# Hedgie Decrease In Appetite



## DevinAnnBrown (Sep 5, 2014)

I adopted my little Farlow about a year and a half ago (just a wee babe when I got him!), and he has been nothing but smiles and activity up to this point. About two weeks ago, I noticed that his normally empty food bowl still had remnants of food left. He is now eating about half of the food he normally does, and it looks to be that he's breaking up a lot of it into smaller pieces and leaving it. He is still quite active, running on his wheel every night, pooping quite regularly. But his decrease of appetite is making me worried. I have been feeding him Spike's Ultra since I got him, with occasional treats (though he's rather picky and only really likes watermelon). I've tried softening his food a little to see if that would help, but to no avail. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

It could be his age. My adults eat less than my babies.

There are a couple of things you can check. How old is the bag that you are using? Did you just switch to a new bag? Has the temperature in his cage changed? Do you have a scale? If you can't get him to eat his usual I would start checking his weigh to make sure he isn't losing any. If he isn't then maybe he just wants to eat less. 

Also if you can check his teeth, he might have a mouth sore or a loose tooth. Have you tried wet cat food? You also try offering him something different to see if he will eat it.


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## DevinAnnBrown (Sep 5, 2014)

The bag is new. He's about half-way through it; I froze the second half to keep it fresh longer because I buy in bulk. The temperature in his cage is pretty consistent, which is normally 75-80 degrees depending on the time of day. He has lost some weight, but not anything too substantial. He was always kind of on the chubbier side, but even with the weight loss, he is still plump and full feeling (not boney or undernourished).

I will check for any mouth sores and loose teeth. I did just feed him for the night, 1 tbsp. of kibble; I tried to feed him by hand to make sure he'd accept it, and he did. He took the food right from my fingers and ate it without complaint, and then went straight to his food dish, ate some and went back to hiding. I have tried wet cat food before, and he was not interested in it. I couldn't even get him to eat some for a treat, and I tried multiple flavors. He used to love trying new foods, and now it's a struggle to get him to eat anything but his main food (and watermelon).

I hope it's just age that's making him eat a little less. So long as he's staying active and alert, I'm not too worried, just cautious.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Definitely keep track of his weight. And keep us updated. :grin:


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## HaoZ (Jul 31, 2014)

I think you should try to get different types of cat food brand and experience it. Like my 2 hedgehogs , they are picky eater and are only 3 months old++ . Their weight has stayed constant recently and what I did was changed the food brand to experiment it. One of the hedgehogs have shown improvement in his weight while the other one , she is still adjusting to the cat food brand. I don't know about you but it's just my thought.


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