# Hedgie anorexia?



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

So my new hedgie, Bella, used to be a very big girl. about two weeks ago her weight came down to a healthy level thanks to her new wheel! However since then she appears to not be eating at all. She runs on her wheel CONSTANTLY we hear her going on it almost all night, she is addicted to it. 

Every morning when I check on her there is no decrease in her food dish. Her temp is fine and her day to night lighy ratio times are good as we have her in the living room where we have a large patio door. (note she is not directly in front of the door and we only open it a few inches for air flow briefly during the day) I have tried removing her wheel before my hubby and I go to bed, after letting her run on it for an hour or so but she just franticaly searchea for it. Im worried for her as she is getting quite thin and light. This is the same food she has always been on even from the breeder. Ive been giving her some mealworms daily so she has something in her tummy, trying to get her weight up a bit but I know this is not healthy. What can I try to get her to eat? please help!


Ironically my other hedgie in a seperate cage seems completely disinterested in her wheel now that shes older. Such is life.. *sigh*


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Taking her wheel out isn't going to work as you've found. Are you counting her food to figure out just how much she's eating? How long has this been going on? Any chance you can look in her mouth to see if she has a tooth issue?


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## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

no i havent tried counting the peices but I have been watching closely and have found half eaten peices here andbthere around her cage. As for checking her teeth, I know she lost oner of her front canines shortly after a vet visit, which was a light tan/brown color. The vet had actyally told me not to worry about it.. I will give her a teeth a check as best as I can, shes not quite comfortable with me yet but we're getting there. Any tips on how to check a hedgehogs teeth?


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## 1234 (Oct 13, 2016)

With my hedgie, I lay her on her back and hold her with one hand, then I take the wrong side of a tweezer (I have one that's nice and flat so that she doesn't get poked) and use that to move her gums up and down. When I went to the vet with my girl the vet did the same type of thing. You just have to wait for her to relax while on her back to make sure that she doesn't get hurt by the tweezer. My hedgie moves every few min so It takes patience and quick and gentle working when she's not moving. You could probably use a q-tip as well.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Leaving half eaten pieces sounds like a mouth issue to me. She should see a vet do they can do a thorough mouth exam. You should start syringe feeding her as once they stop eating they don't feel hungry and usually need to be syringe fed to stimulate their appetite.


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## chopstickthehedgie! (Mar 29, 2021)

CrysAnner said:


> So my new hedgie, Bella, used to be a very big girl. about two weeks ago her weight came down to a healthy level thanks to her new wheel! However since then she appears to not be eating at all. She runs on her wheel CONSTANTLY we hear her going on it almost all night, she is addicted to it.
> 
> Every morning when I check on her there is no decrease in her food dish. Her temp is fine and her day to night lighy ratio times are good as we have her in the living room where we have a large patio door. (note she is not directly in front of the door and we only open it a few inches for air flow briefly during the day) I have tried removing her wheel before my hubby and I go to bed, after letting her run on it for an hour or so but she just franticaly searchea for it. Im worried for her as she is getting quite thin and light. This is the same food she has always been on even from the breeder. Ive been giving her some mealworms daily so she has something in her tummy, trying to get her weight up a bit but I know this is not healthy. What can I try to get her to eat? please help!
> 
> ...


I would try and add a little bit of water to her dry food. A similar thing happened to my hedgie but, I noticed that he finds finds food much easier to chew since it’s softer. If this does work and you wanna make this his diet, then you will need to refill his food more often because for some reason it gets bad faster so like once every 1-2 days I would refill his food dish.


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