# Confusing/Scary Eating Patterns



## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

So I was given Premium Edge Kitten food to give my Bella from the shop I got her at and the girl that worked their told me thats what they had her on, so I kept her on it. She ate it when she was hungry for the first few days that I had her and now I dont notice any food missing from her dish. I change it often, pretty much every day if not every other day so it doesn't get stale.

I offered her some mashed up blue/strawberries and she didn't want them. Then offered live mealies and she ran away from them. Banana baby food (checked the lable) and she took a few mouth fulls and never touched it again. She did the same with some treats as she did with the baby food.

I'm pretty sure shes not a picky eater because she was eating it fine before and when I let her out of her aquarium for playtime tonight I had some crayons on the floor (Yes, I'm grown but I still color in coloring books  ) And she took one whiff and tried to eat it. Of course I grabbed it before she could. Every little speck on the floor she started to try to eat and seemed like she had been starving. I put her food dish there with her but she wouldn't touch it. I'm extremely confused about all this and scared that shes starving herself in her tank. I dont sleep until 6am so I should be able to hear her eat sometime in the night/early morning but I never do. I do hear her drink though. Has anyone had the same or similar problems before?? Help!


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## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

I forgot to add I did put some hedgie-friendly food on the floor (a spoon full of nonfat plain yogurt,organic cat treats.things I KNOW she liked..etc.) for her and she did eat some but not a significant amount and then just lost interest.

She can be such a pain in the patootie sometimes! lol


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Count her kibble so you know exactly how much she is eating. Just by looking at the bowl it can be difficult to tell.

How old is she? Babies eat a huge amount and then taper off. Perhaps that is what is happening. 

If she is not eating you need to start syringe feeding her. FLD can start after a couple of days of no or little food. The vets sell a food made to be syringe fed called Hills A/D. I've yet to find a hedgehog that didn't like it. 

Try leaving kibble in her bed. Sometimes if they don't want to eat they will eat if they don't have to get up to do it. You can also try breaking up the kibble into smaller pieces and see if that helps.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Are you right there in the same room, until 6am? Perhaps she doesn't want to come out with you there?


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## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

I found out she is 14mo. old so shes definetly not a baby. Shes almost a middle aged woman in hedgie years lol

and thank you for the advice! I've tried counting kibble before but it was too hard to tell since some of the ones out of the bag were already broken and i've noticed her needing to bite them into smaller pieces. 

I do think that making them into smaller pieces will help though, I thought they did look a little big for her. And I am in the room with her some of the time until I go to sleep and she comes out when she gets too warm in her house but I never see her eat. hmmph.


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## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

Oh and...

To Nancy:
If I start to syringe feed her would she be completely dependant on that for the rest of her life? or do they get over that and start to eat normally? I wouldn't mind doing that, I'm just curious.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

At 14 months old it would be rare for one to have difficulty crunching the food as usually that starts at 3ish. Our Nemo had problems at a young age though and lived on dampened kibble for 3/4's of his life. 

Because the food is so hard, when they chew, it breaks and pieces fly out of their mouth. That is probably what you are seeing in the bowl. 

When I count kibble I try to use full pieces but if not, have a list for half, 3/4 as well as a full pieces. 

Most of them do decide they love being syringed once they get used to it and to be honest, I like it too. I find it helps build a bond with them. Yes it can be difficult to wean them off the syringe. I find for most, putting the A/D that I syringe into a dish in their cage works and then slowly decreasing the amount given. Others it's as easy as decreasing the amount syringed and then they start eating their food because they are still hungry. If she is having difficulty eating the hard kibble, she may not want to go back on kibble so might need a dampened kibble or canned food.


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## Cimredopyh (Oct 13, 2008)

Syringing is just to ensure that a hedgehog gets the food/water it needs during a time when they are refusing to feed themselves. They do not 'forget' how to feed themselves once syringed, and once the health problem is resolved they should go back to their normal routine. 

However, some of them might become 'addicted' to the extra attention they get or the soft tasty food :lol: Cant say i blame them, even humans like being fussed over when we are sick and having comforting foods prepared for us.


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