Today is special for me for a couple of reasons. One is that it’s valentines day, the fifth one that I have shared with my boyfriend Ryan. The other is that it’s my pet pygmy hedgehog’s first birthday! We haven’t had him for an entire year yet seems how he had to be 8 weeks old before he could leave his mama so we’ve had him approximately 10 months now. While most people aren’t even aware that you can have a hedgehog as a pet, they are really simple to take care of because you can use products designed for other animals. For example, henry’s cage is designed for a different small animal but seems how he just needs a cage with a solid floor, and wire sides that have less than 1 inch gaps (so he can’t sneak out) the cage works great for him.

Hedgehogs primarily eat a blend of multiple types of cat food. Hedgehogs have specific needs for the amount of fats and proteins. Most hedgehog owners suggest combining two or three different brands of dry cat food together to provide hedgehogs with the best nutrition. Mr Chewy is an online retailer for cat and dog food, but seems how they sell high quality dry cat food, it’s a great place for me to shop for Henry. I purchased their blue buffalo cat food in a 3 lb bag ($12.99), as well as a 4lb bag of solid gold katz-n-flocken food (10.99) for review. I have been told by other hedgie owners that both brands provide great nutrition for hedgehogs. In the past, when i’ve tried out new brands of cat food with Henry he refused to eat them at first, so I’d mix the food he had been eating with some of the new food in a 50/50 mix. Then after a couple days i’d add in 75% of new food and only 25% of the old, until eventually I had him eating the new brand. Henry surprised me and liked both of these from the first time I put them into his bowl in a mixture. When I first got Henry I bought a 5lb bag of food that lasted almost six months for him. So this combination of a 3lb bag and 4lb bag of food will probably last me at least eight or nine months and their combined total is about $23.00. Not bad at all. Plus, if you spend at least 49.00 on the mr chewy website you can get free 1-2 day shipping.

I can reach that limit by also purchasing puppy pee pads for Henry. Most hedgehog owners use fleece liners in their hedgehog cages, but I like to clean out his cage every 2 days or so, and being just Ryan and myself, I don’t have a load of laundry to do every 2 days. Yet, I didn’t like having the liner hanging around stinky until I got ready to do a load of wash. Also, the urine can soak through the liner onto the cage floor, and then over time the cage itself gets an odor that is hard to get rid of. I’ve found that using puppy pee pads is better because I can quickly and easily dispose of the liner after I clean out the cage and it does a better job of holding the moisture off of the cage itself. However, some hedgehogs will attempt to eat the pee pads which is dangerous but Henry has shown no interest in chewing on them so it’s not a concern for my hedgehog.

I’ve tried a few brands of pee pads before and decided to try out the wee wee pads offered on mr chewy to see how they compared. The 100 count box is just 29.99 making them quite a bit cheaper than some other brands out there. My local pet store has a 14 count box for 19.99. I’ve also found that the wee wee pads are a bit larger than the other brands as well. The others I have bought are rectangular, and the wee wee pads are closer to being square so they have more surface area per pad. Henry’s cage is rectangular so I use one full pad and then cut one in half to make them fit, but it works great.  They seem to be just as absorbent as the more expensive brands and I really don’t see any differences in quality at all. Using 1.5 pads and changing them out every 2 days means this package of 100 will last me over 3 months. All in all, I’m impressed with the cost of the items when compared with how long they will last me. The shipping was quick thanks to free 1-2 day shipping for my order being over 49.00.

The first time the items arrived one bag of food had been opened a little on one end. The bag was suppose to be rolled down and glued, and it seemed that the glue had partially come undone. I assume this was a fluke in the manufacturers end, however I felt uncomfortable giving the food to Henry on the off chance that it could have been poisoned. I contacted mr chewy about the problem and they apologized and sent me a replacement bag right away, free of charge. So their customer service is commendable as well. We’re definitely fans of mr chewy now!

But it: You can purchase from mr chewy online at mrchewy.com. Or you can connect with them on facebook or twitter as well.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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