[Dana]

I just read where hedgies are lactose intolerant, but I could have sworn that I saw something, maybe on Nancy's website, about one of hers coming out to eat his cottage cheese??? What are some common treats you all give your hedgies? Ours is coming home tomorrow and I want to be as well versed on this subject as possible. I bought a combo cat foods and hedgehog food (current diet is hedgie food only) to mix while transitioning. The hedgie food is 15.4% fat - the only one they had. Is it bad to keep this in the mix once hedgie has adapted to the change in diet? The pet store manager said that hedgehog food has "important" things in it that the animals need, that cat food won't have????

Thanks for any help w/ these questions,
Dana

 

[azyrios]

they are lactose intolerant, but can eat small amounts of cottage cheese as a calcium suplement

 

[Lilysmommy]

It depends on the hedgehog food. Check out Reaper's post on hedgehog foods in the nutrition forum. If it's on the top half of the list, it's fine to keep feeding in a mix. If it's on the bottom half, it's not good for African Pygmy hedgehogs, and it's likely that the hedgehog will refuse to eat any more of it after being introduced to a good cat food. Make sure you do not feed any treats until after you are done introducing the hedgehog to the new cat foods, you want to be sure to catch any allergic reactions, and you don't want to stress him/her out too much by changing or introducing lots of things at once.

 

[Dana]

By treats, Lilysmommy, do you mean any treats or human food treats? I'm disappointed to say that the hedgie food is last on Reaper's list, so I guess I should return it and look elsewhere? It's Vitakraft...

Are mealworms treats? I think you or someone said to give these 3x's/week. The caregiver at the care center said she gave them to get the hedgie to stop rolling up when taken out.

Thanks,
Dana

 

[Nicole]

yes, mealworms are treats. I was the one who said to give them about 3x/week :lol:
definitely take the Vitakraft out, it's really bad for hedgies because it has things like nuts in it that a hedgie can joke on or it can get stuck in the top of their mouth.

 

[dorasdaddy]

Mealies can also be used as a positive reinforcement treat...Just give him one when you get him out for bonding time.....if you are going to feed more than one then just do that around 3x's a week...if he is a little under weight you can add a day, and if he is over weight subtract a day. Each hedgie is different when it comes to diet requirements, that is why there is such a great variety of foods.

And i agree with everyone else, take the vitakraft out immediately.

 

[Dana]

OK, so I'll take back the Vitakraft. What if I can't find any other hedgie food? I'll check around, but we're getting her in the morning - have a 10:00 appt. time w/ the adoption counselor, so not a lot of time when I get my tribe of three + me rolling in the morning. Should I ask for a cup of their current food to mix w/ the Wellness? Would it be awful to skip the hedgie food altogether if their food is also Vitakraft? I won't risk choking.

Thanks for all the help,
Dana

 

[Immortalia]

It would be best to ask them what they are currently feeding, as it's usually better to slowly wean hedgies to new food....Unless it's a total crap food, and the hedgies themselves know well enough to quit it cold turkey when given the choice of a better food.

If you can, yes, ask for a sample bag of it, mostly just to have enough for you to wean your hedgie onto a new food.

 

[dorasdaddy]

I wouldn't recomend feeding hh food at all....the foods on reapers list are so much more benificial...hh foods are junk food at best, but they really have no nutritional value....just an over priced junk food really

 

[Reaper]

Vitacrap should be removed immediately in any circumstance for an African hedgie. The pet store manager is wrong. There is NOTHING in hedgie food not found in cat food with one exception. Sunseed has chitin in it which is an insectivores natural fiber. Fiber is basically indigestible substances creating roughage for the digestive tract. If you read the labels and learn what every ingredient is you can show the pet store manager there is no difference. However some cat foods contain much more natural and wholesome ingredients. That is why most enlightened hedgie owners feed high quality cat foods instead of hedgehog foods.

 

[Dana]

Thanks again, everyone! We're on our way to pick up "Spikarina" now! Will continue my quest for the best diet for her w/ your help!

Dana