# How much should I feed my hedgie a day?



## Qtpiez4000 (Dec 3, 2013)

I usually just get a handful of her food and place it in her bowl for all day and refill it when its low. I feel like im feeding her too much because she poops like [email protected] She is almost 9 weeks old and I know that babies are pooping machines but I just wanna make sure I am feeding her correctly. Should i feed her a little, let her eat, then take the bowl out and feed her later or just put a small amount in for the day? She also keeps pooping near her food bowl while she eats. Also one last thing, is it normal that she like walks and poops at the same time. She always ends up smearing it all over and stepping in it.. Thanks for any advice :mrgreen::mrgreen:


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## Chloethehedgie7 (Jul 24, 2013)

You should feed her 3 Tablespoons a night. Cute hedgehog!


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## Haley (Nov 18, 2013)

We have a 9 week old too.

We got her at 7 weeks, here is what I did/do:

I measure what I give her so that it is the same starting amount, I started with two level Tablespoons (you need a measuring spoon with a deep cup the flat ones don't work) but she cleaned her bowl out so I went up to 2.5 T a night. This is so I know how much she is eating, I want to be able to tell if her appetite goes down as this can be the first warning of illness.

She started to gain weight fast, went from 204 grams to 238 grams in four days! I was worried we were over feeding her. 

Then she started leaving more and more food uneaten and her weight has held steady for the last few days. So I think she had a growth spurt! She is also quilling and it makes sense to me that those two things would be related.

I'm going to switch to weighing her food for more accuracy, kibble doesn't fit well in a measuring spoon. 

We weigh her almost every night. We wait until after she has run around a bit and done most of her potty stuff. Just for fun we sometimes weigh her when she first wakes up too. She weighs as much as 11 grams more! That is a lot of poop!

It is normal for them to walk while going poop, or stand still, ours does both. And some do get it all over their feet, which is why people do foot baths. 

Get a cheap kitchen scale ($10) it is fun to weigh them, and really is good information to track.


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## Qtpiez4000 (Dec 3, 2013)

Haley said:


> We have a 9 week old too.
> 
> We got her at 7 weeks, here is what I did/do:
> 
> ...


Thank you for the advice. I do have a kitchen scale and I will probably weigh her later today! How much are babies suppose to weigh?


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## Haley (Nov 18, 2013)

Forgot the question about when/how to feed.

We free feed ours in that we give her access to food all the time. I only remove uneaten food once a day, when I put her fresh food in.

She will snack a few times a day. She wakes up, eats a few bites, drinks some water, poops, then goes right back to sleep. 

If she cleans out her bowl overnight I give her about 1/4 tablespoon extra for her daytime snacks because I noticed that she drank a ton less water if her food bowl was empty during the day.


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## Haley (Nov 18, 2013)

There seems to be a lot of variation in weight and size.

A healthy weight will look like a pear or a longish egg when looking down at them. Sides should be straight with a slight curve out towards the back. I noticed ours got sort of rounder, more width across her front half and her little tummy was softer and rounded more, right before she gained length. Now she is back to pear shape.

If you see fat on the legs, any yellowish fatty skin, or they can't roll into a tight ball they are getting too heavy.

This thread has pictures but not too many of younger ones.
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...verage-hedgehog-size-weight-please-share.html


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