If you want the lower fat food you need to email Misty and request it because they also offer a regular fat mix.

To me you can't beat the price for all of the different foods you are getting mixed together. If you are only planning on mixing 2-3 foods and have plenty of room in your freezer to store the excess mix until you can use it, you can also go here: http://www.petfooddirect.com/ and pick out the foods you want using the dry cat food list I mentioned earlier and have it all shipped straight to your door.

Hope this helped a little!

~Katie


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

The food list Katie linked to is a good one, but here is another one in case you want to check out a more recently updated one 

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12755

Blue Buffalo, Innova, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Purina One Beyond, and Natural Balance are widely used brands here at HHC  Just keep an eye on the protein (35% or lower, some of us shoot more for 33% or lower as high protein is linked to kidney and liver issues) and the fat content is age and activity appropriate. Young hogs and marathon-runner hogs need a bit higher fat content (15-17% or so), while husky hogs need a bit lower fat content (19-12%). Fat content really is dependent on the individual hedgie so you'll need to figure that one out.


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## zombiesatenine (Jan 9, 2012)

I guess my question is how do I know which foods to mix? Do I just pick any two kinds or..? :?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

You want foods that are appropriate in protein and fat content for your particular hedgehog. 

Other than that, lots of us just aim for different meat flavors. For example, I have four foods in my mix. One is salmon, one is turkey, and two are chicken. A lot of times the name of the kibble will say flat out what meat flavor it is, but if it doesn't, look at the first couple ingredients.  

I know there is a specific brand that is popular because they only use lamb? Solid Gold maybe? Lilysmommy mentions that one from time to time to throw out some meat options beside chicken, turkey, and seafood.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yup, Solid Gold is lamb.  Natural Balance has a formula with duck too, which is nice, but that one is kind of hit-and-miss with most hedgies.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> Yup, Solid Gold is lamb.  Natural Balance has a formula with duck too, which is nice, but that one is kind of hit-and-miss with most hedgies.


And sometimes you'll get a hog like mine who eats it for months, then snubs it. :roll:

:lol:


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## zombiesatenine (Jan 9, 2012)

Thank you to everyone. you guys are life savers!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

hanhan27 said:


> Lilysmommy said:
> 
> 
> > Yup, Solid Gold is lamb.  Natural Balance has a formula with duck too, which is nice, but that one is kind of hit-and-miss with most hedgies.
> ...


Yeah, Lily did that too...I'm almost completely sure it's because they changed the formula or something, just enough to make it different for them. :roll:


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