# How do I increase Q's appetite?



## SiegeRichters (Apr 5, 2012)

Q's been with me for a couple of months and he's been a very picky eater since. His breeder says that Q's used to IAMS. I didn't have problems transitioning him to Whiskas Ocean Fish when I got him, At the time, I thought that It was good for him. When I found out that he's not getting the nutrients that he needs, I transitioned him to Royal Canin Fit 32 which he liked a lot. The problem is I have noticed that he doesn't eat kibble as much as other hedgehogs do. A bowl of kibble (30 pieces) would last him the whole 24 hours. At times he would still leave some leftovers on his bowl.

Another challenge is the Treats. It has been a struggle introducing new treats to him. I introduced mealies to him through mixing live ones with his kibble. It took a couple of tries and now, he loves them. He learned to eat apples when I mixed it with his kibble as well and I guess giving his mealies some apples (probably) made them taste like apples. He has this bad habit of ignoring his kibble once he gets a taste of superworms. So, they're out of the diet (indefinitely). He hasn't shown interest with other treats after that. He absolutely hates the smell of chicken. I tried to mix it in with his kibble and he didn't eat the kibble for the whole evening. He ignores papayas and pineapples altogether. I had some success with Bananas when I laced it with some mealies but after accidentally eating it, he rejected it too.

Q's at 215g now, about 35g below the minimum average weight for an adult hedgie. I'm not sure if I should be alarmed by that since he is active (actively trying to runaway from me every time) and he's not really lethargic. I've begun to transition him to Royal Canin Kitten 36 to fatten him up a bit. 

Any ideas, insights and suggestions are very much welcome.


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## SiegeRichters (Apr 5, 2012)

Here are his latest pictures.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Fist of all, your hog is a doll!! 

Some hedgies are just picky, and others simply don't eat as much as other, bigger hogs. If you have a hedgie with a small frame, there's a good chance he will eat less than other hedgies with bigger frames.

A couple questions - does he have a running wheel? If so, about how much do you think he runs on it a night? If not, what way is he getting exercise? And how old is he?

As for treats, keep trying new things (slowly, and only introduce once new thing at a time), but do check out the fruit & veggie list thread. You said you offered pineapple, which should be avoided as pineapple is so acidic. Here's the link to the list: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=60&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=fruit+and+veggie+list

If you are concerned with his weight and he actually IS underweight, not just small framed, I personally think ADDING the Royal Canin Kitten into the food he eats now is a good idea, but I wouldn't switch him completely over. Lots of people struggle with getting their hedgies to eat other, lower fat kibbles once they feed the hog a higher fat kibble like RC kitten. My hedgie is normal sized, but she was underweight due to being a running fanatic - so, I added a higher fat kibble into her food mix, but I kept the ratio of it low. She gets about 30% higher fat kibble, and 70% lower fat. She picks out the fattier stuff first, then eats the rest lol. Lots of people here like to feed a mix of two or more different cat foods to try to keep hedgie interested in food and to cover any nutritional bases we might miss when feeding only one cat food. Some other good brands of cat food are Blue Buffalo, Innova, Solid Gold, and Chicken Soup (yes, there is a recall on certain lines of this right now, but it IS a hedgie-appropriate cat food).

Honestly, to me, he looks like a healthy weight since his sides aren't sunken in, but I'm definitely not an expert so I'll let someone with more experience weigh in on that (no pun intended :lol: ). Hopefully one of our mods will see this thread!


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi! I got my hedgie Cookie together with Siege Richter's Queue from the same breeder at the same time. Cookie's a week older than him, almost the same size, but heavier and fuller. Cookie's weight is ranging from 250-280 (it fluctuates every time she loses her appetite during quilling). We are worried about Queue because he seems under nourished compared to my hedgies (especially compared to Kreme who is a big boy). All our hedgies are avid wheel runners. But Cookie and Kreme will devour anything given to them (including fingers in Kreme's case). Queue will not eat anything he's not used to and will sometimes ignore even his kibbles unless prompted to eat. Sometimes all he wants to eat are supers and mealies, and will ignore everything else (again, even the kibbles). His ribs can be slightly felt when he's standing, and he has pretty visible "waists", unlike Cookie and Kreme who are teardrop shaped when viewed from above. We understand that some hedgies have streamlined features, but he's very light when carried and we are a little worried for the little guy. Is there a way to fatten him up a bit since he doesn't really eat that much?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You can try adding a bit of Royal Canin babycat to their mix, the extra fat will help with weight and most hedgies love it.


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi! Q spent the whole afternoon here today and they arrived home over an hour ago. He hasn't eaten anything the whole day besides the mealies he was fed earlier this morning and 2 more this afternoon. He still won't eat his kibbles and the apples he's being offered. He hasn't even drank any water since morning. He's on hunger strike again.  Is there anything his owner can do? All he wants to eat is mealies and Siege didn't bring any on this trip.


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## SiegeRichters (Apr 5, 2012)

Going back to the main issue though, how do I increase his appetite. He eats but he doesn't eat enough.


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## SquiggyTheHedgie (Jul 26, 2011)

First off, hes adorable! Secondly, it may be gross but have you tried lacing his kibble with mealie juices? You dont have to put actual mealies in his kibble, just make it taste like them.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

SiegeRichters said:


> Going back to the main issue though, how do I increase his appetite. He eats but he doesn't eat enough.


Are you asking how to make your hedgehog hungry? Because I don't think there's an answer for that. :? You can't force him to be hungry - the only thing you can do is change his diet or force feed him with a syringe.


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## SiegeRichters (Apr 5, 2012)

hanhan27 said:


> Are you asking how to make your hedgehog hungry? Because I don't think there's an answer for that. :? You can't force him to be hungry - the only thing you can do is change his diet or force feed him with a syringe.


Well, I was asking how I can improve his appetite because he doesn't eat as much (quantity-wise) as regular hedgies his age would.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Hedgies have minds of their own. Unless you are going to force a syringe down his throat every night, the amount that he eats is right for him.

Some hedgies eat over 70 kibbles per night, some eat 15 kibbles per night. It varies as much as hedgie size does. If you feel that he looks skinny, then add more fat into his diet as already suggested. Other than that, there's not really much else to do. Unless you're wanting to put a bunch of superworms, and various fruits/veggies/meat into a blender and make it into a superworm mash. I don't know what else to suggest.

Edit to add one thing I would suggest - have 2 separate food bowls. 1 for kibble and 1 for treats. That way, you won't end up mixing something he hates with his kibble and putting him off his kibble and making him go hungry overnight.


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## abzx10r (Apr 18, 2012)

SiegeRichters said:


> Going back to the main issue though, how do I increase his appetite. He eats but he doesn't eat enough.


you could cut down the time he uses his wheel & give him a higher fat content ,like striaght kitten food which is about 24% vs most at 8-12%.

strawberries are high in protein too, every strawbeery is about a hole gram so a couple would help


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

abzx10r said:


> SiegeRichters said:
> 
> 
> > Going back to the main issue though, how do I increase his appetite. He eats but he doesn't eat enough.
> ...


I wouldn't cut down on wheel time at all. That's rarely recommended unless hedgehogs are sick or have injuries to their feet/leg that would be harmed by wheeling, since hedgehogs tend to get quite upset and could hurt themselves if their wheel is taken away.

In addition to changing his kibble to one with more fat, you could try offering more options every night. Sometimes if they have a choice between kibble, wet cat food (which is also usually higher in fat, though you have to watch the protein, which is also higher), some fresh food, etc. they might try a bit of everything and end up eating more calories. To be honest though, unless he's still losing weight or he's still very skinny, I wouldn't worry about his appetite. If his weight is fine, then he's probably fine with the amount that he's eating.


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