Best food

[Smoogy]

Hello!

I am wondering what would be the best food for a baby hedgehog to get use to. I have very little experience with feeding them, I had rescued one last year, and I put him on Chicken Soup for Cat Light, but I am not sure if that is the best to give him...What ar eyour suggestions? I am in Alberta, Canada...

Thanks!!

 

[smhufflepuff]

I'm not sure that there's a single best food for hedgies... though, depending on how young he is, you'll want to look for something small like Royal Canin Kitten - they're a bunch of tiny x's... very baby friendly.

Beyond that, most people tend to use a combination of a couple/a few different high quality cat kibbles - Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul light works wonderfully for a number of hedgies. It's among my girl's favorite kibble. A few others I can think of off the top of my head are: Wellness light or indoor cat, Felidae, Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken...

How old is your baby?

 

[Smoogy]

Thanks you smhufflepuff!

My baby is as now... unborn! The litter is due any time now (breeder tells me she started last night making her nest with sawdust! ). I will be fetching it in Montana when they reach 8 weeks I believe.

So, if I start it off on Royal Canin Kitten, how long should I keep it on the small kibble? Only a few weeks? A few months? A year?

And then, if I then, when the time is right, wean it off the Royal Canin Kitten and put it on CSftCL Soul light,and keep it on that for the rest of it's long (lets hope!!) life, it will be a good choice?? I know CSftCL Soul is available very close to me. Wellness I might have to order through the store, and I haven't heard of the others - maybe they are not available in my area...

And, when and how should I introduce insects to it? I have a HUGE fear of bugs and anything that jumps or crawls and is not a cute furry animal... Is it as nutritious to feed freeze dried insects? Haha, I am less scared of those XD

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[smhufflepuff]

Ohh... a baby yet to be born

At 8 weeks when you go to get your hedgie, hedgie will have been weened onto whatever kibble the breeder has selected. Since things will be changing a lot for your baby (new human, new routine, new cage, new toys, new scents in the air, new schedule, new everything), you'll want to keep the food stable. Start your little one out on whatever the breeder has been feeding him/her. Some breeders will send their little ones home with a bag of food - some automatically, some only if you ask.

Find out what that is and make sure you have a way of getting it. If it's the kind of food you want to keep feeding your baby, that's great. If it's not, then slowly introduce the new food over the course of a few weeks.

I've read differing opinions about when to change from baby food to adult food... My baby was already on adult food when I got her around 6 or 8 weeks... so that would be like 1-2mos in one breeder's opinion. But, I've read 6 months or a year may be preferable. Nancy, who's on this board, is an experienced & knowledgable hedgie breeder - I'd follow her recommendation if/when she chimes in.

In terms of hedgie's adult food... Yep, CSCLS-light is a good choice for many hedgies and is likely to be a good choice for yours. Though, depending on your hedgie's activity and metabolism, you may need to adjust. For example, you might find yourself with a marathon runner who needs some extra calories - in that case, you'll want to mix in a higher-fat food and/or feed plenty of mealworms/waxworms. But you'll only discover these things as hedgie grows up.

I'd stay away from the freeze dried mealworms - they can cause some gastrointestinal issues. Don't worry about the insects for few weeks after hedgie settles in. You'll want hedgie to feel at home, be stable on his/her kibble before introducing live ones. Mealworms won't jump at you and you can pick them up with tweezers Of course, if hedgie is already eating these at the breeders... you can continue feeding them. You might also find out that hedgie does not care for them. I have one hedgie who has decided crickets are best for sitting on and another who runs away from mealworms. In contrast, the cricket-sitter looooves mealworms; haven't tried crickets for the mealworm-runner.

 

[charlie]

CSFTPLS lite is great for hedgehogs and you can switch to that very slowly from what the breeder provides. You may want to mix another kind in as well to provide some more nutritional balance (what one won't have, another might). This will also provide some assurance for you in case you need to stop giving the CSFTPLS for any reason (maybe it can't be shipped or it is recalled). Pick another high quality food to mix in. Again, this must be done slowly.


As a personal preferrence (and what has worked best for me and others) - I would wait at least a week after having her/him in your home so that he/she can adjust to all the other changes before you start slowly switching to a new food. Use what the breeder gives you (I'm assuming it is appropriate) in the meantime.

Furthermore, I would also wait until the kibble switch is well underway before introducing any other new food such as mealworms, chicken, steamed veggies and other items that are suggested in the Food FAQs. Hedgehogs in general can have sensitive tummies.

On a side note, if you are crossing the border and planning to bring an animal back, make sure you have the necessary approvals in place. CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) can help guide you on this.

 

[Smoogy]

Thanks to both, for all the info!

First, I want to assure you that the border has been called a month ago, and all info was cleared with them that, as long as baby looks healthy, it will be no problem to take in. I have, fortunately for me, thought of that lol

After reading, i realized I did not know what the breeder feeds... I went snooping. She states on her website she feeds Purina Indoor Cat food. Personally, hate the brand! Can't stand it... but I will still do what is recommended then : keep it on for, lets say a week after arival, then start the switch to better food. I know the importance of slow switch, but is 2-3 weeks too fast a switch for a hedgie?

I will wait to hear Nancy's recommendations, but unless she disagrees, I will switch baby to Royal Canin Kitten for it's first 8-10 months, then slow switch again to CSCLS light. Is that a good plan?

About higher fat foods... I own a 3 year old ferret. She is on a mix of 5 grain-free cat foods (Evo cat Chx, Evo cat fish, Origen cat chx, Origen cat fish, and Horizon Legacy cat (which is chx and turkey based). I read though that the high protein content in grain-free is not good for the hedgies. Is this true? I feed my ferret grain-free since there is no need to have grains in an obligate carnivore's diet... But I want to confirm that any of those foods would be inappropriate to give to adult hedgie, right?

If the baby is, as you cutely say, a marathon runner, would it be ideal to simply mic CSCLS regular and light? It would then receive more fat, or should I really go with another brand completely to avoid shipping problems and etc?

Finally, I did not know babies could be picky about insects! :O!! The other I rescued never ate anything I offered - live or dried. I assumed this was because he'd never been use to them... What should I do then if, lucky for me (haha!), baby hedgie refuses all insects? Are there supplements to be given that give the same nutrients?

Sorry for long post... I start out with only one question... then I realize there is SO much more I don't know..... Oh boy... Sorry again! haha

Thanks again!


Sandra

 

[smhufflepuff]

Agreed on getting rid of the Purina. Not a big fan of that either.

Sounds like a good plan for the change-over... the "old" food for a week, then start mixing in more of the new food. Pretty standard idea is 1/4 new (and 3/4 old) the first week, 1/2 new (and 1/2 old) the second, 3/4 new the third week, then all new food. But your hedgie will let you know... if the old stuff is truely horrific, hedgie might just pick through the bowl and eat only the good stuff. In which case, you may as well dump the old stuff and only fill with new as s/he's not eating it anyhow. Or hedgie might need a longer period to transition - hedgie will let you know if s/he needs more time by making mean greenies - green poops.

You're right about the Evo and other kibbles like that... they're generally considered to have too high protein % for hedgies.

If baby turns out to be a marathon runner... I'd take a look at all the options at that point in time. Sticking with the same brand would likely give you kibbles that look and taste pretty similar... I might opt for a different shape, so you can see how much of each hedgie is eating. And, like charlie mentioned, where one brand might be lacking, a different brand can help balance that out.

If your little one refuses all insects, that's okay. There are a good number of hedgies out there that are doing well on their kibbles. And there's always veggies to help provide a more "colorful" experience.

 

[Smoogy]

Awesome! Well, thanks!!

I think that, for the moment, until I take home the baby! I asked, and I can take home baby at 6 weeks. I hope that is not too early By mid to end march!!

I will until then research what other quality foods are available here and all

Thanks to all!!


Sandra