Getting hedgies to eat the "light" formula

[Philogirl]

Okay, so the first non-crap hedgie food I bought for Spike was called Natural Balance- not the low-fat version. And he loves it... so I also started weaning Jack on it when we got him to fatten him up a little. I added Innova lite because the regular Natural Balance was too high in fat (16 or 18%). Jack will eat both kibbles with no problem, but Spike is being a pain. He first eats all the Natural Balance out and leaves the Innova behind. I don't give him anymore in his bowl unless he eats the Innova. I tried getting Wellness Healthy Weight for him and started adding it to his bowl every night, but every morning there are no Natural Balance, half the Innova and the same 5 pieces of Wellness in the bowl. So I thought if I increased the ratio, he'd HAVE to eat a few and would start to wean himself. Nope. He'd rather starve than eat the Wellness or Innova apparently. But he's getting chubby and I want him to eat lower fat kibble. Is there something I can do to get him to eat them? Could I moisten them with chicken broth maybe? Or wet cat food gravy?

 

[hedgie_kid]

How long have you been trying? For some hedgies, it can take weeks just to try new foods. Personally my hedgie will eat anything I put in the bowl but it could be because I have mixed all of her food together before hand. This way, the scents have time to blend and she will eat it all, no matter what the fat rate is. Hope this helps!

 

[Philogirl]

It's been about 2-3 months now. And they are already blended in one Tupperware.

 

[pinkdaisy]

This sounds weird but maybe try pulsing the kibble mix in a food processor or something? Just enough to break up the kibbles a little. That way it might make it harder for your hedgie to pick out individual kibbles and would make him/her have to try the lower fat kibble