# Moistening kibble for Zoey



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

As you know, Cholla is such a loud eater. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! Zoey is much quieter. We have noticed that she had a bit of a hard time eating her kibble. When we got her, she came with just 1 kind of kibble & it was pretty big pieces. I have since added 3 additional kinds of kibble to her diet. 
In addition, I have estimated her date of birth to be about January of 2009, based on how long her previous owner had her. I am wondering now if she isn't older.
I don't know how many teeth she has. I think she may be missing some. Little booger won't let me see. :roll: Maybe that's why she's a quiet eater?
Anyway, we tried an experiment last night, based on some previous posts from y'all. We moistened about 1/2 her kibble. When I checked on her last night, she was going to town on it. And this morning, almost all of the moistened kibble is gone, whereas most of the hard kibble is left.
Guess what I'm going to be doing from now on...


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I have numerous on dampened kibble. Usually it is the 3 and older who need softer food but I've had a couple of younger ones that needed it. 

A vet visit might be a good idea just to rule out an infected or loose tooth.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Here's a picture I found that we took weeks ago & I blew it up quite a bit. I think she's missing quite a few teeth. What do you think? (That's banana she's eating, btw)


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Yes it does look like she is missing some teeth and they also look worn down quite a bit. 

Love that wrinkled up nose. :lol:


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Nancy said:


> Love that wrinkled up nose. :lol:


He he. Thanks, me too!

So, I moistened all her kibble last night. And by the time I put Cholla away (about 1 hour), she had eaten almost all of it :shock: What it usually takes her all night to eat was gone in only 1 hour. Poor, sweet thing. I wish I would have noticed earlier.

I'm constantly amazed at how much there is left to learn. They keep surprising me. I know that I could have 150 hedgies (like you Nancy), or even the same hedgie for 150 years & would still be in awe.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Poor girl. Her teeth are pretty worn looking. It can be hard to determine age from worn teeth. Some hedgehogs just have a harder time and their teeth wear down faster. I had one who was likely 4 but yet still had teeth of a youngster. Great image though. 

This may totally spoil her, but start offering her a little moistened kibble or a teaspoon of quality canned food in the am. Cooper is one of mine who is on a soft food only diet. He gets moistened in the pm, and a teaspoon of canned in the am. We have had trouble keeping weight on him, hence why I started the am feeding. Plus I don't like keeping moistened food in their cages for too long for fear of spoiling. However, my providing breakfast is now expected. He even peaks out from under his blanket to see if I have done my job in the mornings. I have also been snuffled at to be reminded when I am taking too long.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

:lol: Thanks for the advice Kalandra. She's already getting spoiled, so what's a little more? :roll: 
I wasn't quite sure what to do in the mornings, cleaned out the old moist kibble & put in hard, just in case she needed something. I knew I didn't want to leave it in there all day, but wasn't sure what to do. I will give her a mealie in the mornings for putting up with me - cleaning her cage, waking her up & checking her out. I will now start giving her a little something else as well.
It's interesting, because during our cuddle time at night, I almost always give her just mealies as treats. I think I had tried a kibble & she didn't really want it, so I didn't bother. I guess it's good to try something different every once in a while, just to see. Hopefully this change will make her happier & healthier.


----------



## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

PJM said:


> Here's a picture I found that we took weeks ago & I blew it up quite a bit...[/img]


The large size with teeth make the hedgie look fierce! Imagine if your finger was in the way... ouch!


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

If she will still eat hard kibble, continue to offer it. The trick is to find one that is easily broken.

We ran into problems with tartar/plague build up on the few teeth Cooper has left. He simply cannot crunch kibble anymore, but I wanted him to keep what he has for helping him chew the soft foods. For him and because he is so darn tolerant, doc had me start "brushing" his teeth. Laughing yet? Doc knew I would! He only suggested it for Cooper because Cooper allows me to open his mouth and do whatever I want to him with no arguments. I take a little of the paste, and do a quick swipe across his teeth on each side of his mouth, not really brushing but oddly enough, it has actually helped. I couldn't do this on either of my girls though! They wouldn't tolerate it.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

:lol: :lol: Oh I can just see how well that would go over with Zoey! 
Thanks again! That is good to know. I think I will try another experiment on her & see if she will eat broken kibble.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I knew you would laugh! Seriously, this is my rescue who was angry and very combative. We have been through a lot together and he is now like putty in my hands. A few got to meet him at the Milwaukee show. Someone even asked me if I gave him Valium because he was so laid back.

I don't recommend brushing your hedgehog's teeth... in case anyone got that impression. Cooper is weird and allows it. His story was more to be aware that there can be complications to soft food only diets.

On another note, I had another who only ever was fed canned food by her prior owners. She wouldn't touch kibble. Her teeth looked perfect. No build up anywhere.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

OK. So last night, I cooked up some chicken, carrots & sweet potato. Blended it up along with moistened kibble. Put it in little containers & put them all in the freezer except 1. I was hoping Zoey would like it. She LOVED it!  
This morning, when I went to check on them, she was still running. And once I turned the lights on & started cleaning up their cages, she just ran around & around the cage. Scooped her up & checked her for threads, etc. Gave her a mealie & then offered her some more kibble puree. She wasn't interested at first. I decided to leave it in her cage, just until I was finished with Cholla & his cage. During that time, she must have come out of her cuddle house 5 times to dig in, run around the cage & go back inside. :lol: She has so much energy & was just super-hyper. I was happy & excited for her.  I(Side note: offer some to Cholla last night & he wouldn't even TRY it! :roll: )
I put a few crushed kibble in her cage so she could have something during the day if she wanted it. Not quite sure what to do about overnight & daytime. Want her to have access to food, but want it to be safe. Is leaving a little moistened kibble OK? Obviously just kibble, no added chicken or anything. :?:

Thanks so much guys, between Kalandra, Nancy & Hedgemom, I really feel like I'm doing the best for her.


----------



## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

oh, i'm facing a similar situation with Harvey. i am not sure what the matter is, but he became reluctant to eat kibble all of a sudden, but was eating his soft dinner alright when we took him out to cuddle. so we started dampening the kibble. i'll take him to the vet when Lancik goes there to make sure his mouth is ok.


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Zoey is just the cutest! It does look like she's enjoying her smoothie there.


----------



## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

She's going to town in that picture lol That is so cute and I'm happy that she likes her new food


----------

