# Overweight, can I reduce the amount of food?



## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

I know it sounds bad to reduce her food, but the breeder suggested me to do so. My hedgie is 6-month old, still eats as much as when she's a baby, perhaps 1/4cup cat food a day. The breeder told me 1/8cup is what she needs per day.

I found on the forum some hedgies eat ~1-1.5 tbsp per day, so I guess mine really eat a lot and causing her overweight... Feeling bad to cut off her food, she just likes eating!


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

What food(s) are you feeding?

Perhaps if you fed a more nutitritionally dense food, she wouldn't have to eat as much to feel satisfied. There's a suggested food list on a sticky.

Also you may want to supplement her diet with bugs--a few mealworms and especially crickets are good. Also does she eat fruit or veggies? Veggies are usually good--you get a lot of food for the calories, plus fiber. You can try baby food too. 

What is her shape like? Can she roll into a ball? At 6 months, she may still have a little bit more to grow.


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## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

MomLady said:


> What food(s) are you feeding?
> 
> Perhaps if you fed a more nutitritionally dense food, she wouldn't have to eat as much to feel satisfied. There's a suggested food list on a sticky.
> 
> ...


I feed her wellness and halo cat food, both 12%fat (lowest I can find in neighbor store). She doesn't like bugs or veggies or fruit :-( I can only mix a little bit with cat food in her bowl (she never finish the adds-on). Is 1/8cup cat food too little for her?

Attached a photo. She can still roll into a ball though. 500g now...


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## Mr. Prickles (Mar 13, 2015)

i use spikes ultra i get from pet-pro.com and halo and giant meal worms and mine dont eat much else try baby food as snacks for fruit or veggies or low fat yogurt just an ideamine just turned 17 wks and i put him on a scale every sat hes 1lb 6 5/8oz


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Spikes ultra is about as good as feeding cardboard to a hedgehog. Rather than restrict the amount of food try to find a food with a lower fat percentage would help.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

What kind of exercise does she get? Does she have a wheel to run on? Is she using it? Does she run around alot when she's out of her cage? There are two sides to this equation. Energy in and energy out. If your girl is a big eater (energy in) finding ways to encourage more exercise (energy out) will help.


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## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

nikki said:


> Spikes ultra is about as good as feeding cardboard to a hedgehog. Rather than restrict the amount of food try to find a food with a lower fat percentage would help.


I find spike ultra's fat% is same as the cat food I give her, 12%. She's just eating a lot, closed to 1/4cup a day, and she doesn't like veggies or fruit at all. She does run wheel and play paper tubes, but I guess not long each day, perhaps 2 hours per night. I don't know what I can do to encourage exercise...


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## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

shinydistraction said:


> What kind of exercise does she get? Does she have a wheel to run on? Is she using it? Does she run around alot when she's out of her cage? There are two sides to this equation. Energy in and energy out. If your girl is a big eater (energy in) finding ways to encourage more exercise (energy out) will help.


She does run wheel and play paper tubes, but I guess not long each day, perhaps 2 hours per night. I don't know what I can do to encourage exercise... When out of cage, most of the time she just sit on the floor without moving much.. Any suggestion to encourage exercise? Thanks a lot


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Spikes has corn and grains in it. Don't just look at the fat, look at the ingredients. You need a meat first. Then real foods--vegetables and wholesome grains. You need to check out the stickies about nutrition.

Most corn is genetically modified anyway, most animals can't even digest it. (Including many humans)


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## sc2001 (Oct 12, 2014)

You could try getting a play pen for your hedgie. Fill it with toys, tubes and tunnels for your hedgie to play with. You can also try having your hedgie swim in a bathtub. My hedgie swims every sunday because she is also a bit heavy.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

My girl Rose was overweight when I got her. 575 grams, she has lost 100 grams and looks so much better. It took her a while to lost the weight. I agree with the above that if your hedgehog isn't too frightened of water, that swimming is a great way to go. 

Also, you can try hiding her food around her cage, which will force her to move around more. You can make a maze for her and put her in, maybe using her kibble as markers so she can get more exercise. 

What kind of wheel does she have? Some hedgehogs prefer different wheels.


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## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

DesireeM81 said:


> My girl Rose was overweight when I got her. 575 grams, she has lost 100 grams and looks so much better. It took her a while to lost the weight. I agree with the above that if your hedgehog isn't too frightened of water, that swimming is a great way to go.
> 
> Also, you can try hiding her food around her cage, which will force her to move around more. You can make a maze for her and put her in, maybe using her kibble as markers so she can get more exercise.
> 
> What kind of wheel does she have? Some hedgehogs prefer different wheels.


My hedgie hates water to death, nightmare everytime get her bath or even clean her feet, sigh. I will try hiding food though
She uses CSW, she used to run more, maybe because she's too heavy to exercise that long now?!


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Well, I'm sure the extra grams she's packing isn't helping, but the more she moves the easier it will be on her. I think hiding kibble around the cage is a fantastic idea. 

You may check the tilt of the wheel and see if adjusting it a bit will encourage longer running sessions. Check her feet and nails too. Make sure the nails aren't discouraging her and that her feet look in good shape.


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## mdcoolcat (Nov 7, 2014)

Thanks everyone. I'm wondering why she's so lazy, should I consider vet visit?


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## Buttons (Dec 21, 2014)

You've had some great advice here! Just wondering if she's warm enough and if she's on a light schedule of 12-14 hours daily? If she's a bit cool might be why she's not coming out to wheel much. I'm just trying to help you rule out a few other possible causes I didn't see noted to help get her a little more active. 

I give my hedggie a few soaked kibble in addition to his dry food. He actually seems to eat less because the food is saturated with water. It doubles in size and is more filling. I think he feel like he's getting more than he actually is 😉

As for the vet visit, if you've exhausted all other methods you may have to schedule a visit. Perhaps you could call the vet and they could offer some advice even.


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