# Eating Nothing But Mealworms



## AndieDree (Nov 7, 2012)

So we've had our hedgehog Higgs for just under three weeks now. He is getting more and more comfortable with being picked up and handled, as well has been very active during the night and a little during the day. When he first arrived he wasn't eating at all (minus maybe a nibble of a raspberry) and we put it down to he was picky and wanted the food his breeder had given him. 
She'd been feeding him Pronature cat food, so we got that and as well as mealworms and he started to eat both. His poops had been fairly regular in the sense that we'd have to clean his wheel every day, however they were green and slimy, again thinking it was due to his move. 

We noticed the yesterday that he hadn't pooped in a while, so we counted his food and this morning saw that he didn't eat anything. He is however still going coo-coo for mealworms. Because of this not eating there has been a large weightloss. Is he sick, or just being picky as he is still eating his worms? 

Thanks


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

How long has he been off his food? Do you check the food everyday to see how much he eats (if not start). If he's gone more than two or three nights without eating you have to start syringe feeding to make sure he gets food into him. I use baby food because it's easy to find in an emergency and easy to get through an oral syringe. Try to find some meat and vegetable mix without tomatoes or onion. Meal worms are not enough so make sure he gets some other food into him even if you have to syringe feed. Take him to the vet because not eating to the point where he's loosing weight is a sign of a serious problem. Have the vet check for digestive issues and oral issues (maybe he broke a tooth or has an oral infection). If his normal food is hard kibble an infection or sore tooth would explain why he's still able to eat meal worms but not his normal food. Soak his kibble in water and mush it up and see if that makes a difference.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I agree with hedgielover's advice. If there's been a noticeable weight loss, he hasn't been eating enough and I would start carefully watching his food intake (weigh, count, or measure kibble eaten). If he doesn't eat tonight, I would start syringe-feeding tomorrow. Some good baby foods are either chicken, turkey, peas, sweet potatoes, and apples. Hedgielover's got the rest covered well though.


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## AndieDree (Nov 7, 2012)

Thanks for the insight! I ended up already taking him to the vet this past evening and the vet is speculating a bacterial infection. I've only had him for a short period of time which most likely stressed him out and lowered his immune system. So its a round of drops and antibiotics. I will most likely go out and get some baby food though just to get something more in him than just worms.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Glad you took him! I hope the antibiotics help him feel better soon. I definitely encourage the baby food - antibiotics can sometimes throw them off their food since it makes their stomachs feel crappy (and his poop might continue being weird looking since antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the gut as well as the bad), and if they go more than a couple of days without eating, it can start causing some big problems.


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## AndieDree (Nov 7, 2012)

So I gave him his medication this morning (it was on an empty stomach as he still hasn't eaten) and afterwards he was wobbly and looked to be heaving a bit. He then drank the most I ever seen him drink (which is usually just a few laps) and seemed fine. I'm waiting for the vet to call me back when he gets into the office to see if this is ok. I'm thinking its probably because he had nothing in him, so I'm picking up baby food and going to syringe feed him when I get home this afternoon. I'm just wondering how much I should feed him if he's being given the medication. He's getting .5ml twice a day.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

feed as much as you can but try to get at least a few mL into him, hedgehogs usually eat about 1-2 tbsp a day, if you can get that much into him that would be great.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

As soon as you get the baby food, feed him as much as he'll eat. He really needs some food in his stomach if he didn't eat last night either. For a sick hedgehog that's not eating at all on their own, the general rule of thumb is 1 ml = 1 hour. So if he ate 4 mL, you'd want to feed him again in 4 hours. I would follow that at least for today and tomorrow, especially if he doesn't eat again tonight on his own. I know the 1 ml = 1 hour rule can be really hard to follow around work and other things (I had the same trouble when taking care of my girl when she was sick), but do the best you can. Try giving him more food options at night - a bowl of dry food, a bowl of dampened food, a bowl of crushed food, and maybe some baby food. He might eat more if he has more options. You can also try crushing his kibble up really fine and mixing it in with the baby food to get some more calories in it. Just make sure it goes through the syringe easily before you offer it to him (he won't be impressed if you get a clog, then he gets a face full of food...trust me! :lol: ).

Antibiotics tend to taste icky and upset the stomach, so that was probably the cause of the heaving. Try to make sure he's got something in his stomach for the other doses, it might keep it more settled. If he starts getting fussy about taking the meds, it can also help to mix them with baby food to disguise the taste - I did that by sucking the meds up in the syringe first to make sure I got the right dosage, then sucking some baby food up and shaking the syringe to mix them a bit. 

If he continues not eating, it might also be a good idea to ask your vet about Hills A/D - it's a canned food that's meant for syringing to sick animals. It's very soft and easy to syringe, and it's VERY tasty (for them anyway). He might be more enthusiastic about that if he gives you a lot of trouble with the baby food or just won't start eating again on his own. You can also put A/D out for him at night if you get it, to get him eating on his own again.


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## AndieDree (Nov 7, 2012)

SUCCESS! I got him blueberry and apple baby food and chicken and broth baby food. I started off giving him a few licks of the blueberry apple, and he became very disinterested very fast, but as of right now he's been mowing down on the chicken one! So on the right track, thanks everyone for their responses.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

That's great!  Lily was a HUGE fan of chicken and turkey baby foods too...girl loved her meat! :lol:


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Glad he's eating! That's the first step to feeling better.


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