[gamzadori]

Hello veggieboards members..this is my first post!

The reason I feel so guilty is because I am a vegan with a pet hedgehog. They are total carnivores and eat live insects. I feel bad every time I feed her, but I could never give her up. I just don't know what to do..

 

[MollyCat]

There's not much you can do except love her and take care of her. Hedgehogs don't have a choice in their diet, humans do. It may not be pleasant but it's nature. Do you have to watch her eat or can you feed her and leave the room?

 

[smedley]

welcome!!

just because you are vegan does not mean a companion animal should be!! relax, enjoy your hedgehog and continue on!!

 

[Frost]

What kind of insects? Mealworms?

You can work out a few ways to feed your hog here:

What Should I Feed Him and How Much?Although there are hedgehog foods available in stores, dry cat and kitten formulas are equally good choices. Whatever commercial food you choose should be supplemented by a variety of other foods such as vegetables, mealworms and crickets, cooked meats and fruit and vegetables. However none of these should be fed as anything more than a treat 3 or 4 times a week. The dry food should be the staple. While the dry food can be fed free choice to all but the more obese hedgehogs, the supplements should be offered for no more than 15 minutes and then removed.

http://hedgehogcentral.com/info.shtml#whatfeed

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamzadori

Hello veggieboards members..this is my first post!

The reason I feel so guilty is because I am a vegan with a pet hedgehog. They are total carnivores and eat live insects. I feel bad every time I feed her, but I could never give her up. I just don't know what to do..

 

[4EverGrounded]

Mollycat and Smedley say it best. If your companion is carnivorious, there's really nothing you can do but feed her the diet she functions best on, and love her muchly since she's yours. You don't want her to suffer with illnesses caused by a diet she's not best with.... would you?

I didn't think so.

If her eating bothers you that badly, then leave the room until she's done.

 

[llechler]

I have to say that I felt the same way you do. I had leopard geckos which are total carnivores, they eat crickets, mealworms, and roaches. For a while, I could justify it saying that well, if I forced them to eat veggies, they would die, they were evolved to eat meat and there's nothing I can do about it. But I would keep tubs of feeders, and it just eventually got to me. I never wanted to keep another animal in a cage again. It felts like keeping insects for the slaughter. I eventually had to give up all my leos to save my conscience. I now have a vegan dog and a vegan potbelly pig and I am guilt-free.

 

[muttypaws]

Our obligation to the animals we make captive . . .

You can buy freeze dried crickets and meal worms for your hedgehog. I do various insects only. I do not feed commercial hedgehog food because my hedgehog has heart disease (like so many other hedgehogs in America) and I attribute it to being fed high protein cat food made up of chicken and larger animals that a hedgehog would NEVER eat. Insects do not produce cholesterol like other animals do so the hedgehog's body is not used to processing it and just like humans that can cause heart disease. Anyway - I always do feel bad about the insects too because I love all beings, BUT we made these animals captive (hedgehogs and such) and therefore we have an obligation to give them the best care. I spoke with FarmSanctuary about my cats because vegan food wasn't working for them and they said they do not believe cats should eat vegan food. Dogs are a different story - they can thrive on a vegan diet but cats truly are carnivores. I feel the same way about hedgehogs - they are TRUE insectivores and should not be fed a vegan diet. I used to break up vegan dog kibble and mix it into my hedgehogs insects because I felt bad taking her totally off of the cat kibble she grew up on in her first home before I rescued her, but I now just feed insects. I just make sure and give her a variety. I hope this helps.

 

[Kohlrab]

Why not feed them vegan catfood formula?

 

[Kohlrab]

I rather be hated because of my sharp mind and burning heart, than ignorantly cold and dull as this comment (Quote removed as from a Banned member - Mod) is meant to be.

Thank you.