# Not eating??



## Mitzi27 (Mar 16, 2016)

Hi there!
I just got my baby Saturday morning, and its already Monday night. Baby hasnt eaten as far as I can tell. Theres still the 2 tablespoons of food left each day. I even give him an alternative bowl of crushed kibble. He also hasnt left any poop in his cage. Im feeding him the same food as the breeder, and giving him filtered water. Not sure if hes being distracted from eating, but id rather not remove his wheel since he happily runs all night. 

A site online said to check for dehydration if i dont see him drinking, but he doesnt seem comfortable enough with me yet to uncurl when i hold him. 

Im worried 3 days is too long to go without food or water, especially for such a little guy. Tonight I'm counting how many pieces of food im giving him to see if theres really any change in eating. 

Do you think theres anything else I can do? I heard about tempting them with scrambled eggs, meallworms, fruit, etc. But i dont know if that'll result in him eating nothing BUT treats?


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## chloere93 (Jul 5, 2016)

He may just be adjusting to his new home, ideally for the first day or so you should leave the hedgehog alone and not get him out (at least this is what I did for the first day)

Your hedgehog won't starve himself to death, when he's hungry he'll eat, he may just feel a little unsettled at the moment  you also might not notice his water going down very much as they don't drink a lot... maybe a tablespoon or water or two per day- and as you'd be changing the water everyday, it'd be hard to notice this small difference from the bowl. I can never really tell but I know he's drinking because he's always plenty hydrated.

How's the temperature in the cage? Do you have any sort of heating set up in his cage? They're very sensitive to the cold and may change their appetite. A heating source is a must, I have a Ceramic heater on a thermostat that keeps his cage regulated between 22 and 24c. Even if your house is warm, it doesn't mean that he will remain at a consistent temperature all day and night so I would really suggest investing in this, the initial set up may be 'expensive' (mine cost just under £40) but it's very energy efficient and has hardly made a difference to our electric bill. (If you already have one then sorry for the babble!  )

Using treats as a bribe isn't a bad thing, just make sure you don't overdo it. I give my hedgehog no more than 3 mealworms a day and I either give them to him whilst we're bonding, or just drop them in his food bowl with his cat food before I go to bed.

If you can't check your hedgehog for dehydration by pinching his skin (not hard obviously) then just keep a good check on his eyes, if they become dull and not shiny/glossy then this may be an indicator of dehydration. Just give him a little time, if it's still persists to be a problem then maybe take him to a vet or speak to the breeder, but I'm sure he'll be just fine  especially if he's being active at night and not sluggish / oversleeping.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I disagree with the previous poster about food. If by now he's still not eating you need to start syringe feeding. They go down fast if they don't eat and the more time goes without eating the least likely they are to eat; also, it can get fatty liver disease and that is not a good thing. 

Look up on here how to syringe feed or someone with more experience can answer but food is very important.


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## chloere93 (Jul 5, 2016)

The poster already stated that the hedgehog won't uncurl when they hold him, so syringe feeding might be difficult and could potentially stress the hedgehog out- which is why I didn't suggest it and rather suggested going to a vet or coming back to the breeder to query this behaviour if it starts to become a concern.

They also said "as far as they can tell" which could mean that the hedgehog is eating but just very small amounts that they haven't noticed a change in the amount of food in the bowl. If the hedgehog seems happy and is active, I wouldn't indicate this as a problem- as you said _'they go down fast'_- but from this post the hedgehog hasn't gone down in the 3 days it _'hasn't'_ eaten, which tells me the hedgehog must be eating even if it's a little bit.

My hedgehog went a few days without eating- or eating very little- when I first brought him home from his previous owner. He felt poorly from the travel home on the first day and didn't eat much. The next couple days I hadn't noticed much change in his bowls either, but once he seemed to adjust and settle into the week, I heard him happily crunching up his food into the night. It took him about a month before he started actually clearing his entire bowl of food. I know when I feel anxious and unsettled, the last thing on my mind is food.

I'm not saying your wrong, it it concerning when a hedgehog stops eating and drinking, but gauging from the hedgehog's behaviour described in this post and with no full-proof evidence that the hedgehog isn't eating *at all*- the hedgehog doesn't sound to be in any ill health.

One thing we can agree on though is to talk to someone with experience i.e. a vet who deals with hedgehogs, or the breeder.

Let me know how you're hedgehog gets on


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## Mitzi27 (Mar 16, 2016)

I checked on him again, and found 1 less piece of food than I had left, though that could have been from it getting lost in his paper bedding. 

He was scratching a good deal last night, which I assumed was because the bedding was too drying. When I checked, he tried tasting the paper. I was concerned he was eating it instead of his food, so I switched him over to fleece, which he should have a more difficult time biting apart.

Still has shiny eyes, so I suppose he's not dehydrated. He was moving around quite a bit last night. Again, he was running on his wheel as soon as the light went out. I've been handling him for 30 minutes a day, which may have been stressing him out?

Thus far, no poop on either the wheel or cage which is worrying.

The cage is at about 76 degrees, with the CHE set up. He seems to like sleeping under the wheel, or in a sack with fleece strips--kind of like a nest. 

I'll be emailing the breeder tonight about his behavior. Do you think maybe I should leave his cage alone for a day or two to see if there's any improvement?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You need to get food in him asap. Fatty Liver disease can set in as soon as 48 hours of not eating. One piece of food isn't going to be enough to stop this. If he isn't eating yet you need to get him in to the vet and you do need to start syringe feeding him. Get some Hills A/D from the vet and some feeding syringes. You'll probably have to scruff him to get food into him. It's like picking a kitten up by the loose skin of their neck. 

Hedgehogs will starve themselves to death because after a couple of days of not eating they seem to lose their appetite. Saying they won't starve themselves to death is wrong and dangerous advice.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Usually hedgehogs uncurl if you put them in some warm water, but he must eat.


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## Mitzi27 (Mar 16, 2016)

Forgot to update. He's eating wet food now, so I'm working on transitioning him onto the regular dry stuff since I don't want fat content to be so high


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Willing to eat moistened food, but not dry food. You might want to get his mouth checked for infection or injury to make sure that isn't the cause.


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## Mitzi27 (Mar 16, 2016)

Update a month on: There was nothing wrong with his mouth and he's eaten about 14g of dry food a night since the last update. 
He's now up to 295g, with no weight loss (weighing him weekly). He's a normal round shape, and can ball up comfortably. 
At about 5 months old, how much weight gain is normal?


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