Hedgehog Food Drink and Treats

Food

Ahh, the question of "What do I feed a hedgehog?" This is a simple topic that is often made difficult by the wide variety of opinions that different hedgehog owners have. In the wild, hedgies are insectivores, meaning they eat insects. Insects to a hedgie are rather like meat to a dog, so consider a hedgehog a "meat eater" of sorts.

Several people will tell you that you feed a hedgehog... hedgehog food. This is NOT a good idea. Most, if not all, commercial hedgie diets are composed of filler ingredients. Fillers are something added to a pet food to boost the protein and fat percentage of the food, and often are used to make the food taste better. Fillers have no real nutritional value. Corn is the most common filler found in pet food. It's cheap, easy to obtain, and tastes sweet to your pets. Some other fillers are wheat flour, soy flour, corn gluten meal, ground rice and meat and bone meal. These are often used in generic pet foods. The exact same holds true for hedgehog foods. Their diet should NOT be made up of corn and other fillers. This is unhealthy. Corn is HIGHLY indigestible to hedgies, who should be getting meat as their top ingredients in pet foods.

Since hedgehog food doesn't meet nutritional needs, hedgehog vets and owners have found that a high quality cat food works best. Just remember these rules when looking for a brand to feed your pet The first two ingredients should be named meat. This means turkey, chicken, duck, etc. Named meal is also acceptable. No by-products of any sort should be found here

The top five ingredients are what really go into your pet food. No fillers, no by-products, no "meat and bone meal", no "animal digest", nothing that sounds questionable.

Protein content should be 30% or more, fat content should be no more than 10%

No BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin. These are chemical preservatives that are known to promote cancer.

No nuts or seeds should be in a hedgie's diet. Not only are they not needed, they can choke your hedgie.

Vitakraft hedgehog food is a NO! This is the most infamous brand out there, it's everything you don't want in a hedgehog diet. It usually goes by the name "Vitacrap". 

There are several cat foods recommended by hedgie owners Chicken Noodle Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul Felidea Innova Wellness Royal Canin Slim 37 or 38 Blue Buffalo Wysong <li>Solid Gold

All of these should be the "light" version for the lowest amount of fat. Too much fat in your hedgies diet can be hard on their liver, possibly resulting in Fatty Liver Disease.

Since none of these foods has been proven to perfectly satisfy your hedgehog's nutritional needs, it is recommended that a mix of 2 or more foods is fed. The most commonly suggested brands are Chicken Noodle Soup and Royal Canin Slim. It is also suggested that small amounts of Grape Nuts cereal or a bran cereal of sorts be added to the mix for extra fiber. A pinch of Missing Link, a vitamin supplement, can be given as well a few times a week if desired, though this is not necessary. Food should always be left in the bowl in case your hedgie gets hungry during the day and wants something to snack on. Any uneaten food should be thrown out every night. Most hedgies will eat around 2-3 tablespoons in a night, though some eat more and some eat less. You'll discover how much your hedgie eats after a while. If there's a lot of food left over the next night, cut back on it. If there's none or very little left, some more should be added. Keep trying this until you get just the right amount.

All staple foods should be kept in a low dish around 3 inches in diameter. Crocks and condiment bowls work well. Be wary of colored bowls from the Middle East as these sometimes have ink that can leak out. As a rule of thumb if the bowl is human safe, then the bowl is probably hedgie safe. Make sure the bowl has a heavy bottom so it can't be tipped over. If you have a mischievous hedgie that always tips over his bowl, you can glue it to a small tile and this should prevent anymore food tipping.

Treats

As with any animal, treats should be fed in moderation. That being said, a hedgie's favorite treat would be meal worms. These are actually a type of beetle larva that are commonly fed to some reptiles and fish. You can find them in pet stores or buy them in bulk online. Never buy superworms! Superworms are the large mealworms that stores sometimes sell. There have been stories of them biting the inside of a hedgehog's mouth and throat, thereby injuring them.

Crickets are another favorite. Place a washcloth over your bathtub drain, add hedgie and crickets and watch your little guy attack them. Their almost like mini tigers, stalking their pray and pouncing on it. Definitely worth a few dollars just to watch your hedgie chow down on a meal they catch themselves.

Some other treats that can be fed are  <li>Peeled apples <li>Cooked chicken <li>Fresh banana <li>High quality baby food (meat flavors work best) <li>Cooked turkey <li>Chicken and turkey sticks for toddlers <li>Scrambled egg <li>Yogurt <li>Silk worms <li>Pears <li>Baked potatoe <li>Cooked carrots <li>Peas <li>Pumpkin <li>Squash <li>Peeled grapes

As you can see, there is a variety of foods you can feed as treats. Just use common sense, if you wouldn't eat it, don't give it to your hedgie, and everything (with the exception of fruits) should be well cooked before given. Stay away from onions and citrus fruits; they are bad for your hedgie.

Water

Fresh water should be provided at ALL TIMES. There are two options when choosing a way to provide water for your hedgehog a water bowl or a water bottle. I'm personally against water bottle use. Water bowls allow a much more natural drinking position while bottles force your hedgie to strain their neck. Bottles can sometimes drip, causing a wet cage and hedgehog. Hedgies have also been known to chip teeth or cut their tongue on a water bottle spout. However, bowls can get bedding in them and need to be thoroughly washed every night. Bottles can go longer without washing, but I do not recommend going more than 2 or 3 nights. If you decide to use a bottle, make sure it hangs fairly low to the cage floor so your hedgehog can reach it. If you use a bowl, the same requirements for a food bowl go for this.

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