# What kind of fruits/vegetables can hedgies eat?



## TaraKathleen92

Well I'm new here.  
I've had my hedgehog, Cocoa, for over a year and a half now. She eats "Chicken Soup for the Kittens Soul" kibble and i put about a tablespoon of hedgehog food (contains meal worms, shrimp meal and all that fun stuff in tiny little pellets). Anyways, I feed her the same stuff every night but I want to introduce new vegetables or fruits maybe every second night. She does sometimes gets the occasional turkey or chicken if we have it for dinner. I've fed her some meal worms in the beginning but I actually have to hand feed it to her and trick her into eating it, lol. 
I know she'll eat watermelon and a little apple if I give it to her..and raisins also. She loves those but I read that they can get stuck at the top of their mouth and can possibly choke on them because raisins are so sticky, so I took her off those. 
I don't try her on new foods that often because then she has really runny stool the next day and I'm not sure if it makes her feel icky in the tummy or anything.
What fruits or vegetables are safe to eat? :roll: 

Thanks,
Tara (and Cocoa)


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## lehaley

I'm glad to hear that you stopped feeding her the raisins. In addition to being a choking hazard, grapes are toxic to hedgehogs. I believe it has something to do with an inability to properly digest them, which is a problem for a lot of small animals and dogs as well if I remember correctly. Since raisins are just dried up grapes, I would assume that they're probably not a good idea either.

As far as things hedgehogs CAN eat, it really seems to be trial and error. A lot of people have had success with baby food. My hedgie Felix is extremely picky about fruits and veggies, but he seems more interested in them when they're baby food. Usually I try to give him little bites of things that I'm cooking for myself. I just make sure that they're unseasoned and plain. That way I'm not spending tons of money on foods that he refuses to eat. :roll:


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## moxieberry

What they can eat is generally a longer list than what they will eat. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but off the top of my head, here's a decent sized list:

Can eat (safe):

apple
carrot (cooked; too hard when raw, except possibly as thin salad-style shavings)
banana
melon (watermelon tends to be popular, but keep in mind it's pretty much all water/sugar; generally best used in moderation)
sweet potato
squash
peach/nectarine
plum
pear
cherries
strawberries (and other berries, though it's recommended to remove the skin from blueberries)
dandelion greens
peppers (obviously not spicy ones; green/yellow/red bell peppers are good)
asparagus
green beans
cucumber (pretty much all water, little nutritional value)
spinach
zucchini
broccoli 


Cannot:

grapes/raisins
anything citrus or too acidic (includes the obvious, orange/lemon/lime/grapefruit; also pineapple, tomato, pomegranate, kiwi)
anything seasoned
certain herbs (because of potentially harmful medicinal properties; best to either do research on a particular one before offering it, or just don't bother with herbs in general)
garlic
onion


Safe, but not particularly healthy choices (use your best judgment/moderation):

peas (high sugar content)
corn (same as above, not digested well)
avocado (high fat content)
anything canned in salt water (small amounts if at all; there are a lot of good fresh produce options, so you might as well just avoid this entirely)
anything canned in sugar water/syrup (same as above)


Skin should be removed where applicable, to avoid possible choking. Dried fruits/vegetables should be avoided because they're difficult to chew and digest, and especially with fruits, the drying process essentially condenses the sugar content.

Carrots definitely should be cooked; that applies to some of the others also, just use logic.


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## kiffehz278

hello, is it okay if i don't use cat foot at all? as in i just feed him fruits/veggies and meal worms? I've looked through all the pet stores in my town and they sell cat food made with Meat by product and i read it's not good for them.


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## Lilysmommy

No, that wouldn't be a complete, balanced diet. It would be better for you to use a cat food that doesn't have great ingredients than to feed a diet that isn't balanced. Unbalanced diets can cause a LOT of health issues in the long run.

Where do you live? There are some websites you can order pet food on, but shipping may be expensive if you're in a country other than the US/Canada. There's a list of websites at the bottom of this sticky - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html

If you do eventually want to do a homemade or raw diet for your hedgehog, please do TONS of research first. There's a lot to consider to make sure you're not missing anything important in the hedgehog's diet. There's some people that are feeding raw or home-made diets with their threads all linked to in here - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23066-raw-home-cooked-diets.html Most of them are using a commercial raw diet as the main part of the diet though, which may not be a huge help to you.

Also, welcome to the forum.  And just a note - this thread is over 2 years old, and we try to keep people from bringing up old threads again. It'd be better for you to start your own thread for other questions.


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## flyingsushi

Are blackberries okay for hedgies?


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## sadsofia

*Hedgehogs need a home, NJ*

Hi there, we have two adorable females (mother and daughter). Unfortunately we are moving and can't keep them. We don't want to sell them because we want to make sure they go to an experienced hedgehog lover and we don't want them to be separated. The mother is almost two years old and the daughter is 6 months old. Any ideas or suggestions? thanks (we are located in northern NJ).


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## DesireeM81

Hi, you will want to start your own thread, either in the classified section or maybe in general questions. Tacking on to an older thread will really confuse people. Good luck with your little ones.


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## Texas_Hedgie

SadSofia - I don't know what breeder you got your two hedgies from, but I know that the ones I got my Artemis from have a paragraph in their contract about returning Hedgehogs to them if for any reason we couldn't keep them. 

I would definitely check with your breeder and see if they can either take your hedgies or help you rehome them.


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## Draenog

Texas_Hedgie said:


> SadSofia - I don't know what breeder you got your two hedgies from, but I know that the ones I got my Artemis from have a paragraph in their contract about returning Hedgehogs to them if for any reason we couldn't keep them.
> 
> I would definitely check with your breeder and see if they can either take your hedgies or help you rehome them.


You're replying to a post from 2014.


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## MsJosieJaii

Questions. Can your give hedgie a gooseberries?


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## Mr.Pricklesworth_Hedgehog

I don?t know the answer, but please make a new thread and refrain from posting on old ones


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