[Zalea]

The breeder I purchased Quentin from had him on a mix of foods that I wasn't fond of so I decided to switch him (the ingredients were horrible). He's doing great with the transition, but now that he's off her mix pretty much entirely his poops are softer--not diarrhea soft, but softer than the presents he used to leave behind for me. I gave him a little canned pumpkin, thinking he might be able to use a little fiber, and it firmed back up that night only to be softened again the next. He's acting as healthy as ever, the poops are normal color, and he is eating like the little hog he's always been, so I don't think he's sick. The breeder had a dog food in her mix, so I'm wondering if maybe he's lacking a little bit of fiber now that he's off of it after he'd been eating it most of his young life.
I stopped by the store today and looked at some different dog foods. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul looks really good. It has a little bit higher fiber content than cat food does, and the ingredients/nutritional values look great--I think it actually looks a little bit better than the CS cat food. The kibbles themselves are a little bigger than his normal food, but they're a pretty flat kibble and not huge round.
Here's the nutritional analysis:

Crude Protein 20.0% Minimum
Crude Fat 6.0% Minimum
Crude Fiber 8.0% Maximum
Moisture 10.0% Maximum
Sodium 0.3% Maximum
Zinc 150 mg/kg Minimum
Selenium 0.4 mg/kg Minimum
Vitamin E 300 IU/kg Minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids * 2.2% Minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids * 0.4% Minimum
L-Carnitine * 40 mg/kg Minimum

Ingredients
Whole grain brown rice, chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, millet, powdered cellulose (a source of fiber), egg product, potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, duck, salmon, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

I was just wondering if anyone has fed the dog version of Chicken Soup to their hedgies before, or if maybe I'm missing some glaring reason that it's not commonly fed. (Probably just paranoia I always want to get opinions first about what I feed him).
And also, I was wondering if that amount of fiber might help if it becomes part of his daily diet.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Nancy]

The formulations in dog food are fine for hedgehogs but the reason it generally isn't fed is because dog food is usually a larger and harder kibble and more difficult for our hedgehogs to eat. Some people that feed dog food, get the brands for small dogs and toy breeds because it is smaller kibble size. Of course, breaking it into smaller pieces is also an option providing it's not a really hard kibble.