Harley still not eating much...

[Breigh]

Hey all :)

Should I be concerned about Harley's eating habits? He doesn't seem to like his dry kibble food much at all. It's a mixture of Royal Canin and the food that the breeder sent home (a mixture of Iams and some other german food I can't pronounce).

At night I put the food mixture in his dish and put a few mealworms in another dish.

In the morning I get up and the dry food doesn't seem to have been eaten much, if at all.. but the mealworms are gone. I usually give him 2-3 mealworms per night.

I've tried not giving him the mealworms for a few nights but it didn't make much of a difference in how much of the kibble he ate.

I thought perhaps it was too hard so a few nights I put warm water on it so they'd get mushy, and that didn't work either.

Any idea why this is? Is it normal? He's just over 3 months old, is it because he's a baby?

[LunaMidnight]

Sorry I'm not much help in the food department but I did read this today on the Canadian Hedgehog Association website:

We have to mention the brand Iams. Though it is excellent for your cats, this brand is not recommended for hedgehogs. Their liver might not tolerate the fat found in this brand

I don't know enough about food to really know how bad it really is but I just thought I'd put it out there and someone with more experience can add on to that. :p

[Breigh]

Yeah I've heard that iams is not the best as well. I've just been feeding it together with the royal canin to wean him off it rather than just stopping one food and starting another.

He doesn't seem to be eating either of them though.

[Nancy]

Count the kibble to be sure exactly how much he is eating. Sometimes it surprises us as the dish still looks to have the same amount yet numerous kibbles are gone.

He may have reached a stage of growth where he doesn't require as much food as he did. As long as he is eating the mealies then he is eating something. Just keep track of the kibble for a better idea.

[hodgie]

Not to worry you any more than you are, but be sure that he is eating the mealies ~they have a tendency to get up and crawl away if they are not eaten! :scared:

[hemi_mygirl]

If the weather is changing, that could play a part in it as well. Hemi tends to eat more when it's hot, yet doesn't eat much when the weather is changing. Try upping the heat in his room -- that usually helps boost Hemi's appetite.

[herbiesmom]

My Herbie seems to eat more sometimes than others. Even as a baby, baby he did not eat tons of food. He is a little grazer who goes and eats a few bites off and on all day and night. I counted his kibble for quite awhile and he is eating more than a tablespoon of food per day and two meal worms even when he is eating lightly. Snow on the other hand is a little piggy who chomps on food very loudly and will clean his bowl no matter how much food you give him. I put two heaping tablespoons of food in each of their bowls every night. Herbie has several kibbles left the next day, and Snow has 1-2.

[zoey]

If you are really worried, just do weekly weight checks. As long as he is maintaining his weight I wouldn't worry much.

[Pringlesmom]

How is Harley doing?

[Breigh]

Harley seems to be doing much better now. I have started putting a smaller amount of food in his dish each night and it's easier to notice what is eaten then. I usually wake up to an empty bowl now! So each night I put a little more in, until I find the right amount :)

He's also gobbling up his mealworms like there's no tomorrow!

I think he's happier now that we've moved him into our spare room and he has more privacy.