# Hedgehog eats a lot



## Laylin (Feb 16, 2018)

My hedgehog is name Oliver, he's around 2 and I got him from old owners around 2 months ago. Oliver is HUGE. I don't have an extremely accurate scale but I'm fairly certain he's upwards of 450+ pounds. His old owners had him on kitty food. I kept him on the same food for a while but now I've just started to mix in cat food (hopefully he eats it) and I'll use mostly cat food once he adjusts. It's also worth noted that his old wheel was decently small and I don't believe fit him. I bought him a new wheel online which he used last night for the first time and loved, he ran all night (which kept me up haha). His size makes it very hard to fit things in his cage since he needs things meant for large (small) animals for everything and can't fit in anything smaller.. I want to get him a bigger cage but I can't afford that right now. he also eats a lot. He eats just over half a cup of food a night, sometimes more. He use to occasionally easy consideredably more, as I would have to refill his bowl in the morning as well as the night.

I have some questions. Is changing his food to cat food and getting him the bigger wheel good enough to help him lose some weight? Is there anything else I can do? I'm fairly certain from what I've read what he's eating is a lot, but is it still normal? I shouldn't redirect his food should I? Losts of questions sorry but I want to do what's best for him! Overall advice as well would be appreciated


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## autumnfox (Feb 5, 2018)

Make sure you change to a kibble that is low in fat (10-15% fat is ideal for hedgehogs). Also, I would start to feed him insects. There are lots of options. I would feed him crickets since they are low in fat and high in fiber. Try not to give him freeze dried ones since they can cause impaction. Let me know your thoughts on insects and I can help you further (as in, are you squeamish or not). The bigger wheel is a great idea and will help a lot with his weight. 

I believe that hedgehogs don't really overeat, but if they are fed food that is too high in fat and aren't able to exercise, they will gain weight easily. Therefore, do not reduce the food you give him and make sure he eats until he is full. You just need to make sure he is eating food that has less fat. 

If anyone else sees any error with what I've said, please let me know!


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## Pennythepog (Mar 19, 2018)

Hello 👋 my hedgie eats a variety of foods which I have found to keep her at a healthy weight. I feed her meals of a mix of egg, cooked and raw fruits and veggies, boiled meats, crickets and mealies, wet cat food and also her dry cat food. I found that when she had just dry food she gained a little bit too much. Even though it low in fat I think it was jsut because she needed to eat it to be full but then the amount she ate was a lot. I started adding egg and cauliflower (cooked) and once I did that I noticed she lost a few grams and was between a runner and a tear drop shapes. Not all hedgies enjoy veggies but mine does so I’d say give it a shot.


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## Laylin (Feb 16, 2018)

autumnfox said:


> Make sure you change to a kibble that is low in fat (10-15% fat is ideal for hedgehogs). Also, I would start to feed him insects. There are lots of options. I would feed him crickets since they are low in fat and high in fiber. Try not to give him freeze dried ones since they can cause impaction. Let me know your thoughts on insects and I can help you further (as in, are you squeamish or not). The bigger wheel is a great idea and will help a lot with his weight.
> 
> I believe that hedgehogs don't really overeat, but if they are fed food that is too high in fat and aren't able to exercise, they will gain weight easily. Therefore, do not reduce the food you give him and make sure he eats until he is full. You just need to make sure he is eating food that has less fat.
> 
> If anyone else sees any error with what I've said, please let me know!


Okay thank you! I am a bit squeamish with bugs but I'll get over it, I've given him live meal worms as a treat before. How much do I give him? Do I put them in his cage? Any info would help thanks!


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## autumnfox (Feb 5, 2018)

I would limit the mealworms since they are high in fat. For crickets, you can put them in the fridge and they will hibernate. A couple hours before you feed your hedgehog, take a couple out in a cricket-proof container to let them warm up. You can then feed them to him but you might be scared of them jumping around. What you could do instead is keep them in the fridge, take a couple out before you feed, and crush them to kill them and prevent them from jumping around. Then you can feed the dead cricket to him. Make sure you give him the cricket soon after killing it.

Since you are introducing a new food to him, I would start off giving him just one cricket for about a week so his stomach doesn’t get too upset.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Another thing you can try is to hide his kibble around his cage so he has to look for it and not just sit at the bowl and eat. It will encourage him to move around more and make him work a bit for his food.


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## Kass (Apr 10, 2018)

If you're looking for a decent cat food then the Purina naturals food is high protein low fat


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Purina Naturals is a very low quality food.


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