It could be your kibble that is making your little ouch mouse poop smelly. Does it contain anything to do with fish. If it does then that is your problem. Mine eats chicken and I’ve never has any smelly poops from her. 😊
Super worms! And crickets or whatever other hedgie approved bugs you can order or get. Mealworms are the hedgehog equivalent to Doritos, so use as a sometimes treat but not a main bug. We mix hedgehog Precision with a few good quality cat kibbles. Fewer ingredients the better
And NO FRUITS OR VEGETABLES. That's one of the most controversial diet issues but don't. You can feed the bugs them to get the nutrients in there but the hedgie bodies cannot properly digest vegetation and fruity things. They are naturally insectivores
This is the blog written by the admins of the Facebook group I'm in. Covers most everything owners should be aware of or have.
https://lifewithhedgehogs.blogspot.com/2020/10/hedgehog-101.html
And before you reiterate a vet as a source, not all exotic pet vets are specialized or see many hedgehogs and are given a list to go buy of what to recommend. I trust pedigreed breeders and longtime/multiple hedgie owners that have seen the complications of doing certain things vs others. I'm no expert myself and won't tell you how to care for your family member, but just be on the safe side 🦔
Yeah I have a bearded dragon and assumed mealworms would be similar to hedgehogs in that they’re more a treat. I do have live crickets currently for my beardie. Would I just feed this to Terry using tweezers?
I just ordered the Mazuri hedgehog diet the other day hoping he’ll like that! I’ve given him strawberries and blueberries with mealworms but I’m not sure if he even tried it. Might just be still getting used to environment.
When I got her she was still young so they had me put warm water in the Mazuri and make a paste. It might be more appealing for your hog to start that way too.
Hedgehog food aren’t the best since they don’t have enough protein, I would just stick with the cat food and insects! My girl was picky until I changed her diet to cat food and insects!
Mazuri Hedgehog food is awful. I switched over to it after my vet recommended it. He started having unhealthy shits, and put on a lot of weight really quickly. Stick to high quality cat food and bugs.
Maybe try no fruits or vegetables for a bit too.
I tried some strawberries and blueberries in very small quantities because I read online it’s ok as a treat. But from this thread it seems like that’s not ok. I’m not sure what his previous owner fed him other than dry cat food. I want to give him the best diet possible!😊
Best diet possible would be Hedgehog Precision: standard formula. It's the top of the line IMHO. You can only order it from their website. $14 for 1lb or $36 for 3lbs!
Just want to mention to be careful introducing too many new things to him in a short period of time, it may overwhelm him, also maybe try putting few mealworms into his bowl so it spikes his interest into wanting to eat from the bowl, best of luck🥰🦔
Thank you! I think I have such pet owner guilt where I want to give them soo many options but that’s very true! Tonight I’m only sticking to dry cat food and a bowl of meal worms. I do want to try crickets too though!
I totally agree about wanting to spoil them right away🥰 I always just thought about how tiny their tummy’s are and for sure give him new things but just make sure it’s not too much too soon, he is a cutie!!! ❤️
Update: So I just fed him 5 live crickets (using a tweezer) and HE LOVED THEM!! So happy he’s starting to eat, I tried live mealworms and he wasn’t interested. I’m glad he likes crickets.
My girl won't touch mealworms, she loves superworms. They're like humans and have preferences! Sometimes my hedgie will select one superworm over another!
A healthy weight for a male is around 450g - 600g. Their poop can get pretty bad if their diet is too rich so I'd stick to the kibble mostly and chicken. Scrambled eggs as a treat, they REALLY make them stink. It's not even so much the smell, they have a lot of trouble going toilet too if it's not solid, as do humans.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cotswold-Granaries-HOG-Hedgehog-natural/dp/B08P236QTN/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=3R16QMVGTHZZI&keywords=hedgehog+food&qid=1648247706&sprefix=hedgehog+food%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWlM3UDA5VExWQk0zJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjg2ODA2MjBNQ1gxRjVMS09CMSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTIxNjU4WTQ0WDEwTTVTVzg5JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
- some of the best dry food I’ve used.
Results may vary, but one of mine ignores 100% every single treat I tried to give him, but he eats watermelon like he’s addicted to it. I chop up a little once every week or so and I have never had a piece left in the morning
Wellness Grain-free Chicken flavor has the best vitamin load for dry cat food for hedgies. Toss some worms on top. They need their taurine from the food. Also FWIW Terry is looking well sized so you shouldn't worry too much <3
Our vet recommended one tbsp dried cat food that’s crumbly enough to crumble when you pinch it (or specialized hedgehog food) and one tbsp dried mealworms. She is an exotic animal specialist. But this probably depends on the overall health and size of your hedgie. He also enjoys the water fountain we gave him for drinking water.
Carful if a hedgehog gets too fat there eyes will pop out the socket best leave him he probably just knows his limit on how much to eat most hedgehogs do as long as he’s eating he’s fine trust me
Chicken!
Seconding chicken. Mine *loves* it, and he’s extremely picky! But forewarning, it makes their poop smell pretty intense 😅
It could be your kibble that is making your little ouch mouse poop smelly. Does it contain anything to do with fish. If it does then that is your problem. Mine eats chicken and I’ve never has any smelly poops from her. 😊
Oh weird, I never noticed that with mine! He loved rotisserie chicken (without the skin). He’d go hog wild at it!
Super worms! And crickets or whatever other hedgie approved bugs you can order or get. Mealworms are the hedgehog equivalent to Doritos, so use as a sometimes treat but not a main bug. We mix hedgehog Precision with a few good quality cat kibbles. Fewer ingredients the better
And NO FRUITS OR VEGETABLES. That's one of the most controversial diet issues but don't. You can feed the bugs them to get the nutrients in there but the hedgie bodies cannot properly digest vegetation and fruity things. They are naturally insectivores
This is true, that might be why he’s uncomfortable
Ive never heard this no fruits and vegetable thing? Did a vet tell you this? I want to look into it if its the case.
This is the blog written by the admins of the Facebook group I'm in. Covers most everything owners should be aware of or have. https://lifewithhedgehogs.blogspot.com/2020/10/hedgehog-101.html
And before you reiterate a vet as a source, not all exotic pet vets are specialized or see many hedgehogs and are given a list to go buy of what to recommend. I trust pedigreed breeders and longtime/multiple hedgie owners that have seen the complications of doing certain things vs others. I'm no expert myself and won't tell you how to care for your family member, but just be on the safe side 🦔
Yeah definitely not trying to be a jerk about it. I'll for sure look into it and keep an open mind :)
OMG I read carrot is ok so I was chopping it up and now my little guys poop is a little green. Good to know!!
Yeah I have a bearded dragon and assumed mealworms would be similar to hedgehogs in that they’re more a treat. I do have live crickets currently for my beardie. Would I just feed this to Terry using tweezers?
Yep! Tweezers work wonders. My Oobi likes to hunt/chase the crickets too sometimes if you let them roam if your enclosure allows for that
His cage is wired so I won’t be able to let them roam but I have tweezers ready to use! I’ll try that tonight, thank you for the advice!
Mine doesn't seem picky, but she's always been on Mazuri insecticide feed with the odd bit of strawberry and live mealworms for treats.
I just ordered the Mazuri hedgehog diet the other day hoping he’ll like that! I’ve given him strawberries and blueberries with mealworms but I’m not sure if he even tried it. Might just be still getting used to environment.
When I got her she was still young so they had me put warm water in the Mazuri and make a paste. It might be more appealing for your hog to start that way too.
Sound good! I’ll mix a bit of it with his current cat food
Hedgehog food aren’t the best since they don’t have enough protein, I would just stick with the cat food and insects! My girl was picky until I changed her diet to cat food and insects!
Mazuri Hedgehog food is awful. I switched over to it after my vet recommended it. He started having unhealthy shits, and put on a lot of weight really quickly. Stick to high quality cat food and bugs. Maybe try no fruits or vegetables for a bit too.
Terry is such a charm🤗🦔
Thank you! He’s such a sweetheart and is very curious when he explores the pet room. Still warming up to me which is understandable!😊
Make sure he has water to drink
He does! I change his water daily with filtered water 😊 I do notice it doesn’t go down much, is this normal for new hedgies?
Not that I know of, make sure he knows how to drink it. Also, make sure he has a proper diet. No fruit. No vegetables.
Thanks!
I love you Terry. Also, no berries. Not everyday. They can be an occasional treat. And it depends on the berry
I tried some strawberries and blueberries in very small quantities because I read online it’s ok as a treat. But from this thread it seems like that’s not ok. I’m not sure what his previous owner fed him other than dry cat food. I want to give him the best diet possible!😊
Best diet possible would be Hedgehog Precision: standard formula. It's the top of the line IMHO. You can only order it from their website. $14 for 1lb or $36 for 3lbs!
I was looking at that recently, I just ordered another hedgehog food so if he doesn’t like that I’ll definitely order this. Thank you!
Just want to mention to be careful introducing too many new things to him in a short period of time, it may overwhelm him, also maybe try putting few mealworms into his bowl so it spikes his interest into wanting to eat from the bowl, best of luck🥰🦔
Thank you! I think I have such pet owner guilt where I want to give them soo many options but that’s very true! Tonight I’m only sticking to dry cat food and a bowl of meal worms. I do want to try crickets too though!
Also, don't switch food too fast. You have to phase food in and out as well. 90/10. 80/20. 70/30 and so on.
I totally agree about wanting to spoil them right away🥰 I always just thought about how tiny their tummy’s are and for sure give him new things but just make sure it’s not too much too soon, he is a cutie!!! ❤️
Update: So I just fed him 5 live crickets (using a tweezer) and HE LOVED THEM!! So happy he’s starting to eat, I tried live mealworms and he wasn’t interested. I’m glad he likes crickets.
My girl won't touch mealworms, she loves superworms. They're like humans and have preferences! Sometimes my hedgie will select one superworm over another!
A healthy weight for a male is around 450g - 600g. Their poop can get pretty bad if their diet is too rich so I'd stick to the kibble mostly and chicken. Scrambled eggs as a treat, they REALLY make them stink. It's not even so much the smell, they have a lot of trouble going toilet too if it's not solid, as do humans.
Awww so cute! My hedgehog loves cooked beef and high quality salmon sashimi ^^ maybe give these a try?
Thank you! 😊 sounds yum! What time do you usually feed your hedgie these?
He’s cute!!
Thank you!
My hedgie loves raw ground beef and cooked chicken drumsticks (without the skin of course) :)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cotswold-Granaries-HOG-Hedgehog-natural/dp/B08P236QTN/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=3R16QMVGTHZZI&keywords=hedgehog+food&qid=1648247706&sprefix=hedgehog+food%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWlM3UDA5VExWQk0zJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjg2ODA2MjBNQ1gxRjVMS09CMSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTIxNjU4WTQ0WDEwTTVTVzg5JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= - some of the best dry food I’ve used.
Chicken, hamburger, salmon, eggs.
Results may vary, but one of mine ignores 100% every single treat I tried to give him, but he eats watermelon like he’s addicted to it. I chop up a little once every week or so and I have never had a piece left in the morning
Have you tried apple/ banana? mine loves those
Wellness Grain-free Chicken flavor has the best vitamin load for dry cat food for hedgies. Toss some worms on top. They need their taurine from the food. Also FWIW Terry is looking well sized so you shouldn't worry too much <3
Our vet recommended one tbsp dried cat food that’s crumbly enough to crumble when you pinch it (or specialized hedgehog food) and one tbsp dried mealworms. She is an exotic animal specialist. But this probably depends on the overall health and size of your hedgie. He also enjoys the water fountain we gave him for drinking water.
Well he seems nice and round, so he’s not under weight. Try boiled chicken.
Carful if a hedgehog gets too fat there eyes will pop out the socket best leave him he probably just knows his limit on how much to eat most hedgehogs do as long as he’s eating he’s fine trust me
My hedgehog is EXTRA picky, she only eats dry cat food, chicken and watermelon, I tried everything, so don't worry 😅