# Picky hedgie needs to be less picky



## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

I've had Westley for a month now and have declared that he is ridiculously picky. My main reason for saying that is that no matter what I do, he will not eat mealworms. I've tried both mealworms and superworms, but he wouldn't eat either. I asked both the breeder I got him from and the vet for tips, but nothing worked. 

The breeder suggested putting him the bathtub with a few of them and hoping he would try one (he didn't) and if that didn't work, to cut one open and let him lick it (ewwwww) I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to bugs, so cutting them open was the grossest thing I have ever done. Hence my frustration when he wouldn't even try it. After destroying about three worms, but bathtub was covered in worm blood, which he did proceed to lick up, but would not connect it with the dead, bleeding worm two inches away (-.-)

The vet suggested to just crush up a few worms (I literally gagged when he said this) and just mix it in with his food, and hopefully he would get used to the taste and connect it with a live worm. I have yet to try this. I also haven't tried crickets, mostly because I'm pretty sure I would have the same problem, and those buggers (hehe) are too expensive to waste.

Any suggestions? I know he needs to eat some sort of insects, which is why I'm trying so hard, but he just seems to be stubborn. Anyone else had this problem?


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2011)

My feral wouldn't eat mealworms until she saw my other hedgehog going to town on them, she would turn them away left and right. Sometimes they grow into them and sometimes not, but Feral loved crickets right of the bat and they are fairly inexpensive from my experience. Insects should be a treat, their major diet should consist of the cat food mix with the insects as treats for good behaviors, successes and bonding times.

It is always possible you run into that rare hedgehog who is that picky, but this is unlikely, still every hedgehog is different and thus its a learning experience and I wish you luck in discovering what treats your hedgehog likes


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

Alrighty then! I'll try for some crickets just in case. Maybe I can find someone who has a hedgie and they can have a "learn to eat mealworms" play date without the playing.
Thanks a bunch!!


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I have a couple that won't touch mealworms. Sometimes if you put them in the dish with the food they'll eat them by accident and decide they like them.


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

nikki said:


> I have a couple that won't touch mealworms. Sometimes if you put them in the dish with the food they'll eat them by accident and decide they like them.


I tried that....I even tried that with a bleeding one. He just ate around them :/
I even tried rolling the worm around in the food to get it's smell, but Westley only sniffed at it (I even made sure Westley was good and hungry- I feed him at night and hadn't fed him yet).


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## xspiked (Feb 27, 2011)

Ava99 said:


> Any suggestions? I know he needs to eat some sort of insects, which is why I'm trying so hard, but he just seems to be stubborn. Anyone else had this problem?


I think I've read along the forum that they don't _need_ some sort of insects. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone, but I think if your hedgie really doesn't like mealworms/insects and never grows into it no matter what you try, it's okay to have a diet just of good quality cat food and other veggie/fruit/lean meat treats.


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2011)

xspiked said:


> Ava99 said:
> 
> 
> > Any suggestions? I know he needs to eat some sort of insects, which is why I'm trying so hard, but he just seems to be stubborn. Anyone else had this problem?
> ...


I believe so, but insects are a quick and easy treat bribe  My hedgie has only liked one veggie and one fruit, Celeste is still unfounded for now...


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

:lol: 
I'm laughing WITH you. I just wanted to say kudos for trying so hard. I would give the crickets a shot. At our little local petstore, you can buy 2-3 if you want.

Sumo LOVES his insects and they are part of his regular diet - I figure insectivore...insects... Sumo eats about 8-10 crickets (gutloaded, then frozen) and 3-5 mealies, depending on size. I feed very little kibble, so I am a bit different. :roll:


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## xspiked (Feb 27, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> xspiked said:
> 
> 
> > Ava99 said:
> ...


Haha, they've never worked as a bribe for me. She eats them too quick and moves on before I can do anything. And she likes them, but treats them with a 'i-don't-need-them' attitude. So if she doesn't wanna come out of her house, no amount of mealies will do it. *sigh*.

I hope crickets work for you Ava99. I'd suggest not getting the canned type unless you want to be thoroughly grossed out. They were all smelly and slimey and I couldn't bring myself to touch them so I tried stabbing them with toothpicks to no avail. I only got pieces of wings and limbs.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

xspiked said:


> I think I've read along the forum that they don't _need_ some sort of insects. Correct me I hope crickets work for you Ava99. I'd suggest not getting the canned type unless you want to be thoroughly grossed out. They were all smelly and slimey and I couldn't bring myself to touch them so I tried stabbing them with toothpicks to no avail. I only got pieces of wings and limbs.


 :lol:

I love how grossed out so many of us are by insects. But we truck through the grossness to make our hedgies happy!

I simply refuse to touch any insects. Ever. Period. I about peed my pants last night - I was sitting on my bed, and Milly was on her play time towel in front of me. We had JUST finished her manicure and she was such a good girl! I popped open her mealworm container, and used the lid to flick one out of the container, just like I always do. Unfortunately, the mealworm flipped up in the air and landed on my bare leg. I squealed and whipped my leg out and jumped up and hopped around. My fiance was like, "What happened!?!?" I pointed at the innocent mealie sitting on the bed and said, "It. Touched. Me."

Anyway, insects are definitely not going to hurt your hedgehog, but sometimes hedgies know what they want, and they aren't going to let you change their mind. Other times, you just have to convince them that it's worth trying. If I were you, I would keep offering the mealies as treats, and maybe as time goes by, your hegie will decide he likes them.


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

Not gonna lie, I used a pair of huge tweezers to grab the mealworms out of the box (they were live) and used a razor blade to cut them in half (I'm gonna use scissors next time... I screamed bloody murder when an extra long one curled up around the razor blade enough to touch my hand...soooo gross)

I haven't tried the crickets yet, Westley had a vet appt. this morning and went into Subway with me in my purse (it's in the upper 90s, I couldn't leave him in the car) so I'm not gonna throw anything new at him today, maybe tomorrow though, and I'll let yall know how it goes!!

Any veggie/fruit/etc. suggestions? I've tried an apple slice (and got a video of him with it) but all he did was lick it and self annoint :evil: I think in the video you can actually hear me say "NO! you're supposed to eat that!!"

Thanks you guys, at least I know I'm not the only one with this problem


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

:lol: Screaming bloody murder sounds exactly like what I do when bugs fly in my face.

My hedgie likes bananas a lot, and I just found out last night that she likes watermelon, too. I'm pretty sure there's a thread in the diet & nutrition section about good fruits and vegetables for hedgehogs. I know I've heard things about raspberries and strawberries having too small of seeds for hedgehogs, so I would double check what fruits and veggies are OK and then go through the lists.


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

Liam's diet consists of mealies (3-5 per day), crickets (5-7 per day), kibble mix (20-25 per day) and a veggie/cooked chicken/wet cat food blend (1 serving [I freeze portions in ice cube trays] per day). My vet has always said that hedgies, being insectivores, really NEED bugs in one form or another. Their exoskeletons/skins contain chitin, which is a nutrient hedgies need and which you can't really find in something like cat kibble. I figure his dietary needs take precedence over my grossed-out-ness. :lol:

That being said, I know some hedgies are really picky. Just keep trying with the mealies, and maybe Westley will come around. They can be funny like that. I started with mealies and worked my way up to crickets (I buy live ones then freeze them). I wasn't sure whether Liam would eat a cricket or not, but right off the bat he gobbled it up. Now he loves to hunt around in his dig box for them at night (I keep trying to figure out more difficult hiding places).  Also, I feed Liam mealworms by picking them up with chopsticks, not only to put considerable airspace between the mealie and I, but to protect my fingers as well! Liam usually attacks the chopsticks afterward just to make sure he's gotten every little mealie bit. :roll:

As for fruits and veggies, Liam really likes peas, carrots, broccoli, and peppers, among other things. Just steamed, no seasonings. The only fruit he seems to like is bananas. Hope this helps!


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

Alright, I will keep trying!! Question though: my grandmother buys (i guess they're freeze-dried??) mealworms to feed to the birds (outdoor, non pet birds -.-) and she recently bought this gigantic bottle of them (there has to be several thousand in there) but she leaves them on the back porch in 90+ degree weather. Would those be ok to feed to him, to save me money and trips to petsmart, or do they need to be fresh? I don't know if mealworms "spoil" or not... :shock: that wasn't exactly something they taught in school...
Also: as for the veggies (peppers, and whatnot) do they have to be steamed? we have a garden out back and I know we have fresh peppers and tomatoes that we don't use any pesticides on (though I'm going to have to double check that) or just plain veggies from Kroger?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm not sure if freeze-dried would go bad sitting outside or not...But either way, you'd have to be careful with feeding those. Too many at once could pose a risk of impaction. I do the same thing as cylaura, with freezing crickets and hiding them around the cage. Lily gets 5-6 of them a night, along with 1-3 mealies, depending on her weight that night. I also give veggies/meats/fruits via baby food, I have two different mixes at the moment, frozen into ice cubes and alternate them each night. They're about a tablespoon a night.

With fresh veggies, hard ones (like carrots) should be steamed to make them softer so they don't cause choking. I've fed green peppers without steaming, just cut them up into hedgie-bite-sized pieces. Here's the list of safe fruits/veggies - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=60&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=fruit+and+veggie

Just remember to keep offering things over and over, sometimes they'll eventually try it. I've found that Lily's a lot more likely to try new fruit/veggie baby foods if I've mixed them up with a turkey or chicken food. Most of them she won't eat on their own, but in the mixes I made, she eats it all up every night.


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

Ava99 said:


> Alright, I will keep trying!! Question though: my grandmother buys (i guess they're freeze-dried??) mealworms to feed to the birds (outdoor, non pet birds -.-) and she recently bought this gigantic bottle of them (there has to be several thousand in there) but she leaves them on the back porch in 90+ degree weather. Would those be ok to feed to him, to save me money and trips to petsmart, or do they need to be fresh? I don't know if mealworms "spoil" or not... :shock: that wasn't exactly something they taught in school...
> Also: as for the veggies (peppers, and whatnot) do they have to be steamed? we have a garden out back and I know we have fresh peppers and tomatoes that we don't use any pesticides on (though I'm going to have to double check that) or just plain veggies from Kroger?


I really don't know about the heat, but since they're already dried out, I'm thinking it wouldn't do much? I'm not sure though. But, as Lilysmommy said, freeze dried mealies aren't as safe as live ones. Liam wouldn't even try them when I had some. If you get live ones, you can keep the container in the fridge and they will stay "fresh" for a while. 

I occasionally feed Liam cucumbers from my garden, and hopefully I'll give him some peppers when mine are big enough! Raw fruits and veggies are fine as long as they're chewy enough, I think.


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

Awesome!I'll run out to Petsmart tomorrow and get some live mealies and crickets, and I'll let you know if he eats them!
Thanks guys! You're a huge help!! (especially since my vet and breeder aren't...)


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## Pooki3 (Jun 10, 2011)

have you tried the freeze dried or canned insects? they're cheaper, less gross and my hedgehog didn't know what to do with live things...it kinda scared him.


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## Ava99 (Jul 6, 2011)

Alright, well I went out to petsmart earlier and bought 5 crickets and and a small thing of live mealworms. I put the crickets in the freezer and left them there while I went to work. I also tried giving Westley a small piece of Honeydew with his mid-day dose of Bene-Bac, but he had zero interest in it, even when put in his food bowl.

I waited for Westley to get up and finally gave up around 11 pm and woke him, gave him his medicine (please also note he hasn't eaten all day, as I feed him at night). I offered him a mealie...no go. He actually stepped on it sniffing for food after I dropped it (tweezers again..). So I guess I'll try killing them and see if he will try for a dead one...

I then offered him a cricket (after screaming like a wuss when I dropped it- it was squishy-er than I expected... and it fell onto my leg, then the floor when I jumped). He sniffed at it, then kept walking around sniffing for food. I moved him back to it so his nose was right above it, he sniffed again...and again..and then he ate it!!! :!: :!: :!: It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!! He couldn't figure out what to do with it, so he bit it and dropped it and kept trying (it still had the legs) until finally he got it down. He then dove for the bag with the others, which I readily gave him (and recorded him eating). After finishing the 4 remaining, I gave him his cat food. After about 2 minutes of eating cat food, he found the piece of egg carton (cardboard) that Petsmart gave with the crickets and started biting it! I guess he really liked the crickets! I tried giving him a mealie, hoping that had triggered something, but nope. no interest. Oh well, I'm a happy mommy


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

Ava99 said:


> Alright, well I went out to petsmart earlier and bought 5 crickets and and a small thing of live mealworms. I put the crickets in the freezer and left them there while I went to work. I also tried giving Westley a small piece of Honeydew with his mid-day dose of Bene-Bac, but he had zero interest in it, even when put in his food bowl.
> 
> I waited for Westley to get up and finally gave up around 11 pm and woke him, gave him his medicine (please also note he hasn't eaten all day, as I feed him at night). I offered him a mealie...no go. He actually stepped on it sniffing for food after I dropped it (tweezers again..). So I guess I'll try killing them and see if he will try for a dead one...
> 
> I then offered him a cricket (after screaming like a wuss when I dropped it- it was squishy-er than I expected... and it fell onto my leg, then the floor when I jumped). He sniffed at it, then kept walking around sniffing for food. I moved him back to it so his nose was right above it, he sniffed again...and again..and then he ate it!!! :!: :!: :!: It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!! He couldn't figure out what to do with it, so he bit it and dropped it and kept trying (it still had the legs) until finally he got it down. He then dove for the bag with the others, which I readily gave him (and recorded him eating). After finishing the 4 remaining, I gave him his cat food. After about 2 minutes of eating cat food, he found the piece of egg carton (cardboard) that Petsmart gave with the crickets and started biting it! I guess he really liked the crickets! I tried giving him a mealie, hoping that had triggered something, but nope. no interest. Oh well, I'm a happy mommy


Good for you, Crickets are much lower in fat anyways and provide the same things the hedgehog will need


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

YAY Westley!  Glad he finally realized crickets are yummy! Now if he'll just pick up on the mealies...Heh. Even if they're higher in fat, I don't think it'll hurt if he finally decides to like them. They'd make a good treat every once in awhile, and a good backup in case something happens and he needs to put weight back on.


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## ProjectParanoia (Jan 27, 2010)

Delia is horrible. She won't eat any kind of insect. She hates most fresh fruits and veggies I offer to her, and denied salt-free saltines. I've only found one treat she'll eat: blueberries, and that's only occasionally. They're expensive, too. Silly thing.
She did get into my pack of gum once and nibbled like crazy. Sneaky little thing.


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