Food Troubles...Need Advice...

Hi Everyone,

I have an extremely picky hedgehog who will actually stop eating completely if I make any change to her food at all. When we first got her and tried to gradually change her food to a high quality cat food, she stopped eating and we didn't realize she had been. She ended up very sick and needing hand feeding and subq fluids. We removed the cat food and she started eating again.

So, after a few weeks we tried to add in cat food slowly 2 more times (a couple weeks apart), but she would immediately stop eating altogether. We caught it early and just removed the cat food and she went back to eating normally. Our vet has no explanation for why, except that she is very sensitive to food changes. In her concern for Lexie's small size, she asked us to wait until she passed 6 months so that it wouldn't inhibit her growth anymore.

So, now that she is 7 months old we tried last week to very gradually mix in wellness, and then hoped to later on add in blue and remove the hedgie food. Well, she did ok when the ratio was about 2 cups of Hedgie food to 1 tsp of wellness but as soon as we increased it to 2 tsp she stopped eating. We left it two nights, and on the second night she stopped drinking as well so we immediately fed her some supplement to get her going, and removed the wellness and she has returned to eating normally.

I don't know what to do! The vet has no idea what is going on and why Lex is so picky.... and really, I am reluctant to try too many other things because she has just gotten over the 300 gram mark and it took us 4 months to get there. :banghead:

So now we have her eating again but she is STILL on the crappy hedgie food. She will not eat anything but the hedgie food and the supplement. Before she got sick the first time she ate meal worms, crickets and broccoli...now she wont even try them.

I'm really at a loss. I don't want her on the crappy hedgehog food... but I don't know what to do. I decided to try leaving a small dish of wellness in her enclosure, and see if she touches it. She ate one kibble last night and a whole lot of hedgie food. I am hoping this works to get her used to the wellness but I am very nervous she will stop eating again.

Has anyone ever had this problem? What did you do for your picky eaters?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read!

It might be the Wellness. Have you tried other cat food brands? I tried to feed Quinn a mix or Royal Canin and Wellness and in the morning the Royal Canin would be gone and the wellness would be in a pile in and around his bowl. I also remember reading other accounts of hedgies turning their noses up at Wellness. I could send you a small bag of the Royal Canin Quinn likes if you would like. I know it can get expensive buying foods to try.

What is the shape of Wellness? I know some hedgies are particular about shapes. Also is the cat food harder than the hedgehog food? Cat food may be too hard for her or she is just not used to how hard it may be. Also, how old is the bag of Wellness? Buy some sample sized bags and see what she takes to. If not keep her on the hedgehog food. Crap food is better than no food. Maybe she just likes Mc Donalds rather than Healthy food..

As long as she will eat when a second bowl is in her cage, continue to offer new food that way. I had one who wouldn't eat anything if I put a new food in her cage, she took fasting to the extreme.

I have had some that wouldn't try new foods for a very long time, but I continued to keep a bowl of it in their cage. After a few weeks they finally tried it. I've also had those that wouldn't touch it after months and I finally gave up.

You may also have to try a different food. I have tried foods that everyone swears hedgehogs love and mine simply will not touch it. Baby cat 34, Chicken Soup, etc have all failed in my home. Where foods others have had no luck with, mine love. Keep in mind that if you buy a food to try, keep the receipt and return the food if your hedgehog will not eat it.

Thanks everyone!

We have tried 4 different types of cat food with her, all different shapes and hardness, and she will not eat them. However, wellness is a round kibble so I may try to wet it a bit and see if that works. The bag is 2 weeks old, expires in Feb 2012.

I will continue to leave the small dish of food in her cage and see if she warms up to it. She is still eating the hedgie food with it in there.

Megan thank you very much for the offer of Royal Canin but we have a big bag of it here as it was one of the foods we tried first!

So far she has rejected: Max, Royal Canin, Wellness and Blue. I am hoping with diligence she will give in a try it. If not, I may try the wet foods and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks everyone!

HAlo/Spot's Stew is a BIG hit here. Its a smaller kibble and I dont worry about it getting caught here in the roof of the mouth or if they accidentally swallow it. Its holistic with is a plus. And it wets very nicely to not turn into a mush but still be soft enough for my Rosa(losing teeth weekly) to eat. You can find coupons online through the halo website. Im almost positive for a while they were offering free samples to mail to you too!

Thanks Melissa I will check it out!

Melissa said:

HAlo/Spot's Stew is a BIG hit here. Its a smaller kibble and I dont worry about it getting caught here in the roof of the mouth or if they accidentally swallow it. Its holistic with is a plus. And it wets very nicely to not turn into a mush but still be soft enough for my Rosa(losing teeth weekly) to eat. You can find coupons online through the halo website. Im almost positive for a while they were offering free samples to mail to you too!

Click to expand...

Melissa, could you post a picture of the Spot's Stew beside a penny. I'm looking for another food to add to my gangs mix and they can be so fussy about shapes and sizes.

Goodness - what a picky girl. I wonder what it is about the hedgie food she prefers. Will be nice once you figure out what it is: the shape, consistency, hardness, ingredients, scent, taste, etc...

Another thing you could try is to mix some new (cat) and old (hedgie) kibbles together in some tupperware or a baggie and let the scents intermingle for a week or so before putting it in one of her dishes. Or you could crumble up some of ther old food and sprinkle it into the new food.

Best wishes!!

Wow that is picky. Our only girl is very similar. A separate dish with the new food is a good idea. Some vet foods (though more expensive) may work - limited ingredient diets, etc. The obvious difference between Hedgie food and cat food to a hedgie who won't touch one is probably the smell, perhaps you need to find a food that has a very faint smell...

Back to square one....

After about 3 weeks of having the wellness in her cage, she finally started eating it (and I was so excited) and then almost instantly she began having really soft poops. Not diarrhea or runny, but really soft and they smelled so badly that even when dry they still smelled. So, I pulled the wellness after 3 days of this and the next poop she had was normal again.

Any recommendations? There is a smaller pet food supplier in the city so I'm going to run by there and see what they have in the way of hedgehog foods. She didn't like the royal canin or blue buffalo before, but I didn't leave it in for three weeks last time....should I give that a try? I really hate that she's on this crappy hedgehog food.

Thanks everyone!

How long was she on the new food? It takes time for their digestive system to adapt to change. Oherwise I would suggest a limited ingredient food.