Overweight hedgehog

[ChinsRI]

I know it's important to be sure a hedgehog doesn't get overweight. However, I will be adopting a rescue that appears to be significantly overweight. He has rolls of fat compared to the hedgehog I already own! He was living in a small 10gallon tank. He had a wheel, but I don't know how often or how long it was placed in his cage. He was not on a high quality cat food, and I don't know how many meal worms he was eating. So, I wanted to try to do the right things to get him back on track. He will be moving to my house later this week. I am currently using Solid Gold, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, and Royal Canin Slim. Is it ok to just give him the same mix of the high quality foods as my other hedgie, or should I not be giving him the Solid Gold that is a little higher in fat? Is it ok to just give him treats like veggies and chicken right now and skip the mealies for a while? He will have unlimited access to a wheel, and a much bigger habitat. Any other advice or comments? Thanks for the help!

[PrettyHate]

Id keep him on his old food for at least a week while he settles into your home- then I would slowly begin adding the lower fat kibbles into his diet.

Week 1- all old food
Week 2- 3/4 old food 1/4 new food
Week 3- 1/2 and 1/2 old and new
Week 4- 1/4 old food and 3/4 new food
Week 5- all new food

Personally I would count out the amount of kibbles by hand so that way you can monitor his intake. I wouldnt limit the amount of kibble he is getting, but I would make him work for it :)

Scatter kibbles around his cage so that he has to look for them and move around in order to eat. Scatter kibbles during play time too if he is looking hungry.

Exercise from play time, and from his time on the wheel are probably going to make the most difference in his weight.

I wouldnt give him any extras right off the bat- give him some time to setting in. Then you can introduce him to foods once again that are low in fat. Chicken, turkey, baby food, peas, corn, cottage cheese, cooked pasta, little bits of scrambled egg, yogurt etc
Stay away from fatty treats like mealies and ground beef.

Might also be a good idea to invest in a digital scale (if you dont have one already) so you can track his progress :)

Best of luck! I know how it feels to have porky hedgies that are in need of losing some weight :)

[HedgeMom]

If he's on a dangerous food like Vitakraft, then I'd switch completely the first day.

Usually just by giving him a healthy lifestyle you'll find he'll drop the weight. You don't want him to drop it too quickly because that can trigger fatty liver disease. Check to see if he has yellow pockets under his armpits. If so, you'll need to consult with a vet about how to deal with fatty liver.

I'd treat him exactly like your others in the beginning but, if doesn't lose any weight after a month, then I'd modify his diet to reduce calories/fat AND try to increase his exercise. Maybe longer free range time.

You don't want to try to knock the weight off right away because you won't know if the weight loss is from a healthy life or from disease. So try to keep him stable at first and then modify.

Good luck.

[ChinsRI]

Thanks for all the advice! I didn't know if I would be a "bad mom" for not giving meal worms while he is still overweight. Someone else is caring for him right now for me, and he will be coming later today. I love the idea of hiding his food! My first hedgie, Penny, loves running on her wheel, and when she's in the mood, she will run around on my screen porch like a nut! This little boy is slow as a slug, so will need encouragement to get his metabolism up I think. He has been eating a lower quality cat kibble from the grocery store, so I should just be able to start adding the better kibble I already own. I didn't know that they could have corn and pasta, so I added that to my list of ok treats :) I already have a digital scale, so I'll keep tabs on his weight. I didn't know about the yellow fatty deposits, so I will check him when he comes today, and then keep an eye on him. His name is Maurice right now, but maybe he will get a new nickname of "Porky" when he comes! :rofl:

[kaiteedyd]

He doesnt need treats. He won't know the difference if he doesn't get them. Just do what you need to do to get his weight down.

He'll be so much happier once he looses the extra ounzes and can move easier :D

[Steph]

Just keep in mind all hedgies are different size wise. While he sounds overweight don't freak out and consider him obese. He may just be a bigger hedgie naturally so you don't want to force a really severe weight loss on him. Most hedgies will take it off on their own when given the right kind of food and environment (e.g. wheel) so don't sweat trying to force it off of him.

If he can't ball he's too heavy and he needs a good diet and lots of excercise, once he can fully ball (tuck in his head all the way) he's good to go. :)

[illinidairychic]

I have a boy who is huge!! but he can ball completely up and wheels and is active. he's big framed and doesn't appear to have any 'rolls' of fat. I agree to just make sure that your hedgie just isn't big and not overweight.

[ChinsRI]

Well, he got here on schedule tonight. I'll have to take pics when I get a chance. He's adorable! He can fully ball, but he looks so funny when he starts to ball because he gets a puffy look around his face. He does appear to me to have extra fat around his thighs and shoulders. Based on the fact that he can ball up, I guess he's not doing as bad as I thought. He's a very laid back guy though, and either naturally not as active, or maybe just needs to build up his stamina. Anyway, pics to come!

[paris26]

Based on the fact that he can ball up, I guess he's not doing as bad as I thought.

Congrats on the new addition! I think the "if he can ball up, he's not overweight" can be a bit misleading. In some hedgies that's the case, in others it is not. Annabelle is overweight- she isn't to the point where her fat pockets are yellow, but she can still roll into a ball. It's just grapefruit sized with the quills looking a bit stretched :) My vet and I are keeping tabs on her weight. She's on strictly diet food and veggies. On occasion if she's done some good laps in her playpen, she'll get a mealie or a cricket. I think the biggest thing to watch out for are the yellow fatty areas.

Can't wait to meet Porky

[ChinsRI]

Someone is out wheeling in the other room. I'll have to go see if it's Maurice or Penny when I finish this. Hopefully these pics will post ok! I still don't have a lot of practice at posting them. As would be expected, he wasn't real excited about getting his picture taken, and kept unballing as I tried to get the camera focussed!