# Not eating her dry food at all in like 3 days



## Maddie The Hedgehog (Jul 28, 2012)

maddie has barely eaten any of her food at all in the past 3 days and im really worried about her. she is 9 months old now and female, shes eating dry purina one and beyond chicken whole oat recipe and the food is ok and its not expired and its kept sealed. her wheel is a csw wheel, she has a heating bulb and a daytime running light for her and she is on fleece and her litter gets changed once a week and her cage cleaned and washed. so all of that is ok and she also has the hedgehog sunseed formula with the crab, shrimp, and tuna in it and ive alternated between those two to see if she will change her mind and eat. im not around any stores where i can purchase the good catfoods such as chicken soup for the cat lovers soul and what not. the only thing good that ive seen inside and outside my town is the chicken and whole oat recipe. shes pretty picky with her foods, she doesnt care for tuna, salmon, carrots, sweet potatoe, apple(not too crazy about that), and pears and im pretty sure there are other things too. ive tried feeding her some steamed chicken, unseasoned of course and couldnt get her to eat that and she loves that stuff(also eggs but havent tried that yet) and im out of mealworms and my mealworm farm failed, im too impatient to wait for them to change =/ i read that it can take months to reach the beetle stage from the cocoon and i didnt want maddie waiting that long. she looks healthy and i give her weekly baths, but what could be wrong?


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## Maddie The Hedgehog (Jul 28, 2012)

ive caught her running her wheel in the past couple days but idk hows shes doing it without getting the energy from eating?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If she's not eating, she needs to be syringe-fed. After a couple days without eating, it starts affecting their body and making them feel crappy, which makes them feel less like eating. If they go too long without eating, it can lead to Fatty Liver Disease. How long have you had the food? Even if it's not expired, if you've had it for awhile, it can still be starting to get a bit stale. I would try getting some new food if you've had it more than a couple months, and see if that helps. You can also try giving her a few options - a bowl of normal food, a bowl of crushed, and a bowl of dampened food. If you don't see any other symptoms, it might be a mouth issue, such as a loose or infected tooth, etc. See if she'll eat crushed or dampened kibble, which tends to be easier to eat.

You also want to get some baby food, the most popular ones are chicken, sweet potato, peas, and applesauce. You can get syringes either from a pharmacy section (you can usually find 1mL ones with detachable needles in the diabetics supplies, or ask them at the counter if you could get a couple). You'll want to syringe her some today to get some food in her and try to get her appetite going again. If you want, you can crush her kibble up very fine and mix it in with the baby food too. Just make sure you run it through the syringe first to make sure it goes through smoothly. Get some food in her and see if she eats any of the food options tonight (whole, crushed, dampened). If she's willing to eat crushed/dampened food, or if she still won't touch any, I'd call the vet for an appointment to get her checked out, especially her mouth.


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## Maddie The Hedgehog (Jul 28, 2012)

Thank you, I will try softer foods and some baby foods right away, I will see if I can get a closer look in her mouth if she let's me and if its bad I will call a vet


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Good luck and keep us updated!


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## Maddie The Hedgehog (Jul 28, 2012)

i fed her some warm turkey baby food and told her happy thanksgiving  hehe lol she gobbled it up right away. and i have her sitting out with me eating baby food and her water bowl is out and i have her dry food soaking in warm water. i caught her up drinking her water and probably trying to eat maybe, idk about the eating part but shes drinking well. i looked in her mouth, everything looks fine, and she tried biting the spoon and pulling on it several times so im guessing her mouth cant be hurting too bad if it is hurting? my other theory is that she could be getting bored of her food? i hope that is the case


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