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Health Concerns Via Food

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Askeptosaurus 
#1 ·
Hi there. So I'm not a new hedgehog owner, but I don't think I'd call myself the most experienced one, either.

I have three hedgehogs of varying ages, two painted and one albino, and I'm concerned about the food I'm feeding them because of their stool. While the stool still has shape, it's light brown, it has bits in it, and it's a little more watery/slimy than I'd expect it to be. What I feed them is Spike's Delight, and I was wondering if that might have anything to do with it. I've seen mixed reviews on the brand after digging a little deeper, and have had some myself given that the first ingredient is chicken meal, but I'm not sure what food I should switch to, or if it's even an issue to begin with.

Can anybody recommend me some better foods to give to them, or tell me if I need to change at all? Is the stool normal sounding? (I'm sure this could've been posted in the health forum too, but it's a little bit of both and I wasn't sure where to put it.)
 
#3 ·
Not sure where you are located but brands like acana and orijen have been working well for me. Its what our 4 cats and 2 dogs eat usually. It is kinda spensive... Like... Around the $100 mark for a large bag... But pet planet here stocks little sample bags of acana for like... $3-$4 each .-. Its like 12oz or something silly. all the aminals seem to enjoy it and it was one of the healthiest things we could find (including ingredients you can pronounce like... Chicken, bison, fish!)
 
#5 ·
I would change it as hedgehog food isnt very good for them, cat/kitten even some dog and puppy biscuits are better.

Its more the ingridents and fat and protein % than the brand to be honest. Theres a stickie on here with what to look for in a food, also theres a list if brands on a differnt stickie, but I believe its just the brand.

I looked at the list of brands for the UK because thats where I live but I couldnt even find ONE brand they had mentioned, but could be to do with the area in UK.

So I looked at the nutritional guid and the advanced one and and then found foods by looking at the ingriedients. I honestly found this easier to find foods for Holly.
 
#6 ·
If you read the threads in the nutrition section you'll find a lot of information about what brands are good. It's really hard for us to say what brand you should feed because it depends on what's available in your area and what foods your hedgehog will eat. I could say my hedgehog eats brand X and does great on it but that doesn't help if your hedgehog won't eat it.
 
#7 ·
It’s funny because before I got my first hedgie (a couple months ago) I was researching what I needed and I picked up a bag of kitten food based on the percentages that were recommended on different websites I read. Then when I went to the exotics place they were extremely knowledgeable and told me that the Spikes Delight was specifically designed for the hedgehog’s nutritional needs and that was what all the ones she had were raised on. I ended up going with that and my Kit Kat loves it. So far no issues with her stool or anything. After repeatedly seeing people talk against the Spikes vs. cat foods on this site I brought it up to the exotics owner again the next time I went in for more bedding. She gave me the same info that Spikes is a very well made, balanced product for Hedgies. Needless to say, Kit Kat is still eating that as well as her dried fruit treats (she’s crazy for papaya) and freeze dried meat cat treats. She will not touch meal worms though...which is no skin off my back!
 
#9 ·
When I first got a hedgehog I bought likes... Tbh she was ok on it but when I changed she was better . Yes I still use it but only slightly in a larger mix....


Spikes is so readily available all over the UK and was meant for hedgehogs but the ones in the garden that's why there is a strong fat content... To help store fat for hybernstions and isn't as tailor made for aph . I had a person at pets 4 homes recommend it to me but she was basically qouting the packaging and I explained although the protein is close to needed other things are not and spikes was made for WILD European hedgies. She eventually admitted she didn't know she just assumed hedgehog good would be better and had learnt what the packaging reads and it seemed to reassure people . Hedgehogs are still new pets to stores etc so facts aren't always facts


It's not awful for your hedgie so don't worry. It's always more benefiting to feed a mix anyways so as to add nutritional variety ,.flavoueal variety and make sure if u run out of one food there is no issue as Ur little one is used to others . Free royal canin puppy, James webeloved tmcatfood turkey and spikes. I noticed when I made this change a long time ago poos changed (darken r slightly) as tiggy seemed to enjoy her food a bit more. I've never had a problem.wirh a hedgie with this mix . Find a mix that works for I would be my suggestion aph UK Facebook posts always recommend mixes etc and are quite anti spikes but I thinks that's a bit ott it's not harming them.
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#10 ·
Make sure "intended for hedgehogs" means the right type. If it's formulated for a European hedgie(the brown ones) it won't do for an African pigmy(the white ones). I have the african and for them I recommend one Indoor Cat food(for the fiber) and one small breed dog food(for kibble size and nutrition tends to have a wider variety of plant-based nutrients). Some good ones are Chicken Soup for the Soul indoor cat and Nutro Ultra Toy Breed respectively.
 
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