# Refusing to switch foods. Stubborn, or is RC food addictive?



## FamilyOfExotics (May 19, 2012)

So I am trying to help out a friend of mine that rescued a hedgie from a couple who no longer had the time for him, and it is proving rather difficult! The people who owned him before must not have given him any variety when he was a baby, because he refuses to eat practically everything! :?

His hedgehog is approx. 1year and 2months old, as far as I can remember. He currently eats Royal Canin Kitten 36, which is what the previous owners had him on. And he eats about 60 kibbles a night.

From what I have read on here, the recommended protein percentage is >35%, and the RC Kitten 36 has 36% protein when you don't factor in the moisture content. Is that a little high? And after all my research I am able to tell that RC isn't the _best_ food available, seeing as though it has corn as the 3rd and 4th ingredient.. And not to mention buying it puts a pretty good hole in your pocket! With the intention of slowly switching his hedgie over to some better food, he purchased Wellness Indoor Health and Innova Low Fat cat food. As far as I have read those are some of the listed 'good' foods for hedgies? If not, please correct me!

He slowly started to try and wean him onto the Wellness first. He started with something like 55 RC and 5 Wellness kibbles, and then slowly added more from there. The problem is that his hedgehog REFUSES to eat the Wellness kibbles! Even though his RC kibble count has been reduced to 40 to try and encourage the switch, he just leaves all the Wellness and only eats the RC. He said he gave up on the Wellness for now and tried mixing in the Innova.. So far its the exact same situation as with the Wellness! And I should add that he tried for 3 weeks to mix in the Wellness, but he still wouldn't take it.

He has tried mixing the food together in a plastic bag for a couple nights so that they have similar smells, but that didn't work. He tried crushing up the new food and sprinkling it over the RC, but his hedgehog literally ate around the crushed up stuff. He said he tried softening the foods and mixing them together in kind of a mush, but that then his hedgie didn't eat his food at all. :roll:

I am just wondering if there is anything he can try, to integrate some new type of food? Or is RC food addicting? Or is his hedgehog just potentially super stubborn? Has anyone else here had any trouble trying to remove RC as the main food?

Sorry about the super long post! I think in lists, so I have to have spaces between my paragraphs :lol:
And I hope that when I get my baby hedgie, he won't be that stubborn!


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Kitten 36 is high in fat (17%) which is the main reason hedgehogs will snub new foods if they've been on that or Babycat for a long time. It's also smaller kibble than normal adult cat food. A few things you can try:

- Break the new food up into smaller pieces, and also break the RC into pieces, so it's harder for him to tell the difference.
- Store the new food in a bag with the old food so it takes on the smell of it.
- Offer a bowl of just the new food when he would normally come out to eat, and leave it there for a few hours. Sometimes if they think that's all they're going to get, they'll eat it because they have no other choice. If he doesn't eat it after a few hours, put the RC in so he doesn't end up going a night without food out of refusal.

Wellness Indoor Health is 12% fat and Innova low fat is 8 or 9% fat. If none of those tricks work, try finding a food that's maybe around 15% fat to start with. It might work to wean him to a food that isn't such a drastic increase in fat right away, then go from there.

How much does he weigh, what's his body type, and how active is he? If he's an active hedgehog and is a good size with the higher fat diet, he'll be fine just staying with what he knows. RC isn't the best stuff, but it's not terrible either, and some hedgehogs eat just that their whole lives because they need the higher fat content based on their activity level. If he's overweight or chunky, the switch is more important.


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## FamilyOfExotics (May 19, 2012)

He has tried storing the 2 foods together so they smell the same, but that didn't work.

I texted my friend and found out he weighs 300g. He says that he runs quite a bit during the night, from about 10pm to 4am. He isn't super round though, kind of like a skinny oval (if that makes sense?).



> - Break the new food up into smaller pieces, and also break the RC into pieces, so it's harder for him to tell the difference.





> - Offer a bowl of just the new food when he would normally come out to eat, and leave it there for a few hours. Sometimes if they think that's all they're going to get, they'll eat it because they have no other choice. If he doesn't eat it after a few hours, put the RC in so he doesn't end up going a night without food out of refusal.


I will definitely let him know about those 2 ideas! So then it should be okay for him to stay on the RC? Would it still be a smart idea to try and get him to eat the other two foods as well, to develop a mix?

And I didn't know that the fat is what makes food more appealing! Along with healthy ingredients of course lol

Thanks for the info!


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Yeah, the fat gives it more flavor, the same way it works for people food. RC Babycat (24% fat) is fantastic for pregnant/nursing moms and new babies, both which need the extra fat, but if a hedgehog grows to adulthood and has only been on a kitten food, it can be nearly impossible to make them switch to something else.

Fortunately, it sounds like he's a good weight. Sometimes hedgehogs need to be on higher fat than the normally suggested range because they're especially active "runner types". It sounds like this one is just that - a lean figure and high activity level. The 17% is fine for him, in that case, so your friend shouldn't worry too much about his health if he does stay on the RC Kitten. If anything, I'd say monitor his weight regularly (at least once a week) because hedgehogs with that body type can have trouble keeping weight on. 300g doesn't leave a whole lot of wiggle room. We have several boys who are like that, and one who even is too busy wheeling every night to even eat all of his food. We've had to supplement his diet with small amounts of higher fat food, and his weight still fluctuates a lot.

RC in general can be a bit pricy, so it might work to try switching him to another kitten food with the same amount of fat. He might be stuck in his ways and not want anything but the RC Kitten, but he also might be open to incorporating another kitten food (or non-"indoor" adult cat food) if it has the same fat content and therefore is just as tasty for him. That would give the option of choosing a food that has better ingredients and also isn't as expensive. It's always good to have at least two foods in a mix, in case there's a recall or something else, to avoid the infamous hedgehog hunger strikes. (One of our boys refused food for two days when I tried to switch his oversized bowl to a smaller one. His appetite returned in full when I gave him his bowl back. That's how stubborn they can be!) But, it's not completely necessary, so I wouldn't worry too much about that if this boy just doesn't want to cooperate.

Innova and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (both regular formulas, not light/indoor version) have 20% fat and great ingredients. Wellness Kitten has 18% fat. Blue Buffalo Kitten has 20%. Simply Nourish for Kittens has 18%. Castor and Pollux Organix Adult has 16%. There are other options out there, but these are the ones close to his current fat content that have better ingredients, so if he could be convinced to switch to any of these, he'd be at least a little better off as far as that goes. But, like I said, RC isn't terrible, and plenty of hedgehogs live long and healthy lives being fed that brand.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Just wanted to say that I am familiar with the struggle to feed healthy food to pets. I have a budgie who is a total seed junkie, he should eat way more vegetables than he does, I try to feed him veggies and fruits as treats but he only eats lettuce, kale and parsley and only if he gets them infrequently, if they are available too often he looses interest. He refused every vegetable right after his mate died when he was adjusting to being alone after he was adjusted and acting like his old self again he ate veggies a little more often. 

Thinking about that made me think that maybe the hedgehog just isn't settled enough yet to be ready for changes. Although after three weeks of trying new food and presumably some time before the attempt that should be plenty of time. 

At one point I made the mistake of not stocking up on cat food soon enough and the day I went to get it, turns out the store was closed because the street it was on was closed that day for a concert, total fluke thing and I didn't have food, or time to get to another pet store before close, so my cat who was previously very happy with a grain free diet had to eat grocery store food until I could get to the pet store again (I found the least disgusting one they had which was actually decent, not by-products, no corn, no white rice) and have not been able to get him off of it. If I don't feed him the junk food with his grain free food he has a tantrum. Carbs and fat are just addictive. At least hedgehogs don't meow all night if they don't get what they want :lol:


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## FamilyOfExotics (May 19, 2012)

Moxieberry: Okay, well that makes sense! Lol darn fatty foods.. :roll: 

He is pretty lean, and with the high fat in his RC he must be a pretty good runner. I'm not sure how often he weighs him at this point, but I will definitely tell him to make a schedule of it. Would it be a good idea to see if we can get hedgie to gain a little bit more weight? If it's possible that is! 

Thank you for all the food suggestions! I'll let him know about them and maybe we can get him to at least eat another type of food along with his RC, to give him some variety and a healthier mix. 

Hedgielover: My friend has had him for about 4 months now, so I would like to assume he would be settled! But I don't have a hedgie of my own yet so I definitely cannot be certain! 

And I know exactly what you mean, I have 2 ferrets and they are supposed to be obligate carnivores right? Well not my Bainers.. He seriously will not touch anything other than his kibble mix. I have tried chicken, beef, egg (uncooked and cooked versions) and he won't touch them. The sad thing? I once dropped a really small piece of broccoli on the floor while I was making my salad, and he ate it! Then he gave me his sad eyes saying he wanted some more! Crazy ferret, eat your healthy meats that I give you! :lol: 

My second ferret, Aspen, can get pretty spazzy when she doesn't get what she wants. Though its normally not to do with food. She is more, 'LET ME DIG AT THE COUCH OR I BITE YOU!' type of spazzy :roll: But I love them both anyways!


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I'd have to see a photo to get a better idea of it. We have one hedgehog who was the runt of a litter of seven, he's also a crazy runner, and he's around 230g. Then we have two others who are more regular-sized in build but also crazy runner-types so they have trouble staying consistent with their weight; the high for either of them is around 350g. The small runty guy I wouldn't call "skinny" but the other two are always borderline. So, it depends on the hedgehog. If his sides seem a little sunken in, then a slightly higher fat diet would be a good idea. If your friend decides to try for 20% the best choice would be Chicken Soup adult (not light). All of the chicken soup varieties are amazing.


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