# New Hedgie Not Eating?



## bnk28 (Dec 19, 2010)

Just got my hedgie on Christmas Eve and it seems to me like she's not eating? I guess I'm just going by the looks of the bowl, the food level doesn't seem to be getting lower. But she's pooping so does that mean she has to be eating?

Also, I got some natural balance for her and it came with 4 free cans of wet food. Can I try giving her that or should I wait till she's eating on a consistent schedule?

Thanks, sorry for being such a newbie.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Don't be sorry, it's good you're asking questions. 

She might be eating very little. It's normal for hedgies in new homes to eat little or not eat at all. Count all the kibble you put in her cage and count again the next morning to see if she has eaten overnight. 

I'll let someone else answer about the wet food but I think it would be ok to offer that.


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## bnk28 (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks alot! I never thought about counting it, good idea.

Thanks!


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

Are you feeding her the same food she was eating at the breeders? You should never change food drastically, instead slowly over a couple of weeks.


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

Do you change her food every day? You should throw away what she hasn`t eaten once a day and give her fresh kibbles.


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## Netterz (Jan 2, 2011)

I was having the same problem with mine. The "breeder" was feeding her a mix between Iams wet kitten canned food (chicken flavored) and kitten milk replacement. So I was doing that a couple days ago and scooping it in a spoon and placing in front of her and she'd lick it off. Now I'm trying to introduce her to dry food, which seems to be slowly working and I crushed up (blender lol) dry kitten food and sprinkled it on top of the spoon. She's been making a very good attempt to chomp the food up!


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

most hedgehogs do not eat very much when they are in a new environment. You should not make any dietary changes or additions for the first week or two while she is settling in, so no do not add the wet food. 

Count out 100 kibbles and leave them in the dish. The next day count again and replace. Do this every day at about the same time and you will get an idea of how much she is eating over a 24 hour period. If she doesn't eat any of the kibbles put them in her bed with her (either place the dish under the hide/blanket or put the kibbles there loose. If she eats all of them start giving her more than 100. 

If she hasn't eaten anything for two or three nights you need to syringe feed her. There are lots of threads about it and lots of people here have done it so we can help you if it comes to that.


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## Ophelia (Dec 10, 2010)

When I first got my hedgehog, it took her a while to start eating. I hardly even noticed what was gone. Now that she's been here for a couple weeks, she can chow down a whole dish of food. o.o I was a little worried about it at first, but I took it as a sign she's finally settling down. Your baby won't act as she normally does for the first while, give her some time.  But it's also a good idea to keep track of how much she's eating/drinking.


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