# Really picky ;<



## JezEdward (Jun 6, 2013)

Well, my hedgehog is 7 months old (i got him sience he was 1 month) and he is really picky when it comes to food. Actually he dont want to eat anything beside his dry cat food. I was trying to give him meat, worms(I really hate them but I still was trying to give him some), vegetables but he dont want to eat anything! :<
I was trying also starve him little, because i dont want him to have vitamin deficiencies. 
He isn't stressed(i think so), he also run on his wheel much. 
Someone had hedgehog like this?
I meet also vet few months ago. He said he is healthy but had some vitamin deficiency so he gave me some baby viamins to spray on his food. He dont eat it. He would rather starv. -_-


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Do not starve him in order to get him to eat treats. That's not healthy and could really hurt him. As long as you're feeding him quality cat food he will get all the nutrition he needs from that. You should be putting enough food in his bowl so that he doesn't run out and can eat whenever he's hungry.

How did your vet determine he had a vitamin deficiency? Not all hedgehogs like trying new foods, so it's ok if he sticks to the cat food. What cat food do you currently feed him?


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Also, you can keep trying to give him those other foods even if he's turned them down before. Sometimes they're just not interested in a particular food on a particular day. It's also possible that he just doesn't realize that what you're offering is edible and you could try touching the food to his nose or something so he licks and tastes it.

It might also help if you cook/steam vegetables (unseasoned), or even just cut them up into different sizes. Have you tried baby food?

If you're worried that his cat food doesn't have complete nutrition, you can give him a mix of kibble (slowly introduce the new food). The sticky threads in Diet & Nutrition have a lot of ideas as well: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Agreed with Abbys - do not take away his kibble to get him to eat other foods. He's not going to die if he won't eat other foods - he will definitely suffer if you force him to not eat by taking away what he's comfortable eating.

Also seconding the questions on what you feed him now and how the vet determined a deficiency. If he's getting a decent cat food, he shouldn't have any - commercial pet foods are balanced to be nutritionally complete. While it's definitely good to supplement with fresh/cooked foods as much as you can, you can't do much if your hedgehog refuses (other than keep trying and see if he gives something a taste sooner or later), and he won't die from not trying anything else.


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## JezEdward (Jun 6, 2013)

He have always much food in his bowl, he always leave some. I know it isnt healthy to starve someone, so I still gave him lot food but reduced it little. From one cup to 3/4(I dont know if I can call that starving).
Im feeding him Royal Canin for little cats. Sometimes I mix it with science plan(I belive thats the name). I put into his bowl other food but he dont want to eat it. I was trying to do half-half cat food and some cooked meat, still didnt want. I give him good quality so I dont understand him. All he like is glue. I know that most of animals like sweet things so I gave him watermelon and other fruits, still didnt want. My mother was trying to give him a drop of alcochol, still didnt want! Wierd hedgie. 
Maybe vet gave me vitamins cuz I said that he didnt want to eat anything else beside cat food. He said he is healthy but Id would be better if i gave him some. He also done some poo resreach- nothing special.
I will try baby food tomorrow.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Ah, ok, so if I understand correctly the vet didn't do any tests or notice any physical problems that would suggest your boy is vitamin deficient? Rather he just didn't think that cat food alone was enough, correct?

As long as the cat food is of high quality, he should be just fine.  Royal Canin is decent, but you can add a couple other foods to the mix to make sure the nutrients are well-rounded. There are some lists of suggested cat foods here http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html and here http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/12-dry-cat-food-list.html. And there's a good guide on how to select a quality cat food here http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html

I hope that helps!


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

Don't worry, last night I tried to add some fresh cabbage, a little red pepper, some apple pieces and a cherry in another dish next to his food in Dakarai's cage. It looks like he may have tried some but left the bowl pretty much untouched - and I spent all that time cutting the pieces into microsize so that he wouldn't choke - hrumph. But, the cat food mix that the breeder sent along was gone except for like three pieces of kibble. I tried a meal worm again and Dakarai wasn't interested. Oh I tried chicken baby food and some squash the night before too. The little hedgie liked the squash enough to annoint with it but wouldn't eat it.

My dog, she likes her horrible Pedigree dog food and has eaten that for the last five years. I try to sneak in quality treats such as liver to give her some more nutrition. 

So, like abbys suggests - just give it time, keep trying but if your quilled companion isn't interested then don't push it. Also, I found that Dakarai will eat at night when it is completely dark. He wont eat in front of me. Maybe if you have something that wont spoil in his cage where he can eat it without being fearful that the food is "bait" then maybe he'll come around.

Good luck!


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