# Gross! Eating Poop



## ryllisse

Ugh... Artie eats his own poop. I've seen it twice. And today he sampled his own urine. Soooooooo grooooosss.... What the heck is he thinking?

Sorry if I keep posting too much - I just have a lot of questions. I'm new!


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## Beanie

Ugh... that is kind of gross. I'd be worried about infections. I've never heard of that before, but maybe someone else here has... ?


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## leannem

Usually when an animal eats poop it means they are not getting enough of something in their diet. Take a look through the diet and nutrition posts to make sure your hedgie is getting what it needs from it's food.


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## jdlover90

I've never heard of that. 
But my hedgie annointed with his urine before.
I'm not sure!


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## Nancy

New baby in a new home, sometimes they do. Does he have the same food as he is used to? Is he able to easily eat his food? What food is he eating because as mentioned, it can also be a nutritional issue.

Try to keep the fresh poop cleared out of his cage quickly so he doesn't get the opportunity.


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## LarryT

Does his food bowl stay filled? Most of us feed free range.


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## ryllisse

Hmm, well I'll try keeping the food bowl filled all the time - we had been feeding right when he wakes up. He only eats poop after he eats his food, though. And right after he poops it out, too. Gross. And he does eat all the food we give him, but not all at once. 

Honestly, we are using a cheap cat food we got at the grocery store. I have been wanting to switch to something more nutritious - I only hesitate because we haven't had him long and didn't want to mix it up too much right away. I hate to cause undue stress on the little guy! I'll be scouring the other threads for better foods. 

Any chance he's just stupid? lol He couldn't figure out the wheel or the water bottle (we give him a dish of water now, don't worry).


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## shaelikestaquitos

ryllisse said:


> Any chance he's just stupid? lol He couldn't figure out the wheel or the water bottle (we give him a dish of water now, don't worry).


A lot of hedgehogs do not understand water bottles because it isn't a natural way for them to drink, and lots of hedgies don't figure out how to use a wheel until a few days later ^-^


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## jinglesharks

ryllisse said:


> Hmm, well I'll try keeping the food bowl filled all the time - we had been feeding right when he wakes up. He only eats poop after he eats his food, though. And right after he poops it out, too. Gross. And he does eat all the food we give him, but not all at once.
> 
> Honestly, we are using a cheap cat food we got at the grocery store. I have been wanting to switch to something more nutritious - I only hesitate because we haven't had him long and didn't want to mix it up too much right away. I hate to cause undue stress on the little guy! I'll be scouring the other threads for better foods.
> 
> Any chance he's just stupid? lol He couldn't figure out the wheel or the water bottle (we give him a dish of water now, don't worry).


Pretty sure animals don't eat their waste just because they're stupid. It takes a lot of hedgehogs some time to learn about wheels if they've never used them and water bottles are difficult for their kind of bodies and not recommended, anyway.

I'd suspect the lack of nutrition. You're right not to want to stress him with a new food change right away, but you should start soon. How long have you had him?


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## ryllisse

I've only had him for a little more than a week. I would guess he's around 6 months old, maybe a little younger.


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## vasogoma

super bump!

I made two changed lately, one being new litter that is not clay based and the other one is new food (Royal Canin for kittens). As of lately the only thing I remove from her litter tray is pee, there is no poo anywhere in her cage. I am not afraid of her being constipated because every time Itake her out she poops and her wheel has some poop too. My guess is that she is eating her poop and that is the reason there is no poop in her cage.
Royal Canin is the best brand to feed a cat here in Mexico, I've been searching like crazy for Eukanuba to start mixing but there is only the one for dogs and I can't seem to find the one for cats, so for now Agatha is only eating RC. I can tell RC is delicious for her because she even anoints with it every now and then. I am also feeding her mealies as usual every other day. Could it be that her poop smells like the food and she is eating it because of that? If that is the case how can I make her stop? When I wake up there is nothing to clean at all.


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## Immortalia

How much are you feeding? Is her bowl ever empty? If its empty by morning then you aren't feeding her enough.


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## vasogoma

It is never, ever, empty, I always make sure to refill it ven when there is still food left, and it is a pretty big bowl to begin with (hedgehog-wize, if she ate all that food she would be obese by now)


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