# Is Bruno underweight?



## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

I've been noticing how much bigger Fabio(sisters hedgehog) is then Bruno. I was wondering if Bruno is under weight. Is there a way I can tell without weighing him? and if he is underweight what should i do?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Take a look at him from above, do his sides cave inward like an hour glass? Does his hip bones stick up? Yes then he is very underweight. If underweight you need to figure out why. Are you feeding him enough calories for his activity levels. If he isn't very active then is he sick?

There are 2 different body styles with hedgehogs, and hedgehogs come in a variety of sizes. One style is a more oval shape, the other is thinner and looks like the hedgehog is on stilts (commonly called runner style). You can't change a runner style without getting them overweight, its just how they are. 

As for sizes, I've had small hedgehogs (weighing in at under 300 grams), medium size, and large (over 700 grams) hedgehogs. With my current two (weights this morning 736 & 460) just by looking at them standing together you may initially think I have a mother and an older baby.... in actuality they are both adults (over 2 and nearly 2). Just one is a much larger hedgehog than the other.


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

ok thanks I looked at Bruno and he is defiantly not underweight from what you said. I think he might be a runner style hedgie. He eats Wellness Healthy Weight and Iams Indoor Weight Control. I feed him about 6 meal worms a day, and when ever we eat vegetables or fruits that aren't toxic or bad for him, I give him a little bit. He just had some green pepper last night.  even though he didn't really like it I dont think. I did realize something though...fabio will eat his meal worms right up and will eat the whole container if he could but bruno hasn't really been too interested in them. Is that normal?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

It could be normal for him. Riley liked mealworms, but he could take em or leave em. If he wouldn't eat them right away I just left them in his cage with him. They were always gone by morning. I had one other that had that attitude too. In fact he wouldn't eat a mealworm until he was about 3-4 years old. Then one day he decided to try them.


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

phew thats good. yeah i will leave them in his food bowl so then he can eat them through the night.


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## lucky18ea (Nov 24, 2008)

I noticed you said that you feed him Iams Healthy Weight. I may be wrong but from talking with other hedgie owners and breeders, Iams is not a good food to have him on. I was told by one breeder that Iams is one of the worst brands to feed hedgies. Can anyone else verify that information or was this person off in their facts?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

lucky18ea said:


> I noticed you said that you feed him Iams Healthy Weight. I may be wrong but from talking with other hedgie owners and breeders, Iams is not a good food to have him on. I was told by one breeder that Iams is one of the worst brands to feed hedgies. Can anyone else verify that information or was this person off in their facts?


Yes, you are right. Iams is a low quality food.


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

ok i didn't know that so what should I swich him over to?


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

ok I am going to with Chicken Soup then, mixed with Wellness.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

K9_girl1994 said:


> ok I am going to with Chicken Soup then, mixed with Wellness.


That's a better mix.


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

ok thats what I will change it to then. Do you know if Walmart sells Chicken Soup? or if I will have to get it at the pet store like I do with Wellness?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I doubt wal-mart sells it... Do a search on Google for chicken soup cat food. The first link should be to their website. In there there is a link to where to buy their foods locally.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I don't know of any large chain stores sellin CSFTCLS.

You can look here to find a dealer near you:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloversso ... r_locator/


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## K9_girl1994 (Nov 6, 2008)

ok thanks. I am going out shopping with my mom this wednesday so I will look through all of the pet stores dwon there. This one petstore sells Wellness so I bet they have Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul.


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