# Strang e behaviour?



## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

This morning I woke up to fine my little Moose acting quite odd.
He is in his house quilled up and every movement or sound scares him.
He is NEVER shy or afraid unless being handled. 
He is such a grump this morning though. Ususally if i go near his cage he comes to greet me and sniffs me and licks the bars.... today i went up to say good morning and he poped and furrowed his quills and hissed. 

something must have spooked him good. 
I gave him some more kibble... and now he is eating... do you think maybe he was being a grumpy gus because I didnt give him his midnight kibble snack? do they get super grumpy when they are getting hungry? I fed him twice yesterday soooo.. I just don't understand it.... :shock: he is so... spiny today...


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

*Re: Strange behaviour?*

How old is he? Quilling maybe? I don't give mine a midnight snack, I fill their bowl before I go to bed. Maybe he startled when you came in, was in a light-sleep or something.


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## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

*Re%3A+Strang+e+behaviour%3F*

It's+possible+he+isn't+sleeping+well+today.+Maybe+he+is+just+sacred.+The+only+reason+i+give+him+a+midnight+snack+is+because+he+is+on+a+diet.+I+wish+i+could+fill+his+bowl+and+hope+it+lasts+but+he'd+eat+it+all+in+one+sitting.+He+is+sleeping+now+and+is+a+little+less+huffy.+I+think+he+was+just+hungry


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

He could have been hungry, hedgies should be freefed, meaning they should always have food in their dish so they can eat whenever they want.


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## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

Yeah... the only reason I protion his food is because he would probably eat the entire dish... we tried putting a whole bunch in once and he just went to town... eyes bigger than his tummy syndrome.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I think they are supposed to be free fed unless a vet has advised otherwise. When I got my little guy I put a lot of food in the dish everyday for the first week or so and then the next morning I counted to find out how many he ate. Once I had an average down I added an extra 20 kibbles in case he's more hungry one night or starts eatting more because he's still growing. That way you're not throwing out as much food in the morning when washing the dishes. I think I've heard somewhere too that if they are starting to become overweight it would be better to try finding some kibbles that are lower in fat so that the amount of food isn't restricted. I'd also give him a once over too just to make sure he didn't get a small injury that would be easy to over look like stepping on a quill or getting a hair or string wrapped on him, make sure his temperature is in the right range ect. 
There could be a lot of reasons he was grumpy but at least this way you could knock these ones off the list of possibilites  And if he's eatting and drinking well it might be something as easy as a bad day, they have a way of making us hedgie parents worry all the time


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

He probably was eating so much when you gave him alot because he was hungry and needed it. Very few hedgies ever overeat, you really need to start free feeding him because by portioning his food like that there is no way for you to be sure he's getting all the food he needs, or if he's going hungry alot, he can't tell you. Try leaving food in his dish all the time and he will start regulating himself as to how much to eat.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Babies also eat more as well.

When I first got my boy, he finished off the ENTIRE bowl of food/night. There was close to 100+ kibbles in there(this was before I counted).

Now, he's gone down to eating about 40-50 kibbles/night, but I always give him 70 kibbles.


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## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

It couldn't be quilling.. thats for sure... I started free feeding him i am just a little worried cause he is pretty hefty. I hope he is able to control himself... He has calmed down completely... i think it was just a bad day for him probably


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

spastic_jedi said:


> I started free feeding him i am just a little worried cause he is pretty hefty.


What are you considering "hefty"? Look at his body shape to evaluate whether or not he's overweight. You want to see || or ( ) shapes when he is standing and you look from above, and NOT ) ( or (----) shapes (the second being where the body is wider than he is long). Some hedgehogs are at their normal weight at 800 grams while others don't get past 200. Body shape is a better indicator of health than weight itself is. (This article written by an HWS member explains it more efficiently: http://qcounsel.net/hedgieinfo/shapes.html)

That said, my next questions would be:
1) Does he have a wheel? 
To get enough exercise to keep weight off, hedgehogs should have a good solid-surface wheel, at least 12 inches in diameter. If he doesn't have one he may not be getting enough exercise to keep excess weight off.

2) What kind of food does he eat? 
If it's a kibble from Reaper's list, and has 15% or less fat there shouldn't be too much of a problem--if he has a wheel. If he does have a wheel and he's still a little on the upper/wider-shape side, you might consider switching slowly to a lower fat food (don't limit his food, as they don't typically overeat, as mentioned previously) and watching how many extra treats he gets (such as mealworms).


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## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

He is eating hedgie kibble. He has a wheel and uses it constantly... he was a lot bigger a few weeks back when i bought him.. I think because at the store he didnt use his wheel he had there... it wasnt very inviting and I am sure all he did was eat... I started free feeding him today and he seems to be portioning himself now... I was just worried about him getting chubby again but he is getting trim now


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

When you say Hedgie Kibble do you mean commercial Hedgie Food? Most commercial Hedgie foods are designed with Eurpean Hedgies in mind and our pet hedgies can suffer malnutrition from them. I think Spike's is ok in a mix with other recommended high quality cat foods but not as the only food. If you didn't mean this or it doesn't apply then just disreguard, I just wanted to be safe than sorry in case it was commercial Hedgie food and you didn't know that it isn't a good choice for our pet hedgies


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