Diet & Nutrition

When you decide to share your home with any pet, you make a commitment to provide that animal the best care possible. With most common pets, this commitment is reasonably easy to fill. Information is readily available. Foods and other supplies are easy to find. And, veterinarians are familiar with your pet's health needs. With more unusual animals, providing the necessary care can sometimes be a challenge. This is especially true when it comes to diet.

Many veterinarians agree poor diets are the primarily cause of heath problems in small mammals. The most common symptoms include:

Poor skin condition and patchy fur (or, with hedgehogs, quill loss)
Low activity levels
Overweight animals
A significantly shortened life expectancy
Lowered birth weights, problem pregnancies, anemia, kidney failure and liver disease

Sometimes, these symptoms are considered the problem. However, trying to treat a symptom of nutritional deficency without addressing the dietary problem will not, in the long run, be effective. The only way to effectively address a nutritional shortfall in an animal's diet is to provide appropriate food choices. The only way to avoid these concerns in the first place is to provide your pet a nutritionally sound, well-balanced diet.

Further Reading

The Calcium Connection: Make sure your pet gets what he needs
Picky Eating Pets: Practical advice for breaking the "Picky Eating Habit"