# Underweight Hedgie



## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Last week, I brought home my hedgie and she has began warming up to her new home. From her litter, she is the smallest or the runt and the breeder said she would need to be kept on higher fat foods. She wasn't eating so well as she was sleeping a lot and playing at night, so I tried crickets and she ate ten in just a few minutes. She will avoid her food however (I've seen her eating it occasionally) but would it be okay to give her this many crickets to keep her weight up? She is still thin and it's the only thing she is really enjoying. Open to suggestions as well


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Crickets wouldn't be a good option, they're a pretty low fat insect. Normally it wouldn't hurt for her to have that many, but if you need her to put on weight, they're going to fill her up & keep her from eating higher fat things that she needs to gain weight. If you're looking for high fat treats, mealworms and waxworms would be the way to go.

What kind of food is she on? Is the food the same as the breeder gave her? Does she seem to have any trouble crunching up the kibbles? How much food are you giving her, when are you giving it to her, and how much is she eating?

Sorry for all of the questions, heh. They'll help us help you figure out why she's not eating much & hopefully we can get her eating! Insects are great and should definitely be a good part of the diet, but she needs to eat a good amount of her kibble to make sure she's getting all of the nutrients she needs.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

What kind of food do you have her on?


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Right now I have her on Instint with the chicken pieces (I break them up), wellness chicken, chicken soup for the soul adult and the indoor version. I mix in the breeders food which is purina which she didn't eat either alone or with the others. I'll definitely try waxworks too. I talked either breeder and she says that babycat would keep her up, which I've read much about. The kibble is all the same size and little round and flat circles, except for the chicken bits in the instinct, which I crush up into a powder that goes over the food.


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Also, I give her two spoons and she will only eat about 3-4 kibble pieces so it's not a large amount at all.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

That's way too many new foods at once. Hedgehogs do not deal well with food changes and I'm willing to bet that's why she's not eating. Take out all of the foods you've added & give her only the food the breeder was giving her. Stop with the treats for now as well until you get her eating kibble reliably. She's had a lot of changes in the past week & is probably a bit overwhelmed. You want to take things slowly with hedgehogs & go at their pace.

Tonight, see if she'll eat with just the breeder's food offered. Make sure her cage temperature is warm enough. You can try putting some kibble in bed with her as well, if she's shy. If she doesn't eat any more than what she's been eating, then you're going to have to start syringe-feeding her. 3-4 kibbles a night isn't anywhere near enough & could be contributing to the problem by making her feel yucky & more reluctant to eat. Here's our sticky on syringe-feeding - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...yringing-tutorial-syringe-feeding-sticky.html

Supplement by syringe-feeding until she's starting to eat a decent amount again. When you start to add in new foods again, only introduce one new food at a time & it should take you 2-4 weeks to introduce that food. If you want her completely off the breeder's food, switch completely to one new food, then you can start mixing in a second new food until you have half/half, & so on with another food until you have 1/3 of each, etc. The key is to go slow & keep an eye on how much she's eating, if she's accepting the new food, & her poop (for green color or soft consistency, which can indicate stress from going too fast and/or not handling the new food well).


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Thanks! Also, I've had her about a month and for a while, I've only kept the Purina in the dish and he wouldn't touch it and I hid it around as well. I didn't think about overwhelming her with so many options... So thanks for pointing that out ? but I have looked into syringe feeding if this gets out of hand. She is very shy and skittish so I worry she will refuse. I appreciate your help, me being s first timer.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ah, sorry, your initial post said a week. I would still cut it down to only one new food & see if she'll eat either of them. Make sure you're counting or weighing kibble to be certain you know how much she's eating. It can be easy to misjudge by just looking. To be honest, if she's eating that little kibble & has been since you got her, it's already past out of hand. Hedgehogs don't do well with eating small amounts. She needs to eat. So you need to syringe-feed her. Check out the sticky - there's a video about how to deal with an uncooperative hedgehog. She doesn't get a choice, you need to get food into her. 

Make sure conditions are good to go too, in case that's influencing her problems. Temperature 73-78F & held steady, a light schedule of 12 hours of light during the day, no light in the room at night, etc. Check the food for how old it is. Sometimes they won't eat stale food.

If she's still giving you trouble with eating after you've gotten food into her via syringe-feeding, & you're sure the issues aren't with other environmental factors or with the food being old or too big, IMO, you need to schedule a vet visit. She might have mouth issues or something that are making her not eat.

Good luck & let us know how she's doing.  It's tough to figure out why these little guys won't eat sometimes!


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Extremely helpful, I will keep you updated thank you


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

So this morning I checked on her and all of that food was gone! Every piece of kibble... Now should I keep her on that mixture? Very bizarre


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Is it the same mixture you already had put together? If so, wouldn't hurt to see if she's finally decided to keep eating! That's fantastic that she finally ate well. I would increase the amount of food that you give her tonight & continue to do so until she has a little food left over so you know she's getting enough. So glad she decided to give in!


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Yes, she ate it!! Keep whatever mixture you used and feed it to her, then hopefully she will do the same thing tonight. After a week or two of eating this food, then you can start making changes if needed.


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## Maddie (Jun 14, 2015)

Haha yeah what strange timing! She's had some mealworms and is eating her mixture I put together so all is very well right now. Thanks for all of the help!


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