# Losing Weight.



## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

Hello. I'm sort of new to this so bear with me. =/

Well i have 2 month old baby girl name Mocha and i sadly let her get a bit over weight, by feeding her a lot lol. =( 
So now she's not really using her exercise wheel, and she sleeps and kind of just waddles around. I went out and bought one of those exercise balls so she can run around my room/house to possibly lose some weight and she really isn't into it. I give her baths and she swims around a lot and that's about all her exercise is. I'm trying to cut back on her food but i feel like i'm starving her and i feel bad.

Any advice would help tremendously. Foods i can and can't feed her, well any way to get her to lose weight in general. Thank you so much. <3

xo,
Autumn and Mocha


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2011)

Question(s)

*What are you feeding your hedgehog?

How much do you feed your hedgehog?

How much does your hedgehog eat? (its rare a hedgehog gorges itself)

Can your hedgehog ball up?

Does your hedgehog have fatty front legs?

What kind of wheel? (Is it a flat surface wheel)

How many baths? (Too many causes dry skin issues)*

A ball is horrible IMO for a hedgehog they tend to eliminate as they run and that's very unhygienic for them as their senses are on smell and hearing and they can't actually smell anything close up and the slips for breathing can catch a hedgehogs toe nail and rip it off.


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

I feel like such a horrible hedgehog owner. 

-I feed her Nutro Max cat Food, kitten.
-I feed her not even, but pretty close to 1/4 of a cup.
-When i wake in the morning she's ate it alll! 
-She can roll in a ball but i can tell she has to keep tensing up to stay in a ball, maybe that's normal? 
-Her front legs are not really that chubby.
-I do not have a flat surface wheel, i own one that is medal with tiny openings. I herd it was okay for them.
-I bath her maybe like 1-3 times a week. 

Also thank you for telling me about the exercise ball i just bought it 3 days ago too.


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2011)

autumnalexa said:


> I feel like such a horrible hedgehog owner.
> 
> -I feed her Nutro Max cat Food, kitten.
> -I feed her not even, but pretty close to 1/4 of a cup.
> ...


Okay remove that wheel it can rip a hedgies nails out and can cause leg injuries worse not sure where you heard it was okay but I am betting it also has side bars this can hit a hedgie in the face as they like to stop and look out and cause injury as well.

Visit our diet section for some recommended cat food ideas Blue Buffalo is very popular.

1/4 of a cup is a lot of intake for a hedgie I would suggest you start weighing your hedgie with a scale in grams morning and night to see how much she ways and it fluctuates.

In addition start counting out the kibble its good to know her intake, if you do add or switch foods do it slowly to prevent an upset tummy.

That many baths is not good for a hedgehog they are not dirty animals usually and they don't need that many baths, and normally aside from a small few it stresses them very much.

Your hedgehog is still a baby so i doubt she is obese they grow a lot in their first 6 months to a year however I would browse our housing and health and diet sections and familiarize yourself with some safer and better options for your hedgehog 

Don't feel bad plenty of people get misinformation on hedgehog the important thing is when you learn something is a miss to change it as soon as possible


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

This is the wheel i have bought her.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/zoom/in ... d=11248151
I have the bigger one and it's connected to the cage so the stand is not in the cage.

But thank you SO much for taking your time and helping me out, this truly has helped a TON! I feel a lot better about this. =)


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2011)

autumnalexa said:


> This is the wheel i have bought her.
> http://www.petsmart.com/product/zoom/in ... d=11248151
> I have the bigger one and it's connected to the cage so the stand is not in the cage.
> 
> But thank you SO much for taking your time and helping me out, this truly has helped a TON! I feel a lot better about this. =)


Yeah that wheel is dangerous a comfort wheel isn't the best option but in a pet store its the best offer if you have a decent amount of funds the Carolina Bucket Wheel is amazing and easy to clean and most people use them here.

Its obvious you care about your hedgie and if you get some time to review some of the pinned topics here I am sure you'll find a lot of answers to better things for your quilled one


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Getting a solid surfaced wheel might entice her to start running again, and a lower fat food (usually kitten foods are higher fat) will also help a lot - try an "indoor" formula, they are geared towards less active cats. Hope she slims up a bit for you! Keep us updated!


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

Thank you guys very much. Once i get money i'm going to try some new things. 
Thank you.


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## packrat (Oct 23, 2010)

OUCH it hurt to click that petco link and see that nasty mesh wheel. Owww I feel bad for your hedgie. I wish every small rodent-ish animal knew better than buying wire/mesh wheels. I don't mean any offense at all, it just hurts me to imagine my hedgie running on a mesh wheel and breaking his legs or nails :|


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

packrat said:


> OUCH it hurt to click that petco link and see that nasty mesh wheel. Owww I feel bad for your hedgie. I wish every small rodent-ish animal knew better than buying wire/mesh wheels. I don't mean any offense at all, it just hurts me to imagine my hedgie running on a mesh wheel and breaking his legs or nails :|


You may not have meant any offense, but you might want to read over what you wrote again and consider it from the OP's point of view. To me, personally, if I were in her position, what you said would make me feel horrible all over again. She's already shown a great willingness to make changes for her hedgehog's well-being, no need to keep pointing errors out.

To autumnalexa: You've gotten some great advice already, not much to add to it. Good luck with the weight loss, and let us know how she does!


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## purplesparkles (Jul 3, 2011)

packrat said:


> OUCH it hurt to click that petco link and see that nasty mesh wheel. Owww I feel bad for your hedgie. I wish every small rodent-ish animal knew better than buying wire/mesh wheels. I don't mean any offense at all, it just hurts me to imagine my hedgie running on a mesh wheel and breaking his legs or nails :|


Saying "no offense" doesn't make it inoffensive.
Rewording it to "I don't mean any offense at all" doesn't help, either.


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

Ouch, that did hurt indeed. Like i said my hedgehog is only 2 months old, not to mention i'm a new hedgehog owner. I'm going to make mistakes. That's how i ended up at this forum so i can learn more and change the things i've done wrong. =/ 

-Lilysmommy: Thank you very much i sure will keep you guys posted. <3 =)


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2011)

autumnalexa said:


> Ouch, that did hurt indeed. Like i said my hedgehog is only 2 months old, not to mention i'm a new hedgehog owner. I'm going to make mistakes. That's how i ended up at this forum so i can learn more and change the things i've done wrong. =/
> 
> -Lilysmommy: Thank you very much i sure will keep you guys posted. <3 =)


Its all good please do keep us posted and do not hesitate to ask if you can't find an answer I think you'll find so much here to make your hedgie a very happy one


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

Thank you very much, you guys are so kind and sweet.

I'm am VERY happy i signed up for this it's helping SO much. All day i've been reading so many new things i didn't know. It's helped beyond belief. =)


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2011)

autumnalexa said:


> Thank you very much, you guys are so kind and sweet.
> 
> I'm am VERY happy i signed up for this it's helping SO much. All day i've been reading so many new things i didn't know. It's helped beyond belief. =)


No worries you are not the first and certainly not the last person with misinformation on hedgehogs the truth is a majority of what we know and is recommended her is based off of experience the hedgehog is still very much a mystery overall as a pet as to what is best. The recommendations have been found to be in their best interests of safety and quality of life


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## packrat (Oct 23, 2010)

I'm sorry, but I am not sorry at all. If you're going to buy a hedgehog, you really should have researched what they eat, what wheel they use, how they interact with humans, etc. This leaves no surprises when you get your hedgie. It's just common sense to get a running wheel with a solid flat surface. People without common sense should not own pets, but alas a majority of humans with children lack any sense at all. This is merely stating facts. No need to hate me. Many (most) people have no business bearing children or owning pets. Yes, fine, good, you can learn, but the point is you should have learned prior to ownership. It's like if I bought a Ferrari and took it out on public roads beating the crap out of it before I got my license. I would crash. 

I didn't know people buy pets on a whim, specifically hedgehogs. You may take this all as arrogance, but really I am just sensitive about the hedgehogs. I'm not a big fan of humans.


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

it's called MISINFORMATION!
i did research CLEARLY and found some wrong information. 
So tell me the first time you owned a hedgehog you didn't make mistakes? YOU didn't receive the wrong information cause i'm sorry but you weren't born with this knowledge about a hedgehog. You had to have made a few mistakes in order for you to know what you know. 
Just cause you know something doesn't mean everyone else does too.


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## packrat (Oct 23, 2010)

The first time I owned a hedgehog was just under a year ago. Before I got him I had the cage all set up, a Carolina Storm wheel, heat, light, food, oatmeal Aveeno, etc. I didn't just get him and then go to Petco and buy supplies. It's like having a child and then getting the bottle and crib a week later. Everything should pretty much be set up before bringing the hedgie home, quite like the hedgie has already been living with you for a while. I was on this site reading people's setups and what works and doesn't work, 2 months before picking mine up.

If I could get away with it, I'd go to Petco and burn most of the wheels and cages they sell. It saddens me to go there sometimes for giant mealworms and Yesterdays News litter because I can't help myself from checking out the rats and gerbils and some of them have no food, some look sick, some wheels are overturned (which is probably better since their wheels suck.) Makes me want to work there.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

This is just a reminder that we will no longer tolerate rudeness or direct attacks against people. If it continues we *will* put the offender or offenders on moderated status.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Nancy said:


> This is just a reminder that we will no longer tolerate rudeness or direct attacks against people. If it continues we *will* put the offender or offenders on moderated status.


Thank you, Nancy.



autumnalexa said:


> Thank you very much, you guys are so kind and sweet.
> 
> I'm am VERY happy i signed up for this it's helping SO much. All day i've been reading so many new things i didn't know. It's helped beyond belief. =)


I'm glad you've been reading and learning more, and I really hope you stick around to continue learning and asking questions! And please don't be afraid to post questions if you can't find an answer by searching the forums. This forum really is here to try and help people and provide correct information. I know TWCOGAR has already said this, but just wanted to reiterate. And when you get a chance, we'd also love to see pictures of Mocha! We're a bit crazy about pictures here. :lol:


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## autumnalexa (Sep 6, 2011)

Awe thank you very much. I'm really growing to love this site besides getting called out on the things i've clearly messed up on. 

I'll be sure to post a picture as soon as possible! <3


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Don't worry about the mistakes, we all make them at some time and all we can do is fix them, learn from them and move on. Welcome to HHC and hope you and your baby have a wonderful time together.


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