# hedgehog wont eat new food :(



## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

Im trying to switch my hedgehog to natural balance pea and duck and Im mixing his old food with his new but he just picks out the old and dumps his new into his bedding. Im running out of the old food and im scared that once I run out he wont eat his new food idk what to do  is there anything i can do to tempt him into his new food???


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## ashleyyy (Sep 22, 2014)

You can try crushing it into smaller pieces and see if that makes a difference. Sometimes I also think it may take a few days for the hedgehog to actually try it and like it. They can be pretty stubborn when it comes to food! 

What type of food are you switching from? Just curious.


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## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

its was given to me when I got him they called it hoglet food and thats about it they had it in individual bags so not much information :/ i just know he likes it alot


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## sc2001 (Oct 12, 2014)

For some reason, I've heard of many hedgies not liking the taste of natural balance food. I tried to give it to my hedgie (who isn't picky at all about cat food) and she hated it. Didn't even go near it.... I have no idea why. 

You should try: 

Crushing it up with the rest of her mix 

Dipping some pieces in something your hedgie likes, like baby food for example

Try wetting the food 

That's about all I can think of. Good luck!


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Natural balance green pea and Duck is in my mix and one of the hedgehogs picks around it too. I had to kind of force her to eat it. I just continued with the switch even though she ate around it and she finally started to eat.


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Natural balance can be very inconsistent with their food preparation... we get customers that return it because the food was burnt. Does it have a strange smell??


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## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

update Tumbleweed is eating his food after cutting it in half he even put a big dent in it last night and today  and no its just smells like cat food nothing weird smelling about it


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## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

should I add anything to his food? I want my baby to be healthy and Im a first time hedgehog owner so yeah...open for tips I want this grumpy baby to be healthy lol


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## sc2001 (Oct 12, 2014)

Definitly feed insects if you don't already!

And if he ever gets dry skin, you can add a few drops of flax seed oil to his food.


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## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

I give him mealies already and im going to buy some bugs that are actually alive pretty soon instead of the dried ones I just have to get over touching living bugs ;w;


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Be careful with the dried bugs, too many can cause constpation or impaction. Make sure there is plenty of water and hedgie is drinking.

There are a lot of hedgies out there who won't eat Natural Balance, mine won't.

It's always a good idea to have several foods in your mix so they won't go on a food strike if a formula gets changed or you can't get the food.


For example, in the 4.5 years I've had my girl, the shape of Chicken soup for the cat lovers soul lite has changed at least 3 times. Some hedgies don't like certain shapes.


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## veryconfused (Dec 28, 2014)

what foods would you recommend in adding?


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