# Hedgie won’t eat insects!



## HelaHedgie (Sep 17, 2018)

Hi everyone!

So i’m a relatively new hedgie Mumma to my beautiful wee girl Hela who’s now 4.5 months old & was just wondering if anyone had any experiences of their hedgies not liking insects?! She’s had dried mealworms since i brought her home at 7 weeks and has never shown any interest in them - they were always left in her bowl, so i got live ones to see if she’d be interested - i’ve tried everything i can think of to try and get her to eat them, even taking the heads off, cutting them in half etc so she could taste the inside juice (eww haha!) but she’s just completely uninterested in them, gives me an unimpressed look as if to say “am i supposed to want to eat that?” haha! i’ve also tried roaches and they’re the same - she just seems totally set against eating insects of any kind!

Other than that she’s a great eater, she loves any kibble i’ve given her, lamb & turkey cat treats, eggs & especially chicken - it’s her favourite thing ever & she’d eat it endlessly if i let her haha! On the occasions i tried her with insects, i considered that she just might not have been hungry, but immediately after these attempts she happily ate chicken, lamb & turkey cat treats & her kibble out of my hand so it definitely seems to be a disliking for insects in general! I’ve read lots of posts about how important they are for hedgies and am just worried if she never takes a liking to them will this affect her? Could it just be since she’s still a baby she may like them as she grows older?

Any advice is welcome, or even just knowing other people’s hedgies don’t seem keen on insects would be helpful haha! thanks so much in advance! 🙂


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Maybe she just doesnt like mealworms. Try other insects like crickets, and be persistent. If they dont take it whole try cutting it in half and just keep trying eventually they should take it !!

Holly is a VERY picky little one and she now lovessss crickets. Took us a few days before she ate them but she acts like they are the worlds best things ever haha.

If I was you I’d just keep trying differnt insects. Like every day. Everntually you will find one they love I’m sure of it.


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## Mjskates (May 14, 2017)

Try not to use dried mealworms...it can cause impactions and most of the nutrition is gone...live is best but canned and frozen thawed are also good...this sounds weird but if you break the mealworm in half and kinda run it on his lips he’ll realize that it’s yummy!

It worked for my hedgie...now mealies are her favoriite


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Also did you try giving at different times? When I first tried to give my boy a canned caterpillar during bonding he wouldnt touch it but I left it in his cage overnight and sure thing it was gone by the morning! He does the same with canned crickets sometimes he'll take them from me but not always, but if I leave them in his cage, they'll be gone by the morning.

Cuting in half or even small bite size pieces might also help and like the other post said, dab some on her lip so she gets a taste for it! Good luck. 
Keep persisting, I think I've read you should try the same food/insect like 20-30 times before deciding they don't like something


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## HelaHedgie (Sep 17, 2018)

Thanks so much for the advice everyone - i really appreciate it!! 🙂 That’s so interesting hearing it might take 20/30 attempts until they truly don’t like something haha! Going to stick with persistence could be key here & just keep trying her with different things - i’ve tried cutting the worms in half & rubbing it on her lips but she actively pulled away from it haha! I have a friend who keeps reptiles and she’s going to bring me some other insects to try her with so hopefully i’ll find something she likes!! In the meantime, she’s happily munching copious amounts of chicken & her usual food & treats so she’s a happy wee hedgie lol 🙂


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Leaving them in their food bowl overnight usually works better than trying to hand feed them if they are not used to insects. Sometimes they simply don't really know what to do with them. It can take a few tries.


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