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KamalFilho

Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
7
Hello guys!

I'm Kamal, from Brazil, a new pride daddy of a sweet hedgie (male, 5 months)!

Well, i bought him on last saturday and the breeder indicated a dried cat food very popular here in brazil.
But my Hedgie doesn't eat! I'm counting the kibble at night and in the morning, the same content stays on the cage! (Yes, on the cage... i put on a bowl, but he's a larky boy and mess everything).
Yesterday i saw a dry poop and today a green poop (i know that can be by stress).

The behavior seems like normal (playful), and he's weighing 330 grams.

I read on literature that this behavior can be normal, until the animal has an adaptation in new home.

But i'm worried... are already four days that he's here ... how much longer this adaptation can last? And about this lack of appetite, what would you guys can advise me?

Thanks!!!
 
You really don't want him going on this long without food. Fatty liver disease can set in.

Hopefully, he is drinking. If not, I'd suggest getting an oral syringe (ie, a syringe that doesn't have a needle on it) and giving him some water that way... slowly... at the corner of his mouth so that he doesn't choke on it.

I would offer him some different food to get him through this time. You might want to try something like a meat baby food - turkey or chicken. Or if you have unseasoned chicken that is cooked, you can feed him that (wait until it is cooled back down first and cut into little pieces). Same with a hard boiled egg - many hedgies will eat hard boiled eggs (again, wait until cooled and cut into small pieces).
 
Hello!
Tks for the replies!!!

I don’t know if he is drinking water, cause the bowl and the cage are always a mess. This night he ate 6 kibbles of dry cat food. I cooked now the unseasoned chicken and the egg!

I read about the fatty liver disease and I’m afraid that this might happen to my hedgie for the few food that he’s eating...

Well guys, thanks again!!! Tomorrow i come to tell the news!
 
Glad to hear he ate at least a few pieces of kibble. I hope he keeps eating that plus more! Keep us posted :)
 
hey friends!

Well, on this morning i saw a dry poop (4 cm, almost black)! i'm happy, no more greener poop!
And today we played, he ran on my room, licked somethings and i saw a white substance that he's was drooling! after, he spent the white substance on the quills. It's normal, right?

And this night, i'm thinking in offer some fruits, like apple!

Tks, on sunday i'll be back with more news!!!
 
Glad to hear he made a nice big poop like that.

Yes, the licking and spreading foamy saliva on his quills is normal for hedgies. He was anointing.

Good luck with the apple. Do not feed him grapes; grapes can cause renal failure and death. Go easy on introducing new foods. Too many new things at once can lead to upset hedgie bellies. Just take it nice and slow.
 
Hello smhufflepuff!

Today i saw a poop little bit minor!
I don't know 'what's normal' about the amount of poop of a hedgie per day...
I'll post a picture to you see!

Ah, he's don't ate the apple! In some few days i'll try the apple again! ^^

Oh, grapes no way!!! Thanks for warn!!!

Tks =D

352b2d250025892
 
Good thinking with the apple. It can take quite a number of presentations of a new food before they decide that maybe it is something they would like to try. I'm am working on strawberry with mine at the moment.

Some days do seem to be more poopy than others. Hopefully, he'll settle in soon and become more predictable. Either way, some poop is certainly better than no poop!
 
Hey smhufflepuff!

I really liked of ideia of strawberrys! Maybe, one day i try with my Teddy!
The poop amount, remains the same!

When arrived on my home, Teddy's weight was 333 grams! But now, his weight are very variable on the last days, between 320 and 317 grams. This is normal on adaptation?
And everyday i let him out of the cage for 30 minutes to do some exercices! This can influence on weight? Maybe on the breeder, Teddy didn't exercices...
Can be possible my theory?

He's still very playfull, mainly after 3am.

Thanks!
 
Yes, a variation of 317 to 320 to 333 is pretty normal for hedgies. 333 - 317 = 16... And that could be just about the size of a big meal or a big poop. Also, yes, exercise can certainly be associated with a change in weight. Do you have a wheel for Teddy to run on at night?
 
Hey! i'm sorry for delay to reply!!!

Unfortunately here in brazil i didn't found the wheel for hedgies... the only exercise is run around my room lol!

Sometimes i hear Teddy's digging something... i don't know why!

Well, but i'm still little worried... He's still losing weight... now his weight is between 307 - 309 grams... I called to a vet friend of mine, and he's said that can be normal, due to adaptation... because on the breeder, he's was a normal and healthy hedgie.
Do you think that this can be normal?

Tks!!!! :)
 
Losing weight doesn't sound right. I'd be concerned. How has his eating, poop, and pee been? Keep track of his weight like you have been doing. If his food intake and output looks healthy, it might be that he needs to be on a different food than his usual kind. What has he been eating?

Many hedgies will dig. It is in their nature. Some will "dig" at the edge of a fleece cage liner and end up sleeping underneath it. You can help him by giving him a little place to dig - like a small box that has some small pieces of fleece (maybe 2" by 4" - you don't have to be precise) that he can rummage through.

Glad he can exercise by running around your room. Many people make their own wheels out of buckets and pvc plumping pipes. Take a look at this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Noiseless-Hedghog-Wheel/
Or this: http://chinmania.tripod.com/chin_wheels.html
for ideas on how to create your own.
 
Hey!
So, Ted are eating dry cat food, the same indicated by breeder!
The poop is variable... sometimes is big, other times it's small. But, compared with others hedgies poop, still's a small amount ....The pee apparently is normal!

I'm veterinarian student, and yesterday I took the poop of Ted to laboratory of university and did a general search of parasites and protozoaries. I did not find anything!
At least, his gastrointestinal tract is free of parasites!
I'm thinking seriously in be a specialist in exotic pets. lol!!!! Here in Brazil is very dificult to find some good literature and experient breeders of Hedgehogs...

I really loved the links that u send me!!!!! The wheel seems easy to do!!! I'll try! =D

Thank you one more time!!!
 
Great that you were able to bring his poop in for analysis.

Perhaps you'll become a preeminent hedgehog veterinarian in Brazil.

Check the ingredients on Ted's food. You'll want to see that the first few are meat. Some companies will use fillers like corn as one of the main ingredients -- which does not help hedgies.
 
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