# Theodorable is STILL too fat.



## Theo&Azzi (Oct 2, 2015)

I've owned my Theo for about 6 months now and we've made a LOT of progress in his health. As a background, I don't know most of his history but at one point he was a classroom pet, then belonged to a girl who really neglected him. He ended up with me and is about 3 years old now. He had all of his nails growing into his feet, severe mites that made lesions and pus all over his body along with no hair, and he was extremely obese. He hissed and bit when touched because his body hurt so much and he never moved or played because his feet hurt too much. He was fed Purina Kitten Chow.

Well now he lives the prime life- he has a 48 inch x 28 inch cage made from a big clear rubber tub, and he gets free roam of my room every evening for an hour. His skin is great and his hair grew back. He loves baths. He eats a mix of Ideal Balance Weight Control and Natural Balance Green Peas and Duck, and every few days I offer him a low fat teaspoon of canned food and a few cooked veggies or boiled chicken. I don't currently limit his kibble. He runs on his wheel some, but isn't incredibly active. He does run around for about 15 or 20 minutes every night before he cuddles up with me. He spends most of that time self annointing on my laundry basket, backpack, or socks though :roll::lol: 

But despite all of the changes to his lifestyle, my Theo is still just way too fat. He was a WHOPPING 775 grams when I got him. Granted he is a BIG boy- the vet has never seen a hedgie his size, but he was so fat he could barely open his eyes, couldn't really walk, couldn't roll up in a ball. He is now 670 grams, so about 105 grams lighter, and he can walk pretty darned fast, roll up, use his wheel, and step into his litter box. But he's still too fat. It's affecting his breathing I think. I took him to the vet today thinking he had a URI because he's been huffing and puffing in his sleep like he has a hard time breaking but they saw no signs of problems and said his weight is probably the culprit. However they're giving me no suggestions I haven't already been given. They said he ought to be about 620 grams.

So I'm asking you all! I don't want to limit his food but if he just CAN'T self regulate, is that what I need to do? How much? Is there something else even lower calorie I can give him? Ways to get him to exercise more? He has toys but doesn't play in them. He's too fat for most tubes. Thanks for the help! Here are some pictures. He's a lovely boy- everyone just adores him. The vet says he's the friendliest hedgie they've ever met and he's quick to lick and cuddle up to people. He loves his mommy and comes when I call him, and he never bites or hisses anymore. He's more of a puppy than a hog!

First two pictures are when I got the poor boy  three is when his hair was still growing back.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I would get different food with a lower fat content (I looked them up and they are 12% and 13% if I found the right ones). How much does he eat now? Some hedgehogs do need you to limit their food intake. 

He needs to be more active, this can be done by making him work for his food by hiding it throughout his cage, in dig boxes, etc. You say he likes baths, you could let him swim. It's good exercise for overweight hedgehogs. Make sure he always has a place to stand though so he can rest.

620 grams is still way too big. Based on these pictures he needs to lose a couple of hundreds so his ideal weight would probably be between 400-500g.


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## Theo&Azzi (Oct 2, 2015)

He's a very big boy, takes two hands to hold him, so I think 400 would be far too small. I'd love to let him swim but was scared he's inhale water. How do I start him off with that? 

Oops I'm not sure why I said ideal balance...this bag is blue buffalo. It's an orange bag. It has 30% protein and 9% fat. He eats a tablespoon or so a day which isn't even that much so I don't understand why he is so fat. How much should I limit him to?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

He's fat yes, but you'd be surprised how little they should actually weigh compared to when they were overweight. I have seen the same with some of my hedgehogs. 400-500g is already on the bigger side for an APH. I have yet to see a +500g hedgehog which isn't overweight (even if it is just a little bit on the chubby side). Many hedgehogs are overweight without their owners realising it. So if you do, that's already a step in the right direction!

You could introduce him to swimming by putting him in a tub or something with preferably a shallow and deep end, but if that's not possible you can put something in the water for him to stand on when he gets tired. If he likes water he might like swimming too. 

That's already pretty low yes, and not much... I'd try stimulating exercise then, like I said if he doesn't wheel much (that's difficult to stimulate) there are other ways like more playtime outside of the cage or hiding his food so he has to work more for it. If he only eats one tablespoon I wouldn't cut back on the amount of kibble, but you could add more fibre (chitin rich insects for example) since increasing dietary fibre seems to be linked to obesity (cat food is usually way too low in fibre for hedgehogs)


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## Theo&Azzi (Oct 2, 2015)

Ok thanks! I'll try to see if he wants to swim (my guess is yes. He LOOOOVES playing in the water especially if I leave the water running very slightly like a shower). I'm at a loss as to how he is as fat as he is but I guess it's because he's so sedentary. I'll try to increase floor time and keep him moving instead of trying to curl up on me, and start hiding his food in toys!


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