# Winston Didn't Eat Last Night :(



## Kaitlyn531 (Nov 29, 2010)

Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I'm concerned because Winston didn't eat last night at all. I always measure his food and treats so I can see how much he's eaten. He usually eats 5 - 8 grams per night, but last night, he didn't eat anything, including his squash that I cut up. He usually loves squash. The night before he only ate 2 grams of food, which is unusual of him too. 

Some things that it COULD be.. He has been quilling, but he hasn't lost any quills in the past few days. They could be growing in at this point and I have seen a few peeping through already. 

Another thing that it could be is I have been trying to mix his food also. I started out slowly, with a base of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul and a few kibbles of Wellness. I recently started adding more of the Wellness, but he's been eating it, so I'm unsure as to why he isn't eating. 

Is this something I should be concerned about and take him to the vet or should I wait a little bit and see if he starts eating again? I've heard stories about hedgies not eating while they're quilling and losing weight, but I'm not sure if this is associated with this or not. He hasn't lost any quills in a week - and I have been adding Flax Seed Oil into his food every few days - so I'm not sure if it's quilling. And he's eaten the Wellness before, so I'm not sure if it's that either. I did give him some extra CSCLS though, hoping he would eat it. 

I took him out for a little bit to see if he'd eat any meal worms or kibble or squash. He'd sniff it and/or lick his lips while trying to find it, but not eat. Any ideas? 

Edit: And in case it makes a difference, he was born in August, so he's 4 months old, right at the quilling mark.


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

You can count the kibble you put in his cage tonight, then count again tomorrow to see if he ate something overnight. 

Has he been showing any sign of sickness? Cold tummy, lack of activity? How is his poop? What's the temperature in the cage?

If he doesn't eat again tonight, that's two days without eating. After two days you got to put something in his tummy of he might develop fatty liver disease. You can offer some wet cat food tomorrow. If he doesn't eat, try to syringe feed it to him.

If he doesn't eat tonight at all, I'd schedule a vet's appointment. 

Hope he feels better.


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Also try to get a good look of his mouth, of his teeth. Perhaps there may be something going on there as well.


----------



## Kaitlyn531 (Nov 29, 2010)

Well, while I was gone over the past few hours, he did eat 3 grams total of food. I offered him more of his old food - which he ate 2 grams of - and his treats crock, filled with squash, wet cat food, mealies, and a few kibbles of his food, which he ate one gram of. 

I am just going to try to leave him alone tonight in a very dark room and see if that encourages him to eat. I'm a bit of a night owl myself and tend to leave a lamp on on the other side of the room while I'm in there. I think I'll just give him some space tonight and see if the problem corrects itself. I'm hoping he's just grumpy from getting quills in.. 

If this continues for another night, I am definitely making a vet appointment. His tummy hasn't been cold at all. My hands typically end up getting a little sweaty after a while of holding him because of his heat! He has been a little low on activity when I hold him, but when he gets in his cage, he uses his wheel a good bit, as evidenced by his poops everywhere, and he runs up and down the cage. He's very low energy with me, but loves to explore around in his cage when I put him back in it. 

His poops are fine to my knowledge; I need to make some liners for his cage so I can keep better track.  I just made a liner for his house, but now I need to really get some good ones for his full cage. I haven't seen any green poops; when he usually green poops (he did when we first got him and he did when he started quilling both times and when I introduced the new food and after his first vet visit), he usually ends up leaving some for me around or in his house. I haven't seen any of these yet, and there weren't any odd colors on his wheel or around his cage that I noticed.


----------



## Littlefootsmama (May 23, 2010)

My Gizmo sometimes goes on a food strike for a day or two. I notice he usually does it if he is irritated with me or sick of the kind of food I am giving him. If it lasts for more than a day or two though and he has other symptoms I would get him into the vet. You can also try hand feeding him as well.


----------



## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

My hogs also do this. 

For instance, none of them touched their food last night, but we did have a 35 degree shift in temperatures here in Colorado and they seem to have a sense for these types of situations. I think our hedgies are just sensitive and sometimes difficult creatures. One night 1 out of 3 of mine will wheel - the next night all 3 will wheel - next night 2 out of 3 wheel.... but 1 doesn't eat... etc etc. Just keep an eye out for a prolonged patterns. Check the movement of the wheel, check toenails, check mouths and check the temperature in the room. If all seems fine, it is probably just the hog being tricky.


----------



## Kaitlyn531 (Nov 29, 2010)

He started eating again, the day after I posted this  I gave him more of his older food that he was used to and he started eating again! I guess I'll just have to introduce the new food even slower or try something else. He's eaten some of it before, but doesn't eat very much of it. Should I try a different food or should I try to get him to eat the food he's got a little longer?


----------

