Food

Folks,

My hedgehogs diet consist: purina for kittens, crickets and pinky mice.
I've already learned that it not might be the best for them. Why? Because it's a fairly high protein food. As far as I know to much protein might cause a liver problems.
Pinky mice is expensive and they were getting one every second day. Now they're getting one every 4 days. This will be reduced to one a week. Not only the price is reason for reducing it on their diet but also a risk of parasites.
Unfortunately last batch of mice I bought was really bad and half of it went to the bin. I already ordered another one from a different supplier so fingers crossed.
Crickets are served every second day at the moment.
Cat food is also going to be changed a bit. I will mix kitten food with adult indoor cat food.
Next thing is...I am going to supplement their diet with some food that has more fiber in it. Cereals, rice maybe pasta.

I hope to hear from you what you think about it and what's your experience with different types/brands of food.

This is one big discussion between hedgehog people (along with housing) & I don't think anyone will 'get it right' 100% but you can get damn close if you get to know your animal, it's requirements and tbh I don't agree with a lot of what the so called 'experts' suggest, you will find most of the info is rehashed out of date tripe, regurge or just nonsensical 'Oh my hedgheog licked up my spilled ice cream so now I give that weekly and hes thriving'. Also please keep in mind just because someone is doing something a long time doesn't mean they are doing it right and it is for these reasons the advice I give most is do your research, look at their natural requirement diet wise and their social activity levels and try to recreate this as best you can, listen to people who can give factual advice or at the very least make sense of their thinkings/theories and with this knowledge make an informed decision your self when it comes to your pet. There will always be someone who doesn't agree with you so the best thing you can do is arm yourself with knowledge and you can't go wrong.

Now one thing you have touched on is Liver function, this is not a hedgehog problem, it is a mammal problem. Fatty liver disease (which isnt caused by alcohol and obviously in our animals cases wouldn't be) has been associated with obesity (In mammals) which hedgehogs are prone to in captivity due to a high fat, low protein diet (they are designed for high protein, low fat) combined with Inadequate activity levels. Obviously this disease can strike the healthy and the reasons could be genetics but keep in mind your hedgehog can suffer anything from cancer, cardio conditions, renal failure and several pulmonary diseases with no reasons found in Necropsy just like in people, so we may not always know the reason behind the problem but some problems can be brought on but anyway back to the point. Hedgehogs in captivity can suffer from liver or renal failure and the two major causes (suspected) for this is incorrect diet along with lack of exercise. I cannot stress this enough but a wheel (next to a good hide for nest building & proper deep sleep) should be paramount. No hedgehog should ever be captive without one. In the majority of cases, animals denied wheels (along with toys and other boredom breakers) show signs of stress, repetitive behaviour such as climbing, pasing the cage, depression and aggression, unpredictability when handling and also can leed to deep sleep deprivation which in the long run will reduce your animals life span. As with anything, you will always get exceptions to the rule but this is the general.

Hedgehogs are still classed as insectivores which I personally disagree with. If it were up to me they would be classed as omnivorous with most species eating birds, eggs, mice ( & other small rodents), lizards, snakes, insects etc..in the wild and they are opportunist scavengers as well and have been documented ingesting high levels of berrys, earthworms and snails after emerging from hibernation but then we know snails are not good for them so it would be my & many others thinking, being hungry and needing to bulk up after the long sleep along with being opportunist they will eat anything they can find but this is only in the early weeks after emerging and also only applies to our native, either way they do require high protein levels which are insect/animal based and that's across the board. My own animals are fed gut loaded hoppers/Locusts (size appropriate to animal) along with a high animal based protein kitten kibble. I mix this in with a good ferret food every other day. You do have to be careful as the fat percentage can be high but if you exercise your animal sufficiently then it shouldn't cause any problems.

It is normal for your hedgehog to have exo and endo parasites (even we do) especially using shavings as substrate or offering any pre packed grasses for nesting material. You should treat you hedgehog monthly in order to keep those unwanted pests at bay. You can safely use selemectin based products like Stronghold (designed for cats & dogs) & if memory serves at the rate of 6mgs per Kg of hog but I'll need to double check formulary for that so will confirm this dose later. I have had Europeans/APH/Long Ears in who have had to have much higher doses in order to be effective, full 45mg tubes but in the majority of cases a small application to the back of the neck will suffice for animals showing no to minute signs. One tell tale sign of endos is a gelatinous green feces. This is not to be confused with the green-brown feces stress or change of diet can bring on but prevention is far better then cure IMO so again treat monthly and you should have non problems. Invermec can also be used and PAH do a good neck based applicator which I've used in the past and found to be OK.

You should also worm on a regular basis, I have used Parazole (spelling??again Cat & Dog) over a five day course orally every 3-6 months with sucess.

As far as exercise goes, not all hedgehogs will use a wheel and even if they do I think it is good to offer a variety. Cardiovascular works out are beneficial and I think at the very least once a week a swim does them good, not only does it get those hard to reach places clean like in between the toes but it does get them moving about and some even seem to really enjoy it. I use warm water, no hotter then you would use for a infant and never leave a hog unsupervised.

You can get quite creative with floating platforms etc...and make it fun for them but I do recommend a swim weekly in order to keep them happy, healthy and the weight down. That along with a good diet, regular parasitic treatments, proper sleep and mental stimulation and you should see no husbandry related problems.

I'd just like to add these are my own thinkings/findings over the many years I've been around these fantastic mammals and you may find you'll get different information else where but I have invested a long time into learning about them even on the subject of sleep which no one else was so I hope this benefits you in some way or at the very least you find it an interesting read :)

it seems to be very sensitive topic here :) I need some sleep before I go throu all of this :)

I heard that hedgehogs kept at home don't have to be dewormed.

Do you mean sensitive here on the site or in Ireland? Nothing sensitive here at all so please don't think that. Ask what ever it is you want and if I can, I will answer or at least try to and if not I'll try stear you in the right direction. I just tried to give the most informed answer I could on the one animal I have never been able to get enough of my entire life and based on my lifes experiences with them in the hope it will help some, although I totally get the needing sleep first, a few people on here can tell you talking is something I'm good at and I really try not to write the way I talk but didn't go too well here did it

I think if you come at it from a different point of view, for example..some cats remain in the home, never leave and still need regular worming. Due to how parasites can be transferred from animal to animal (also keeping in mind we too can be vessels to hitch a ride upon) and the origin of a lot of the bedding/substrate we use I would never not regularly worm my hedgies. At the end of the day as I said prevention is far better then the cure and it does them no harm and keeps them healthier so why not??

Sorry I didn't sort this sooner. Checked the formulary and doses are as follows

Selamectin is 6mg per kg of hog applied topically (6mg/kg). Effective for ectoparasites.
Ivermectin is 0.2mg per kg of hog (0.2mg/kg). Effective for mites although some mites have shown resistance to the lesser dose of ivermec.
0.2 - 0.4mg per kg of hog (0.2-0.4mg/kg) for ectos
0.5mg per kg of hog (0.5mg/kg) for mites who show resistance to the lower dose.

No problem. I didn't have much time lately to check the forum anyway :/

My hogs weights approx 320grams and 380 grams.
Selamectin and Ivermectin would be available in a petshop or should I go to vet to get it ??

Maciek and Tan,

I know very little about the husbandry of hogs [learning all the time!], as such I'd just like to highlight the quality of this particular thread and interchange...top class!!

Thank you Tony!

Maciek you can buy pretty much any drug online and these are available there BUT one thing I would say is, although I am doing this years I am not a vet or qualified to tell you what to do medically so as always all the advice we give out on site is our own and never intended to replace a vets at the end of the day.

I have given you doses as they appear in the formulary and this is the same book a vet will refer to for doses but yes you can walk in (in my vets anyway) and ask for Stronghold (selamectin based) 15mg puppy and kitten. It is a simple application to the back of the neck, one drop and not the entire tube (you do have a bit of leeway with the dose as I said I've had to use the full 45mg tube) and is absorbed by the skin, painless.

Ivermec is injection and this will cost you more in the long run with consultation fees on top and I would say unless the animal is showing signs and the other treatment doesn't work then go for them, other wise don't.