[gizmossister]

Hi everyone, i'm looking after two albino hedgehogs while my friends are away but ive just looked at what their diet should be just to make sure as i was sure they should be fed mainly dry food????
apparently they have never been too keen on their bugs as they get confused when they move. also they refuse to eat any of the fruit mentioned on here: ADVICE FOR NEWBIES -PLEASE READ FIRST -HOG DIET - 101
but im unsure if they have ever been given vegetables and they apparently refuse to drink aswell.
they have just been given waitrose own wet cat food which also has tuna fish flavoured food in their which again im sure they arnt allowed to eat!!

advice on what to do about this would be much appreciated please dont have a go at me as they are not mine im just looking after them. would appreciate it if someone had a caresheet that is simple for the owner to get their head around.

thank you in advance
Emily


oh yh and i only have 2 weeks to correct this thanks.

 

[rosieee]

I feed my hog mainly on dry cat food- chicken flavour. I give him wet cat food- chicken, maybe once a week. I've been told never to feed him anything containing fish or milk. He rarely will eat most fruit and veg but there are a few that he likes such as tomatoes and brussells..strangely enough. He also likes to eat chicken breast every now and again. I feed him dry mealworms as neither of us like bugs that move!

 

[panther_87k]

a typical diet that alot of owners/breeders use is:

dried cat biscuits available all times (alot use a mix of 3/4 brands to give variety) min 30% protein and a max of 10% fat. tescos,asdas,sainsburys own brands, pets at home purely, iams, go cat indoor, are all brands i know are used in mixes.

dry fried or boiled chicken or dry fried/boiled mince three times a week (one or two spoonfuls is usually enough)

cooked veg three times a week, pretty much all veg is ok, just depends what the hog likes, there seems to be a few that favour cabbage and sprouts

fruit as treats, little bit of banana or apple, no citrus fruits, raisins or nuts!

scrambled egg once a week or once every two weeks, made plain no milk

mealworms, dried or live 5/6 per night as a treat, same with crix

waxworms, very occasional as its like hoggie chocolate!!

wet cat food can be given mabye once a month but can cause smelly runny poop, and if given a variety of the above, its then not really needed


hope that helps: victory:

 

[Athravan]

None of mine will eat fruit/veg, I've tried raising babies on it as well and I always get looked at funny! They will eat egg though, so mine mostly again just get chicken cat food, usually go-cat, and dried mealworms. If they refused to drink I'm sure they'd be dead by now as they do need to drink quite a bit, mine get through between a quarter and a half a water bottle a night (not big water bottles but not tiny either), but I rarely see them drink.

I had an albino male that I bought about 3 years back who was only fed on wet cat food and it took about 3 months of mixing the wet in with the dry and slowly reducing it then adding the odd bit of egg or a mealworm to actually convert him as he didn't like the dry at all at first.

 

[gizmossister]

ok im giving them bits of cat biscuits mixed in with their squishy food, and chicken now which they appear to love, im just gonna get some meal worms tomorrow.

 

[Ron Magpie]

You could try cooking veg till it's 'mashable', mashing it, and mixing it with the soft food- I don't have APHs, but that was the ploy I used to use with my plated lizard- who had only eaten live or meaty food before I got him, except some fruit. Now (ten years later) he eats lightly-cooked frozen mixed veg quite readily- altho I still have to chop it into 'bite-size' pieces. He still prefers citrus fruit above all, though:Na_Na_Na_Na:

 

[gizmossister]

thx everyone ive now found out how the hogs will actually eat the hard food i just have to soak it in water and mash the soft food up and mix it together they are now eating their mealworms too and love chicken. ive spoken to the owner aswell and she now will continue the same food as i am giving them and they seem much happier .
:flrt::cheers:

 

[xxx_phoenix_xxx]

well thats good news well done you for changing their diet the one they were on before was a bit bezzare lol !!! :2thumb::2thumb::no1::2thumb::2thumb:

 

[Myjb23]

Both of mine will eat raw and cooked carrots, and also apple.

I have one who is very wary of any livefood, but she will eat the dried mealworms so she gets those instead of live. And they both love cooked chicken!

 

[gizmossister]

thanks for everyones help. hedgeys are now eating there proper diet and are very happy .

 

[Shellsfeathers&fur]

Sounds like you won't want to be handing them back when the second week of the holiday is up. They'll probably won't to stay with you as well! Glad their diet got sorted out.

 

[gizmossister]

i wish i could keep them but the owner may get a little huffy with me :lol2:.
wish i could have one of my own but i cant afford £150 plus another vivarium. esspecially if my reptiles breed this year lol.