# Hedgehog only wants ferret food



## shootrmcgavin (Jul 23, 2015)

So I've had Hogustus for about a month now, and I got him from a pet store who was feeding him a mix of Pretty Pets hedgehog food and ferret food. At first, he was eating both, but then started only eating the ferret food. After doing some research, I learned that neither food is good for hedgehogs, so I went out and bought some Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul and Whole Earth Farms adult cat food. I slowly started adding the foods into the mix, but he still only went for the ferret food, and left the others alone. I know its very bad for him, so I took the ferret food out altogether, but now he is refusing to eat at all. This is very bad, as he is very active on his wheel and young, so he really needs to eat. I don't know what to do, and I am worried sick. Can someone PLEASE help me


----------



## PeaceLove&Hedgies (Jun 26, 2015)

Try grinding up a few pellets of the ferret food and putting it in Hogustus's dish along with the other foods. That way, he'll smell the food he loves, but be tricked into eating food that is better for him. Wean him slowly off of it- sometimes hedgies can be picky eaters- I had to cut a mealworm in half and squeeze it over my hedgehog's lips 2 times before she realized they were good. All I can say is: May the force be with you!


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Give him the ferret food. You can't starve hedgehogs into a new food, they need to eat. They shouldn't go more than a night or two without food. So just give him what he wants for now. It's better that he eats a crappy food than nothing right now.

I would go ahead & throw away the Pretty Pets. It's pretty garbage and if he's not eating it anyway, there's no loss there.

How long have you been mixing the cat foods in? I would start again, with only one food. Try storing that one food & the ferret food together, so they smell a bit like each other. You can also try grinding the ferret food up & coating the cat food in it. If you get to 2 weeks, with the foods mixed 50/50, and he's still not touching the cat food, I would give up & try the other food with the same methods. 

If he rejects both of them, I would try some different foods. It sucks, but sometimes hedgehogs are very picky about foods & won't try one. Sometimes you can return foods (even opened) if you still have the receipt & it has more than half of the food left. See if that's an option. Unfortunately I think the time span is within a month, so you'll have to check on that too. See if you can get samples of other types of cat food to try him out on before you buy a whole bag of food. Also only get one bag next time - if you get to 2-3 weeks & he's still having none of it, you can still return it.

What ferret food is it, do you know? A lot of ferret foods have pretty high fat since ferrets need high fat. That could be why he's rejecting the cat foods, because higher fat tends to be more appealing. You could try getting a kitten food with a fat percentage that's 15-18% & see if he's more willing to switch to that. While it's still not ideal (most hedgehogs, other than marathon runners, need lower fat), that will at least get him on a healthier food that is likely lower protein percentage. You can then try to introduce some lower fat cat foods to mix with the kitten food & bring the overall mix protein down. Once he's used to the foods, you could also decrease the amount of kitten food in the mix or take it out completely if he's happy with his other foods.


----------



## shootrmcgavin (Jul 23, 2015)

Thank y'all so much for the quick responses. I just cut the ferret food down to about the size of the pieces of the Whole Earth Farms cat food (I couldn't even tell the difference between the two) and mixed them together and he's all over it. Hopefully he will start to like the cat food more in the next week or so. Then I'll wean him off the ferret food and onto the Chicken Soup. One more question: The ferret food is softer than any of the other foods, and when he bites into the harder foods, he winces, but I don't know if its because it is hurting his teeth or the crunching sound is just spooking him. Can cat food hurt their teeth? Could that be why he doesn't like it?


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm not sure if it'd be hurting his teeth, but it could be spooking him & certainly more difficult for him to eat. It wouldn't hurt to maybe try dampening the cat kibble a little to see if it makes it easier for him to eat & if he seems to like it better that way too. You could also try crushing them even smaller if he'll accept that. Some are picky about not wanting to eat broken food or crumbs (strange creatures :lol, but he might appreciate it.


----------



## shootrmcgavin (Jul 23, 2015)

Ok I'll try that over the next couple days. Thank you so much for all the help, I REALLY appreciate it  I'll keep y'all updated with progress!


----------



## shootrmcgavin (Jul 23, 2015)

Ok so I have an update, I've been trying only mixing in the Whole Earth Farms with the ferret food. I cut all the pieces to the size of the ferret food, and even poured the cumbs left from cutting into the bowl. He still only ate ferret food. Ive done this for about 2 weeks now. Tonight I'm gonna stop putting in the Whole Earth Farms and start putting in the Chicken Soup, still cutting the ferret food into smaller pieces. It's a little fatty (they didn't have the "Lite" version) but I figure it's healthier than the ferret food. I worry about him continuing to eat the ferret food, as I know its very fatty, and he's gaining weight :/ hopefully this works out...


----------



## writergirlmel (May 16, 2015)

It definitely sounds like he just doesn't like the Whole Earth Farms. It happens. I have one food I just started working in, and it looks like I'm going to have to switch it out because Fitzgerald is doing a stellar job of avoiding it in his dish.

One reason your little guy may be going for the ferret food -- aside from familiarity -- is the fat content. The fattier foods tend to be tastier to many hedgies, so working in a food that's a bit on the high side in fat might work better. If he eats the Chicken Soup food, I'd go ahead and gradually switch him entirely over to that and then start working on adding a couple of other foods to the mix to get the numbers closer to ideal.


----------



## shootrmcgavin (Jul 23, 2015)

So last night I tried a new fish-based cat food, and he ate ALL of it. I've read mixed reviews on giving hedgehogs fish-based cat foods, so I want to know your opinions on whether I should continue with this food or not. Here are the specifics of the food:

Canidae Grain-Free Pure Sea

Top Ingredients:
Salmon, salmon meal, menhaden fish meal, potatoes, peas, canola oil, sweet potoatoes

Crude Protein 32%
Crude Fat 17%
Crude Fiber 3%

Please let me know y'alls thoughts on this food and if I should continue feeding it to Gus. Thank you!


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

The issue with fish based foods is this... It can make their poop smell. 
It's much better for him than ferret food. 
Also it opens up more options now that he accepts cat food.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Sounds fine!  It's going to be much more appropriate for him than ferret foods (as most of them are either too high in protein or have crappy ingredients, or both). Honestly, the fish may or may not make his poop smell. I know one person whose opinion I respect a lot has commented that she thinks it's low-quality fish ingredients that cause stinky poop, not just all fish. This food look fine, and it may not affect his poop at all. If it doesn't & if he's eating it well & everything is fine, there's nothing wrong with continuing it. I would suggest trying to find at least one or two more foods to mix with it though, it's best to do a mix of foods for hedgehogs.

Edit: Woops, I meant to add, I deleted your new thread about this since you'd already posted about it here.


----------



## writergirlmel (May 16, 2015)

Go with it. The fat is still a bit on the high side, and his poop might smell, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, in my opinion. Get him switched to the Canidae, and then try working in something else that brings the fat content of the mix down.

By the way, I've recently worked a fish-based food into my mix, and I haven't had a stinky poop problem at all. And, honestly, it was a food I was prepared to switch out because of the reputation and because mine is Wellness, which also has a reputation for being too rich for many hedgehogs.


----------

