# AD- Hills



## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Hi all,

I have a male hedgehog who is 8 months old now. He eats very little and is just a skinny boy. I talked to a vet here who specialises in hedgies and she told me to try AD from hills. This is a food for ill cats and dogs that should contain all the necesarry supplements, etc. It smells meaty. He's eating it well, in combination with his regular foods. He is not gaining any weight, but he is still thriving, very active at night, healthy sparkly eyes, etc.

I also rescued a female from a very bad place. I'm assuming she's pregnant since she was in a tiny cage with a male. 
I've had her for 6 weeks now and she gained 100grams in the past 3 weeks. I have been giving her a little bit of the AD hills as well. 

Could the weight gain with her be from that food? Or...

x


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## Prue (Feb 20, 2016)

It is extremely likely that she is pregnant given the circumstances you rescued her from.

If you have had her for 6 weeks then it has been 42 days or so. Once you pass the 55 day mark you are in the clear pregnancy-wise. If you have only been giving her a little bit of the AD she would not have gained that much weight. It sounds like the weight gain is likely due to her probably pregnancy. That being said I have read that weight gain is not always a reliable symptom that the hedgehog is pregnant. Someone with more knowledge in the breeding department might be able to clear that up for you.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

She could be pregnant or she might just be gaining weight because of getting better food. As said you'll have to wait until she's been away from the male for 55 days before you can know if she was pregnant or not. 

Hill A/D is a wonderful food and I often used it to syringe feed sick hedgies with because it is so nutrient dense and it is easy to syringe. For the male on the Hills A/D are you leaving dry cat food in the cage as well so he can snack between feedings?


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Thanks for your input 

They are both getting their dry cat food as well, it's the Royal Canin fit 32. they also get a couple of mealies at night. Sometimes I break the cat food into smaller pieces for my male, he's definitely getting some of both. 

Have you ever had really skinny hedgies? I'm trying to get him a little more 'fat' cause that would look a little healthier. Nonetheless he is acting like any other healthy hedgie.

My female eats everything right now and is drinking for minutes straight a couple of times a day. Sometimes she just sits still and I can see her body just making these weird movements. Like she's not doing it herself sort of. She is still very calm, and friendly to me and she loves attention when she wakes up.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I would suggest reading up on the section in breeding to prepare yourself in case she is pregnant.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Have your male and female been completely separated the whole time you've had them? Your question from the other day asking about her behavior towards a male if she's pregnant. 
So, if she has been in any contact with him since you've had him you count 55 days from the last time they were together. Do not let them have any contact, it physically and emotionally stresses them out.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Hi,

Yes, my male and female have not been together. I mentioned that I know a breeder in my area who pairs them twice with 3 days in between. She told me that her females always act differently when they are already pregnant opposed to when they aren't yet.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

When dealing with babies and breeding around here it's safest to assume nothing. I was just checking to see because it could potentially change some things.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

I'm not sure I know what you mean?? Sorry :$ ?


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

I'll explain both parts of what I said.
When it comes to babies, it's safest if we assume you've done zero research and reading on the subject. I wasn't assuming you had or hadn't let your hedgehogs play or housed them together, but needed to check if that was the case because it would effect the advice you get. 
Potentially changing things. If they'd been together you would get told to not let them play or live together. That she COULD have delivered babies on Monday, they ate babies and she could be pregnant again.
That's why sometimes we can ask really basic questions, we don't want to assume you already know some things and something be totally missed.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Ah okay  Much appreciated! 
I have been doing quite a lot of research online, and I know the basics, but I get curious or have questions about more things everyday.. 

It's a great thing that there are people like you and Nikki on here who educate people so much. 

Thanks again <3


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

The good news is, you just have over a week left of the waiting game.

Does your female have a wheel in her cage, or has it been removed in preparation for babies? If it's been removed, that may be the cause of some weight gain on her part.

Now, your skinny boy. First, is he skinny in comparison to your female, the vet say he's skinny or you feel he's skinny? A lot of hedgehogs that vets see are overweight, so a normal healthy weight hedgehog looks skinny in comparison. Same goes for looking at photos. There is also a normal weight range for an animal. When they are on the lower end it's easy to translate that into being underweight. 
https://www.royalcanin.com/products...alth-nutrition-adult-fit-32-dry-cat-food/2520
This is the kibble your feeding. The fat is 13%. If your male is skinny and an active runner you can easily go up in the fat content. I do not know how the fat content in wet food will act the same as in dry. Also, insects could be a source of fat, but some would be better than others. Unfortunately, I'm not an insect expert.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Haha yes, I'm keeping a close eye on her. She is still so calm and sweet, I can pick her up and just sit with her, she loves to cuddle up in my fleece blanket. 
Her belly is actually feeling heavy and it's really really blue-ish. 

No she still has her wheel, her viv is 160x50cm, so she has loads of running space all to herself. I've noticed that she sleeps longer, she's still active but with more breaks in between.

My male has the same size viv. It's basically one big viv, but with a glass ceiling in between. 
He is not fond of live mealies, dried ones he will take. 
It's a good question; I'm comparing him to other males that I see photos of. I'm not comparing him to my female, especially now that she's a big balloon, haha.
He is weighing 284grams. But the sides of his body are more inwards than round if that makes sense. The vet says that I shouldn't worry; he's just not built very bulky or heavy.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Is there a reason the wheel is still there? It's generally suggested to remove it late in pregnancy. Once babies are born it's too late to make changes to the cage. Some mothers have either ran on their wheel and neglected their babies because of their wheel. Also mothers have drug their babies onto the wheel and start wheeling with the baby either sitting on the wheel or in the moms mouth, both can be deadly. Mothers don't always know the best place to deliver, their is no maternity ward sign anywhere in the cage. Some deliver where the wheel is pretty much stuck there. 
Highly recommend you remove the wheel until you know she isn't pregnant or babies are weaned whichever ends up applying.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

Yes, I read the pros and cons of leaving the wheel in and taking it out. I read that it could help them with contractions.
You are right that she could give birth near it, so I might take it out tonight.. But she's loving it still and I have a webcam to watch her. She still has loads of running space.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Another reason to take the wheel out before the babies are born is that once she has the babies (if she is pregnant) you can't change anything in the cage so it will be to late to take the wheel out without stressing her. You also don't want to be taking it out while she's on labor as disturbing her can delay the delivery of the babies and put them in danger. The reason you don't want to have the wheel in once the babies are born is because many moms get so busy wheeling they forget the babies and others try to carry a baby on the wheel which leads to the baby getting hurt. You really want to have it out of the cage now for these reasons.


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## MichelleFleurr (Aug 2, 2016)

You are right, I took the wheel out last night. She started pacing back and forth against the side of her viv.


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## finnthehedgehog (Sep 1, 2016)

Well to start off, of course your vet recommended the Hills. Just like any other vet would do including with dogs and cats but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good food. Vets are payed to recommend foods like this. I work in a holistic pet food where we carry over 25 great brands of quality cat foods and carry maybe 2 bags (in all) of the Hills and the only people that come in looking for it were reccomended by their vet. Its all about the company quality and consistency of good product. Hills has had numerous recalls and take a look at the back of the bag for yourself. There is alot of unwanted ingredients. I would recommend brands like Lotus, Fromm, Natural Planet, Pure Vita, and Evangers. They are much reliable holistic brands. If you're looking to influence the weight on your hog then try a senior or low fat formula of these brands for they should be no more then 10% fat. If you're trying to gain some weight on the litte guy then look for protiens with higher fat content 15-20%. As to the rapid weight gain in the female, sounds to me like a pregnancy because if that male and female that were together weren't spayed or neutered then that's the case.


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