# Is there something wrong with my hedgehog?



## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

Hello,

So up until a few days ago I thought my hedgehog was perfectly healthy, but now I'm starting to think otherwise. Basically my hedgehog is 17cm long (6"3/4 for those who don't speak metric), and weighs 230g... 

Apparently this is quite underweight :-o He's a one and a half years old, I can't see anything physically wrong with him, I can't feel his ribs like one of the other threads said I would be able to if he was underweight.

Should I be worried?


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Can you post a picture to give a better idea of his size? That does sound pretty underweight. What do you feed him?


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## DesertHedgehogs (Apr 2, 2013)

I have a male who shifts from 290-305, he's a little bigger than yours, but still healthy, just small. I also have a 400 gram 10 week old... so, weight isn't a sign of health, body shape is. My little guy is on an extremely high fat diet, and without it he loses weight. reiterating what abby said, what are you feeding him? and picture?


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## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

Will get a picture up as soon as I can, he's fed on cat food with 12%fat and 32% protein, and also regularly enjoys munching on mealworms and crickets


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## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

This is him, please note I have pretty big hands so the scale might be a little hard to judge


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Hmm, he doesn't look too thin from the top so he might just have a smaller frame. Any chance you could get a picture of his tummy or side view?


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## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

I can't get a picture of him staying still whilst on his back, he's really not a fan of it but this was the best I could get, baring in mind he's been on his wheel for about a half hour now he doesn't want to stay particularly still.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I'm not an expert at recognizing an underweight hog, so take this with a grain of salt. Gaining another 10 grams probably wouldn't hurt, but from what I can tell in the picture he doesn't look terribly skinny.  Does he always have food in his bowl or do you give him a limited amount each day? Free feeding is recommended so that they always have something in their dish in case they get hungry.


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## Chloethehedgie7 (Jul 24, 2013)

He looks a little thin on his back. I would suggest some Puppy High Calorie Booster. That brings them up in weight. Also, you try this, whatever food your on use instead of Adult use Kitten. Also, I would use Bene-Bac to jumpstart his health. If the weight goes down, the health does too, so I would try that. 

Hope this helped and God bless,
Katie


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Bene-Bac wouldn't hurt, but it's primarily for restoring the balance of healthy bacteria in their digestive systems when they have upset tummies from stress or GI problems. You'd be able to tell if they're having GI problems by changes in their poop (it's green, diarrhea, extra smelly, etc).

Kitten foods tend to be higher in protein and fat and you want to be careful not to exceed 35% protein and 15% fat, otherwise kidney problems can develop. You can always mix a kitten food in with what he's currently on to average out the percentages, but the amounts Midnight is on now sound good. What brand is it?


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## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

It's royal canin I think that's how is spelt... And I'll have a look for a UK equivalent of bene-bac as they don't sell it in England 

Also I feed him limited amounts each day, but I will start free feeding him from tomorrow  

Thanks you all I'll give you an update in a week to let you know if he's put on any weight :-D


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Free feeding is a good idea. I wouldn't worry too much about the Bene-Bac or an equivalent, personally. Like Abbys said, it's mainly for digestive problems.

What kind of runner is he? If he runs on his wheel a lot, he might need a bit higher fat to keep him healthy. The 15% fat limit is mainly for normal hedgies - runners sometimes need up to 20% fat or even higher just to maintain their weight.

Besides keeping an eye on his frame, try to weigh him regularly (once a week, around the same day/time, if you can) and keep an eye out for trends. If you notice he seems to consistently go down each week, that'd be another sign he needs a higher fat food. If you do decide to mix in another food or switch him, I wouldn't jump straight to a kitten or puppy food - aim for something around 15-16% first & see how that works. You wouldn't want to jump straight to 18% fat and have that be too much. Starting with free-feeding is a good plan though. Will be looking forward to update!


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## SugarCoatedSam (Sep 24, 2013)

Bonjour, 

Just a quick update, after a week of free feeding I weighed Midnight last night and he now weighs 310g, so I'm glad he's put on some weight but a little concerned how fast he put it on. Still, he seems happy so it's all good


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

That does seem to be a fairly quick weight gain, but maybe he's just working his way up to his ideal weight and will level out.


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