How to plump up a hedgie?

[Corrina]

Well, we have 4 hedgehogs and two of them are nice and plump and the other two seem much thinner. All eat the same mix of food.
Royal Canin Slim 38, Eukanuba, L'avian Hedgehog, and 8-n-1 hedgehog
food. I was wondering what else I could feed the two that are
slimmer to fatten them up?

Thanks,

Cori

[PrettyHate]

Just like people, hedgies come in all different shapes and sizes. Unless they are underweight, Im not sure that I would worry about "fattening them up". Hedgies are prone to obesity, so adding unnecessary fat to their diet if they are just naturally petite hedgies, might actually do more harm than good (fatty liver disease etc).

What I think would be more important than adding more fat to their diet, would just be making sure that they are getting a well balanced diet. This includes high quality kibbles, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meats, and other little extras like insects (cricksets, meal worms, silk worms etc. Be careful not to give too many meal worms since they are fattening), hard boiled eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, cooked pasta and so on. A well balanced hedgie diet should be low in fat (6-14%), and contain about 15% fiber, and 30% protein.

You may also choose to switch over to a high quality of kibbles than you are feeding now. The Royal Canin is good :) and The Eukanuba is alright but the two so called hedgehog foods arent great quality. You could get alot better for your money.
Some names to consider are Wellness, chicken soup for the cat lovers soul, wysong, buffalo blue.

Hope this was somewhat helpful :)

[CoquiMom]

Do these hedgies all have wheel access? Did they all come from the same place? Same parents? These are things to consider along with age when you start wondering who is underweight and who is overweight. Also have you weighed your pogs? Do you keep a weight chart?

If these are truly underweight animals I would say give them some extra mealies. I would make sure they have adequate exercise though so that they put on muscle as opposed to just fat.

I also agree with Laura, dump the hedgehog food and get some of the higher quality kibble.

Perhaps consult with your vet if she/he knowledgable with hedgehogs.

[horse_chic89]

I agree with prettyhate