# Loss of appetite :(



## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Suddenly Stella hasn't been eating  She seemed to almost completely stop eating 2 days ago. She will still eat her mealworms, but not her kibble. When I try to directly feed it to her, she will put it in her mouth but then drop it, or just completely ignore it. I tryed moistening her kibble, but she still ignored it. I made her some scrambled eggs and she ignored those also. She seems to still be drinking, but not as much. Her normally poop covered wheel now barely has anything on it. I gave her a bath today which normally makes her poop, but she only pooed a little, and strangley it wasn't in the water, but on the towel after. I couldn't tell if it was runny because I didn't notice it until I put my hand in it :shock: I don't know what to do and I am really concerned  


- How old is your hedgehog? 4 months
- How long have you owned your hedgehog? Whole life minus 7 weeks.
- Has there been any changes in the 2-3 weeks prior to the symptoms starting, such as, you on vacation, hedgie cared for by someone else, new cage, different cage location etc. No
- What is the temperature of the hedgehogs cage? 75*
- What is the lighting schedule? 8:30am-8:30pm

Weight
Unknown

Poop
Unknown, not much

Urine
yellow, more concentrated than normal

Nose
normal

Breathing
normal

Eating
Covered in above

Skin
Looks normal, she is ending quilling, I heard her scratching alot last night.

Vomiting 
no

Activity
normal

Meds
none


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

I should add that I counted out her kibble tonight to see exactly how much she is eating, if she is eating at all.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Could her kibble have gotten bad??? and maybe she is shying from other offers due to that? 

Was just a thought because I wondered this myself today...not because my hedgie is not eating but because I take her kibble mix from the freezer and then store enough for a couple weeks in a sealed container. I wondered today if the kibble might get moisture in it after a time and if I put the lid on without leaving it a while that it could mildew....


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Hissy-Fit-Hazel said:


> Could her kibble have gotten bad??? and maybe she is shying from other offers due to that?
> 
> Was just a thought because I wondered this myself today...not because my hedgie is not eating but because I take her kibble mix from the freezer and then store enough for a couple weeks in a sealed container. I wondered today if the kibble might get moisture in it after a time and if I put the lid on without leaving it a while that it could mildew....


I have some kibble in the freezer and some in containers. It is a possibility that the kibble in the containers could of gone bad. Would the stuff in the freezer still be good?


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Last night Stella didn't eat any kibble. There were 9 pieces of kibble scattered outside her bowl so it looked like she tryed. I am thinking that the food could be bad like Hissy-Fit-Hazel said or that there is something wrong with her mouth or teeth.  Guys I'm really worried! I was listening to her last night and she was still running alot. Should I take out her wheel until she eats? I don't want her to loose too much weight.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Kibble even in the freezer can go stale. When taking kibble out of the freezer, it should to be laid out on paper towels to thaw and once it is room temperature, it can then be put into a sealed container. Putting frozen kibble directly into a sealed container will make moisture and it can mold. 

It's always a good idea to watch your hedgie eating on a frequent basis. Then you can tell if s/he is struggling with the food or still easily crunching it. Some never want to eat in front of us but often handing setting a few kibble in front of them during playtime they will eat. 

At 4 months it isn't very common to have mouth or teeth issues, but it can happen. Will she eat soft food or bugs?


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Nancy said:


> Kibble even in the freezer can go stale. When taking kibble out of the freezer, it should to be laid out on paper towels to thaw and once it is room temperature, it can then be put into a sealed container. Putting frozen kibble directly into a sealed container will make moisture and it can mold.
> 
> It's always a good idea to watch your hedgie eating on a frequent basis. Then you can tell if s/he is struggling with the food or still easily crunching it. Some never want to eat in front of us but often handing setting a few kibble in front of them during playtime they will eat.
> 
> At 4 months it isn't very common to have mouth or teeth issues, but it can happen. Will she eat soft food or bugs?


I let it sit out like you said. I tryed offering her some of the kibble I took from the freezer and she sniffed it but would eat it  I've watched her easily munch down her kibble before so I don't think its to hard. She will eat her mealworms, but they are freeze-dried so I don't want to give her more than three a day. I tryed letting her food sit in some water and get soft but she wouldn't eat that either.

I made a vet appt. and its for 7:45pm tomorrow. I will let you guysknow how that goes. In the meantime is there anything else I can do? I would trying getting her a new bag of food but I have no way of getting to a store. 

Thanks for the help so far


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Stella pooped a little bit today. I had the joy of watching her :roll: but it at least let me know she was passing it easily and I picked it up right away to bring to the vet. The poop was really dark and green which made me really concerned. It also had little bits of exoskeleton in it, but I'm not too surprised about that concidering that's all she will eat. It didn't seem bloody at all, just really, really dark green.


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

the same happening with my little guy...going to the vet tomorrow as well...he is not drinking or eating...just mealworms and a tiny bit of cantaloupe...but that's it :-(


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

I would try fresh kibble from a brand new bag....good luck at the vet, hope you find some answers!


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Hey guys I just got back from the vet. The vet's name was Dr. Hedges :lol: How ironic! He took the stool sample and is testing it for parasites. He was confused that she was still very active and young. So he was doubting teeth issues or cancer but not ruling it out. She also annoited 3 times there so they got a look at her teeth while she was doing that. They said the only way they can totally look in her mouth is by sedating her which neither of us wanted to do yet. They gave me 2 wet cat foods and 3 dry to try to feed her tonight. I am giving her a little of each in seperate bowls and her normal amount of her regular food. 

One thing that is making me nervous is that I'm not sure how much the vet knows about hedgehogs :? He asked me if I have tried feeding her hedgehog food and he also showed me this page in a book (that looked pretty old!) that had information about diet in it and it said that you can feed them grapes :shock: Also, when Stella was annoiting he seemed like he didn't really know what she was doing. My dad calmed my nerves by telling me he probably doesn't know a ton about basic care but more about medical stuff. Do you think this is right and stick with this vet? Or should I try to find one that is more knowledgable?

Also, the vet was talking about putting her on this medicine. I don't remember what it was called but it started with a m and he said it was bad tasting. Does anyone know about this?


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

I have the same situation as you. My hedgie is not eating or drinking but he still is active.
My vet said you can mix hedgie food and some good cat food and see if he will eat it. Also she said to force feed him with syringe 4-6 times a day with a wet cat food diluted with water.
They are doing some tests tomorrow- blood test, poop test to see if there is anything wrong. Unfortunately they will have to use gas. I am scared but there is no other way to get to know what's really wrong in there. My hedgie is about 8-9 months old.
Have you changed bedding or food in any way recently?
My vet said hedgies are quite sensitive to the routine changes.
Also my boy will only eat mealworms- and he pooped their exoskeletons this morning. She said feeding him only those could actually make it worse cause they are rich and they can block the intestines and cause problems.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Don't be afraid to tell a conventional (non exotic specific vet) that they are out of date in their info or just plain wrong & why (I do it to my vet all the time and they expect me to because they know I do have the time to research lol). Most regular vets are quite willing to contact an exotics specialist to get the right info and/or do some research. Conventional vets learn the basics about all types of animals but may not know a huge amount about those they do not deal with on a consistent basis....the willingness to make sure they educate themselves for the health of your hedgie is important. 

If you chose the vet because they are nearest to you...it is in your best interest to develop a relationship with them in case of emergency. If you find they are not willing to admit they need to look up current info, try to jam the wrong info onto you claiming it's correct or will not consult with other vets....that is the time to decide if a change of vets is crucial.

Have either of you tried mashing up meal worms with dampened kibble? Might be worth a shot?


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

hmmm! sounds like a brilliant idea! I will do that!
Thank you!


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

I haven't changed anything at all which was the really weird part! And i tryed moist mashed up kibble with mashed up mealworms and she wouldn't go near it.

Good news! Last night she ate some crushed Science Diet!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Yaaay  ....hope she keeps at it!


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