[sarahomnia]

okay, so, i was wondering. if i buy one cat food that is salmon-based, should my other be based on a different meat, or does it really matter?

 

[azyrios]

hedgehogs are picky eaters, and sometimes will go on a strike towards one flavor. It is best to have different flavors available so there is always something to eat as an alternative. There are many good chicken based foods, and the Pea and Duck flavored Natural Balance is a hit among many hogs.

 

[sarahomnia]

Hector seems to like salmon, but I want to be sure that I am providing an adequate amount of nutrients. As for him being picky, so far he seems to put whatever edible items I put in his dish.

 

[azyrios]

i would personally go with a Wellness indoor cat formula or a Natural Balance Pea and Duck since they both contain omega fatty acids and flax seed to help keep his skin moisturized as well as provide other benefits. (if you wanted to add another food)

 

[sarahomnia]

That's why I've been going with the Salmon because it has omega fatty acids for the skin.

 

[azyrios]

if he is eating that, and it has less than 15% fat and more than 20% protien i don't think there is really any reason to change his diet. As long as he keeps eating that food and will continue to, congrats =D you got a not picky hedgie =p

 

[sarahomnia]

I found one salmon cat food that is 16% fat but has 40% protein. do you think the difference makes up for the extra percent of fat?

 

[Lilysmommy]

No, you wouldn't want to feed that food, regardless of the fat percentage. The protein percentage is a bit high for a hedgie. You don't really want any more that about 32% protein.

 

[Zalea]

I like to mix the foods up and get different things. I have salmon and chicken in my mix right now, and I'm hoping to add some lamb later. Try new foods one at a time, introducing only a little into the mix and see if the hedgie will eat it. If not, then don't add a bunch to the whole mix. My hedgie isn't a bit fan of the Chicken Soup brand, for example, but he'll still eat it so it's still in the mix.

Too much fish has been rumored to make poops really stinky (more than usual), so you might just want to stick to one salmon type if you can help it.

The percentages you should look for are 15% or less fat, around 30% protein (not much more that 34%), and one or two of the first three ingredients should be meat based. Reaper's list (located here: http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15 has foods that are completely suitable and meet those requirements.

 

[Reaper]

The list is just a starting point and it is still a good idea and I can't stress this enough READ THE LABEL and understand what it is telling you. For instance : Premium Edge cat food is made by Diamond. Diamond also makes Chicken Soup brands. So you know they make a quality product. Now if you look at Tyson raw chicken you will see it has 40% protein. And if you look at the Premium Edge you see the first ingredient is chicken. No problems so far. Now you see the label states it has 45% protein. How is this possible you ask? Well look further down the list of ingredients and you will see food fragments. Corn gluten meal to be exact. This is a way pet food companies can "improve" the mix. They can "artificially" raise protein levels. Now why is this bad ? Well there is a theory in feeding hedgies that too rich of foods can actually cause them harm. Specifically extremely high protein levels will "burn out" their kidneys. Very few actual foods a hedgie would eat in the wild would contain that high of protein. So you wouldn't want to feed a hedgie ONLY Premium Edge. A small amount in a mix may be ok. I fed it until I realized what it was and removed it from my mix. I just didn't want to risk it. I still use Chicken Soup however. And Diamond is one of the better pet food producers. The food fragment industry is what caused the recent massive pet food recalls. Someone in China decided that melamine added to wheat gluten would pump up the protein levels and companies would buy it up fast. This is exactly what happened. The problem is melamine is extremely toxic. So you have to look at everything when purchasing a food. This is why I will only put all natural foods on the list. Knowledge is the key to choosing a nutritious safe diet for our little ones.

 

[Toe]

Now if you look at Tyson raw chicken you will see it has 40% protein.

Well, you gotta remember that the figure on raw human chicken includes water. If you take that same chicken and dehydrate it, then the % protein would go way up, since the overall weight has decreased (no water) while the amount of protein has remained the same. Consider these freeze-dried chicken treats - 80% protein!

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod. ... tid=142326