# Convncing a hedgie to try new foods?



## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

hi, poke a roo is 2 years old, we got her from our friend who travelled too much for work and had no time for her anymore. she got the diet of cat food with mealworms 3 times a week, and we've stuck to that, but i feel she should have more than just that. she gets freeze dried mealworms, but would freeze dried crickets be good too? i think those would be better?

she ignores most fresh food except bananas. she goes nuts for bananas. but we offer those as a treat. but we've offered bits of carrots and shes ignored them, we've offered papaya, so far shes ignored it, we've offered cranberries, she ignores them... we dont give raisons as i read theyre bad as well as grapes so i wont bother there, we offer dried apple, dried pineapple... shes ignoring it. we've tried some fresh fruits too but she ignores it unless its banana.

do you have any tips i can use to try to convince her that these foods are good?


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Dried fruits can be a choking hazard so you want to stay away from those. Alot of hedgehogs are picky and ignore new foods. You can try feeding her cooked meat (not seasoned or processed). Freeze-dried mealworms and crickets aren't very good. The freeze-drying process make the insect's exoskeleton indigestible and causes blockage which can be fatal. However, alive mealworms are a huge hit!

This is a post by LizardGirl which I found very helpful:



> Here is my treat list, hope this helps!
> 
> Treats
> 
> ...


I hope this helps!!!


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I got a piece of the kibble she likes and rubbed it on the new food... and she proceeded to inhale it and love it.


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

thank you, i will remove the dried fruits. i read on another source they were ok, but i trust this source more so i will take your word!

i have apples. and carrots. and brocholli. she devoured a small bit of banana tonight and she loved that but i would like more variety. i had tried carrots before. but i will try again  ill try apple tomorrow though. ill give her some brocholli tonight though.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Sometimes it takes weeks for a hedgehog to decide that something is food. Keep trying.  Some people have had success with melon, mostly watermelon, but some with cantaloupe.


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

we've heard some funny stuff regarding cantaloupe lately, making people sick, so we havent bought any and wont for awhile. 

shes sniffed the brocholli... its a start, but she walked away lol


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Make sure you cook the veggies too  Veggies such as carrots are too hard to eat uncooked. When I offer Stella apple i always remove the skin. I'm not sure you have to but to me it seems like the skin would be alot harder for them to chew up. Stella is really picky too and will just walk over the new treats I try to give her like she doesn't even realize it's food! The only success I have had with her is ground beef (just a little bit, too much can be bad) and chicken. She went crazy for both of those!


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

can she have green beans, corn, and peas? we have a veggie mix i cook up for our birds and this is what it has in it.


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Corn and peas are ok in very small amounts. I know corn is hard to digest but I'm not sure about the peas. I'm not sure about green beans. I don't think it would be a very good treat and personally wouldn't feed it.


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

alrighty i wont  thanks for all your help guys! ill use the carrots in the mix as theyre soft and cook well. but none of the rest


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm curious, what is your bird mixture... how is it prepared? It sounds like it may be a yummy addition to your hedgehog's diet. She can have the vegetables you listed... Peas have been a favorite of several hedgehogs I have had over the years. In fact I have a number of funny stories that involve hedgehogs throwing fits because they wanted peas and I gave them something else that night. 

If you do feed corn, do not freak if you find corn pieces in your hedgehog's stool though. The skin is very thick and can pass right through their digestive track. 

I have found that with green beans and peas (and other vegetables) that some hedgehogs will eat them when they are steamed and cut into pieces, others have wanted them smashed into a mush, and yet others want them more in a puree form. If yours won't touch them in one form, try another.

For instance. Rose loved loved loved peas. She preferred the pureed variety. Whole, steamed, no go. I typically was awakened at night by a hedgehog banging her pea bowl against anything she could in the cage and peas spread throughout her cage whenever I tried giving them to her. Smashed, ok, but again, they were eaten with a lot of objection and glaring looks of "I want to speak to the chef, she messed up my order again!" Pureed, the bowl was licked clean within minutes of her discovering the peas.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I wouldn't feed corn simply because we try to avoid it in their foods, and if you feed peas, remove the shell. I know the peas will affect their poops.


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

the birds mix is a frozen veggie mix, we cook them for the birds by boiling them. we boil them til theyre really soft. theres not a tonne of corn in the mix. i can always pick it out if theres a problem with her poopies.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Just keep trying different things. My Zoey loves the food blended up & served warm. My Pepper won't try anything new unless it's on her 2nd level, under her wheel. :roll: We found that out by accident. After trying different things wih her for weeks & her not touching any of them, I accidentally left the bowl under her wheel. It was licked clean.
Don't give up!


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

she tried a little brocholli, but didnt like it. she sniffed the veggie mix and walked away but was a little interested so im definately gonna keep trying that. she LOVES bananas though lol never seen her eat anything with such enthusiasm before


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## anthylorrel (Nov 9, 2011)

My hedgie is still a baby so she hadn't had anything but mother's milk and kibble before I brought her home. It's been a big experiment to find what she likes. So far she hasn't been a fan of most fruits or veggies. She does however, *love* chicken. I'll usually roast a little piece just for her when I'm making dinner for me and the husband, making sure not to season her piece. Once it's cooled down mostly, I'll shred it a little and put it in her dish. Its gone pretty fast.


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## DallyTsuka (Nov 5, 2011)

so, its been awhile, and it's still been a no go for fruits and veggies aside from bananas lol she does not want ANYTHING but her cat food, mealies, and bananas. any other ideas? or is this ok?


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