Tenrec Feeding

[Rox6or]

Hi Guys
I recently acquired a lesser hedgehog tenrec from an acquaintance of a friend of mine. He kinda kept the little guy in bad conditions and had no specifics for me on his feeding habits. I know he is male and is more or less a year and 8 months. He got to his new home with clean bedding and great climbing obstacles and hides. Loves his new home. However I am curious as, does anyone have some advice on more or less the amount of crickets and mealworms to give the little guy?
He has his steady supply of High protein low fat pellet food and eats it as well. I'm am kinda scared to over feed the little guy as in the last week and a half that I have had him he steadily gain some weight. He weighed in at 155g?
Any help appreciated
Thanks in advance

[Rox6or]

Meet Cartman

[herco]

That is so cute!!! Glad he is in a caring home now.

[Rox6or]

Thanks he is really adorable

[HedgieHutSA]

Aww he is so cute<3 I will get a Tenrec one day...Right now I'm the slave to my whole herd of hedgehogs and another litter on the way. Good-luck with your little one:-)

[Rox6or]

Aww he is so cute<3 I will get a Tenrec one day...Right now I'm the slave to my whole herd of hedgehogs and another litter on the way. Good-luck with your little one:-)

Thanks. Really appreciate it. Sounds like you having a blast as well

[HedgieHutSA]

Yes I love it, I'm at 6 hedgehogs and counting...one is looking for his forever home. What is your Tenrecs name?

[Rox6or]

His name is Cartman ... Due to his little round behind.

[HedgieHutSA]

I love the name. I saw a couple Tenrecs at the Wodac pet expo. I want one now!

[Aidanhuman]

Hello, I have been a Tenrec breeder for almost three years now, glad to hear about your new friend
I constantly keep their food bowls filled with fresh Montego classic kitten food. I also feed them a large variety of insects such as mealworms, crickets, roaches, locusts and termites. I have also fed them a small lizard I caught once, but I won't do that again though...I felt real bad for that pure lizard
I have also fed them slices of apple and grapes,as well as cheese and raw egg.
What I have found out is that, when I have fed them a few insects, they would later on just kill the insects I gave them and not eat them, but would come back later to eat them. Hope I could be of any help!

[CazOmega]

I keep my 2 pairs of Tenrecs supplied with dry catfood all the time with some of the sached wet cat food twice a week. They also get offered fruit and veggies, but don't show a lot of interest in it, so I feed it to the crickets and mealworms and let them eat those instead. Normally 5 crickets and around 10 meal worms per Tenrec ( I prefer to only put 1 at a time into the feeding tank, so they get their share). This is normally enough as they seem to lose interest if there is more than that and then chew up and leave bits of insect all over the tank. They love to go for runs and will also use a wheel and being aboreal, they will climb as well if you have some branches and stuff in their enclosure for them to climb. I think in general, if they are fed well and allowed to exersize as much as they want (decent size enclosure), they seem to keep their own weight in check. They do seem to naturally be a bit chubby, with the boys being bigger than the girls all round.

As your one was mistreated and underfed in the past, I would err on the side of a bit too much until he is in good condition again, then monitor him so he doesn't get too fat. Sorry, I can't offer exact measurements, but generally I let them dictate their needs to me and work according to their health, whether or not they are breeding and also the seasons as they go into hibernation in Winter.