# How much do you feed your hedgie?



## erica582

I have two questions:

1. How much do your hedgehogs eat? Or How much do you feed them?

2. Are they like dogs, in the sense that they will eat when they are not hungry?

My baby is now almost 9 weeks old and she eats 1/2 cup of food a day (small kibble). She is giant and I'm afraid I'm over feeding her?

Edit: Sorry I mean 1/3 cup of food!


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## shaelikestaquitos

You should free feed your hedgie, that's what most people here do 

As for how much a hedgehog eats, it varies between hog to hog.

Kashi eats about 20-30 kibbles a night, so I put in about 40 in his bowl... but recently I have had to start crushing up his kibble into smaller pieces (because he kept choking on them), so I measure by table spoon, and he eats about 1 tbsp a night.


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## erica582

By free feed do you mean feed her as much as she wants to eat? 

So basically if Kashi eats 1 tbsp a night, Kiki eats 8 tbsp/24 hours. That is as much food as she wants. Sometimes I even come in and she has licked clean all the crumbs from the bowl and everywhere around it.


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## Puffers315

Like Shae said, its common practice around here to free feed their hogs. There are indeed some sites that claim that its bad to do so, but unlike dogs, hedgehogs will stop when they are full and typically won't over eat.

In rare cases there are some hogs that might need their diet restriction, but its usually for a health reason or per say, they for some reason don't wheel or get the exercise they need, then you end up with a fat hog.

I measure my food by weight, namely due to minor OCD issues with counting food (over and over and over...). It is not as accurate as counting the actual kibble, but it gives me a general idea of what they eat per night. Hester eats 8 to 12 grams per night, Loki eats 5 to 8 grams.

Edit - And yes, by free feed you provide more or less more food than she'll eat. As she gets older into the adult age, she'll cut back. I know there's been people who have had hogs who'd eat close to 100 pieces of kibble per night as a baby, and then calmed down to a 50 or so kibble night as an adult.


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## shaelikestaquitos

erica582 said:


> By free feed do you mean feed her as much as she wants to eat?
> 
> So basically if Kashi eats 1 tbsp a night, Kiki eats 8 tbsp/24 hours. That is as much food as she wants. Sometimes I even come in and she has licked clean all the crumbs from the bowl and everywhere around it.


Are you sure you are counting in tablespoons or teaspoons?

What food are you feeding her? Maybe she is not getting enough nutrients so she is eating more.

If you want to figure out if your hedgie is overweight, see if she can roll herself into a tight ball. If she can, she is probably not overweight.

Also, Kashi is actually one of the hedgies who eat a smaller amount on the hedgie food eating scale.

EDIT:
Just realized you said half a cup, so that is definitely not 8 teaspoons.
Wow, that's a lot of food O_O


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## Puffers315

Other signs are extra skin under the arms, double chins, and sometimes they develop a hump shape between the front shoulders. The ball test is a good indication though, if she can't ball up tightly, good chance she is getting fat. There's no specific weight that can be given due to the difference in sizes, shape is what most people go by.



Code:


/ \  | |  (  )  when looking from above are good shapes.
(----)  is a bad shape, when they're as wide as they are long.


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## Sheryl

Wowsers! That is a lot of food! Wilson is four months old and I'm thrilled if he eats 3 teaspoons of food a day. He usually eats 1.5-2 teaspoons. He runs like a madman on his wheel and forgets to eat, I think. What food are you using? Also, does she have a wheel for exercise?


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## erica582

Thank you for the responses!

-Yes she can still ball up

-I am feeding her a mixture of her breeders food (nutrience something, middle quality full of fillers - about 25%) and now! Grain free kitten food which has no fillers at all

-Edit: Sorry I just double checked, its 1/3 cup of food, every night I fill her bowl using a measuring cup and 24 hours later its licked clean and I refill it

-I have the flying saucer - only wheel I can get easily in Canada. I know she uses it because I can hear her running on it sometimes at night and she leaves me a wonderful mess every morning, but Im not sure how much she uses it because the few times I have seen her investigating it after Ive cleaned it, it looks so awkward and uncomfortable for her to walk slowly on

So should I continue to feed her as much as she wants to eat? She drinks more than a half cup of water everyday too


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## shaelikestaquitos

erica582 said:


> Thank you for the responses!
> 
> -Yes she can still ball up
> 
> -I am feeding her a mixture of her breeders food (nutrience something, middle quality full of fillers - about 25%) and now! Grain free kitten food which has no fillers at all
> 
> -Edit: Sorry I just double checked, its 1/3 cup of food, every night I fill her bowl using a measuring cup and 24 hours later its licked clean and I refill it
> 
> -I have the flying saucer - only wheel I can get easily in Canada. I know she uses it because I can hear her running on it sometimes at night and she leaves me a wonderful mess every morning, but Im not sure how much she uses it because the few times I have seen her investigating it after Ive cleaned it, it looks so awkward and uncomfortable for her to walk slowly on
> 
> So should I continue to feed her as much as she wants to eat? She drinks more than a half cup of water everyday too


That is very strange that she is drinking/eating so much... Maybe you should get a bloodwork done. She may be diabetic (I'm just guessing though so you will need a second opinion). When animals, and even people, eat and drink a lot more than the average, it can be an indication of diabetes, but I don't know if diabetes exists among hedgehogs.


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## susanaproenca

Have you had your baby checked by a vet since you got her? It's always a good idea when you have a new hedgie. 
My hedgehog is very small and over a year old and she eats 4 teaspoons of food every night, plus treats. That's about 100 kibble, more than a lot of hedges here eat. If she's still growing and not overweight, I wouldn't be concerned. As some had said, she might start eating less when she grows older. 
Aboub the water intake, keep in mind that water evaporates so it's hard to tell exactly if she's drinking all that amount.


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## CoxMD

I give Basil a heaping tablespoon of his kibble plus five mealies every night. There's always a few kibbles left in the morning.


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## Dita-rainblood

Is free hand safe I got mine to day and she very shy so I don't wanne over feed her


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## Artemis-Ichiro

This thread is from 2010, when you have a question start your own thread or use the search option. 

The answer is free feeding, I put about 0.6 oz per night, some times he eats almost all and some others he eats less. Make sure you feed him the same food the breeder had it on. They don't over eat.


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## Mims12345

After reading a few paragraphs and seeing what people had to say about free feeding. I must say I am pretty concerned for the hedgehog and the kind of care she will recieve. So for the sake of the well being of the hedgehog I have to inform you. The proper feeding is not free feeding. If you think about how big a hedgehogs stomach is..it is the size of a grape maybe smaller. They dont need a full bowl of food just a small handful will suffice..once a night..Hedgehogs do not know when theyre full. They will eat whatever you give them and that can be harmful. Too much food and too many wormy treats will cause obesity and their tiny legs will strain the heavier they get. So just remember theyre small animals..with small legs and bellies..please do not overfeed them. And its real easy to tell when youre over feeding..when your hedgehog grows in width. The skin will sag as they walk. They will have to sit every few steps becuse theyre to heavy. A healthy hedgehog should always be able to fit within your two hands.


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