More APH questions...

[Twiisted]

1- What dried cat food brand do you use?

2- How often do you feed them treats? (mealworms, chicken, egg etc)

3- What substrate do you use on the bottom of the cage?

4- What do you use in litter tray?

5- Do you use a heatmat?

If i think of anything else ill ask... Just a few things im still not sure of.

Been told to use Aspen shavings, but someone said they can be dusty?

[xXFooFooLaFluffXx]

1- What dried cat food brand do you use?

we use a mix of iams and asda's own. iams is addictive n very expensive so mixin keeps the cost down but also gives them decent cat biscuits. i dont think asdas are crap at all eiter, i only mix iams in cos some were brought up on um n i cant get them off it
also use wet cat food, pretty much anythin so long as it isnt fish based

2- How often do you feed them treats? (mealworms, chicken, egg etc)

ours get mealies 2 a week and the odd bit of chicken every so often. theyre not big fans of it so am not gunna waste it if they dont eat it. they like chasin crickets too every so often. also a pinky is loved by our long earreds on the odd occasion though some of the aphs wont touch them

3- What substrate do you use on the bottom of the cage?

we have ours in vivs and we use wood shavings that we get by the bale from a farm near us

4- What do you use in litter tray?

either wood based litter or the wood shavings we use as substrate works too

5- Do you use a heatmat?

initially i didnt use a heat when i got them cos our house is so warm but now due to the winter the ones with light fittings in have normal red pearl bulbs, they dont produce a massive amount of heat but produce enough, and so dont need to be statted. the ones without fittings have a large heat mat stuck to the back of the stack as the back is only thin so the heat gets thru

If i think of anything else ill ask... Just a few things im still not sure of.

Been told to use Aspen shavings, but someone said they can be dusty?

substrates ive tried

fleeces - just made a mess for us, stunk, got needed cleanin ALL the time and it was so time consuming

tiles - the viv stack we got for them is tiled so i thought that would be really easy, but the poo welded itself to them and i had to use a paint scraper and lots of muscle to chizle the stuff off, nightmare!!

the shavings i find really easy as you can spot clean, scoop up the dirty shavings n replace with a handful of fresh. They also have a nice smell to them that drown out any odours.

[Lucy_]

Hey,

I use iams and whiskers alternated... and wet cat food mixed with the biscuits aswel sometimes...

we make little meatballs out of boiled veg, wet cat food and a lil chicken and she will have 1-2 of these a week.
I give her a pinky once a month, but with it being colder now she gets 2 just to keep her weight up, and mealies prob once a week...

We use a heat mat and she spends most of her time on it lol, for a substrate i use shredded paper as i get this is huuuuuge bags from work, but i have used shavings in the past but for me the paper helps keeps smells down... when they were on shavings i thought they smelt a bit, but this is just me lol.

i put the paper in the litter tray too because she likes to eat the actual litter :S so changd my mind on using it

Luce

[Heavenlyhogs]

For babies i feed whiskas for the adults royal canin.
Substrate,i don't use it personally,i use vet bed or fleeces.
Treat,meal worms 4 times a week others treats 1.
Heatmats,yes during winter months.
Litter trays,usually under he wheel end with kitchen roll in.

[dragonbabe]

I use
Food: James well beloved as the main mixed with science diet. Ocasionaly add other low fat brands to the mix to stop them getting fussy.

Treats: Mealies once a week, twice a week, chicken, mince, veg mix. I alternate

Substrate: Fleece liners

Litter: Have tray lined with kitchen roll and their wheel in tray. They do all their buisness in the tray.

Heat: Dont use any extra, they are in my rep room which is always warm.

[Twiisted]

Kewl thanks guys... Sure the breeders will give me care packs, But i want to know whats what rather than just rely on someone else to give me advice the day i pick an animal up.

So if i used kitchen towel on the bottom of the cage with some shredded paper just for something to mess around with and in the litter tray paper towels too ....?

Picking them up on thurs & sunday Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Athravan]

Originally Posted by Twiisted

1- What dried cat food brand do you use?

I use Go Cat Complete Chicken.

2- How often do you feed them treats? (mealworms, chicken, egg etc)

I subscribe to an American Forum where it is often discussed that hedgehogs are insectivores, and that insects, in the wild, would be the majority of their diet. Mine get insects daily, whether it is mealworms, crickets, or locusts along with dry cat food daily. They get chicken/egg once or twice weekly. The main worry with diet is often that hedgehogs will become obese, I have never had this problem so consider a daily insectivorous diet adequate.

For babies I use Whiskas complete chicken wet food to wean them.

3- What substrate do you use on the bottom of the cage?

Towels

4- What do you use in litter tray?

I don't use a specific tray, I just use Wood based cat litter as a substrate in part of the cage.

5- Do you use a heatmat?

I haven't done yet, but the room is quite cold this year, I will be monitoring temperatures and considering whether to increase the ambient of the room or to use heat mats, I will probably just heat the room to be honest as I have so many cages.

If i think of anything else ill ask... Just a few things im still not sure of.

Been told to use Aspen shavings, but someone said they can be dusty?

Aspen isn't dusty but it does get extremely smelly in comparison to the far more absorbent wood cat litters and can get mouldy when wet.

[Twiisted]

Ah righty, Well ill take a look see if i can find a wood based cat litter.. Sure they would like something to go toilet in rather than tissue.

I have locusts, crickets, mealies here already... They will both be about 8 weeks when i get them, Guessing theres no rules with feeding young ones mealies like there is with some reptiles..?

[Athravan]

No real risk of them swallowing mealies whole, you wait until you see those teeth in action! They will also devour dried mealworms that are sold in packs for the birds.

[Twiisted]

Well as long as they stick to food & not my fingers :p

Any tips for befriending them once they get home?