Bathroom concerns

Hello everyone!

I am a new owner of a wonderful hedgehog, Bowser, and unfortunately am a 'worry-wort.' I worry about alot and sometimes I am not sure if my worrying is warranted or not...

I have only had Bowser for one week now and I have read so much information about hedgehogs that I feel well-informed and overwhelmed.

Overall, Bowser is friendly. In the short amount of time I have had him, he really has warmed up to his new home. He loves to explore, being held in a bonding sack and even takes treats from my hand! He is active and has everything he needs.

I am concerned though b/c he does not seem to be going potty...He eats and drinks water, but is not producing any stool... I have read through all the different ways to try to get home to produce stool. Last night I gave him a warm bath, which he really enjoyed...but still no poop. This morning I anxiously checked his cage for stool and I found a very tiny amount (about a penny size) of sticky, mucousy, green stool in his water dish, and all the water was gone.

Prior to bringing him home, I interacted with him a few times and he pooped normally, firm, brown stools. I suppose the support I am looking for is...do you feel he is still nervous/stressed from the environment change or is it time to take him to a vet? I will do whatever I need to for him. I just don't want my worrying to make me over react...and I don't want to 'ignore' any serious signs Bowser may be trying to send me.

In the short time I have had him--I love him and care for him alot and what to do the best for him. I am also concerned the food I am giving him is not the best...'Vitakraft Hedgehog food" this is the food he was eating prior to coming to my home and I wonder how that is treating his tummy too...

I would really appreciate any suggestions or advise.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Definitely need a new food, there is a list of good cat foods to feed on the food page here, it is best to pick a few and mix them to get a better variety of nutrients.


The poo does not sound good- I have heard some pumpkin or papaya can help? But I would wait until Nancy or someone more hedgie savvy comes along to be sure. Good food will definitely help. Do you feed him anything else? Does he have enough fresh water?

Get rid of the Vitacrap now. It is a horrible food. Usually it is recommended to switch foods slowly but I'm certain when he is given a better food, he will no longer touch the vitacrap.

It's probably a stress reaction mixed with the yucky food. A bit of canned unseasoned plain pumpkin will help with both constipation and diarrhea. Start counting how many kibble you give him so you know exactly how much he is eating.

How old is he and was he eating vitacrap prior to your getting him?

Nancy has a good point. My hedgehog was on Pretty Pet's hedgehog food when I got her and I switched her over to high quality cat food almost immediately. I started off just putting a few pieces of cat food into her food dish mixed with the Pretty Pet's food. But she actually picked out the cat food, ate it, and refused to eat anymore hedgehog food! To this day, she would rather starve than eat "Pretty Pet's"! But then again, if Bowser has been on the vitacraft for a while, the results may be different...

Thank you for all the responses! Bowser always has fresh water available to him and he drinks it. We have also given him a few treats (raisins and meal worms) that he was also given prior to us bringing him home. We have also mixed a few pieces of cat kibble with the vitacraft food, which he does seem to pick out. However, I will definitely give him a specific amount of the kibble to see exactly what he is eating. I looked through the list of recommended cat food and I am not sure which one to pick! I live in Illinois and am not even sure which types would be available.

We also have 'Zoo-vital' Hedgehog food created by Brown's. Anyone have any thoughts on that type of food?

Unfortunately I do not know exactly how old Bowser is; the estimation is about 1 year old, and yes that is what he was being fed where he lived before. I will definitely go out today and get him unspiced/unseasoned pumpkin and great quality cat food. I want him to be better and to be the best hedgehog mommy possible. I just found out I am pregnant too, so I am also preparing to be the best mommy I can all around.

Browns is almost as bad as Vitacrap. There really isn't a good hedgehog food available.

Don't feed him raisins. Raisins are a choking hazard and grapes are toxic to raisins possible are too. Mealworms are fine but don't give him too many until his poop issues are resolved.

Where in Illinois are you? I know here in Peoria you can get the two cat foods I mentioned at Pet Smart. There's also a few places in central Illinois that offer the chicken soup for cat lovers soul- you can goolge them, and their website shows you the vendors... you can find out a lot through goolge and main chain pet stores to see what brand of food is offered..... Did you get Bowser in Illinois?

And in complete agreement with what Nancy said- NO browns or raisins. There's also a few threads on here that list good, healthy snacks.

Congratz on becoming pregnant!

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions and support.

I live in IL near Northern University, I just checked and the Petco nearby carries a few of the foods recommended, especially Natural Balance and Buffalo Blue...my husband is going to get the pumpkin, since it is hedgie time!

Last night I gave Bowser the pumpkin, and mixed cat food with the food he is used to. Again, he was very active and friendly. I woke in the middle of the night to check on the bathroom situation...and I was soo thankful to find about five small droppings! The droppings were alot less green and less 'mucousy.' I know that it is still a delicate situation, but I am so relieved he seems to be doing better.

Thank you for the congratulations! I am so excited to be a hedgehog mommy and a mommy to be!

Good luck with Bowser!! (love that name!)
And I have a question about hedgie poop..can hedgies eat poop?! Last night I turned on the lights and caught Bilbo playing in the cage. I went over there and saw a few good poops by him. In the morning I went over to his cage again and they were...GONE! Do you think he hides them? Or eat them? Becasue I can never find them in the cage so I was starting to get concerned... Sorry this isn't really relavent to the thread

Wait--nevermind! I found the poop after a closer look. It was trampled on and fluff was camoflaging it.

lol hedgepig! I was dead scared when I read that you thought your hedgie was eating its own poop!

I am glad that your hedgie is alright! I have a hard time finding Bowser's too b/c his bedding camoflauges it quite well. I also wanted to let everyone know that Bowser's nerves and tummy have definitely settled. He is pooping normal. I am soo happy!

Hedgepig--It is so adorable how you have 'owner of a pink-bellied snuffler' in your signature! That really makes me smile!

Congratz for Bowser! I'm glad he's feeling better
Thank-you hedgie kid & Veggestyle, both of your comments made my laugh! And I got the name pink-bellied snuffler from Bilbo's fluffy & pinky tummy, we always tease him about it

Nancy is right, you need to switch. I'm not sure what to give a one year old hedgehog, mine is still on baby food. =x