Has anyone's hedgie ever choked while eating a mealworm?

[RufflesNTakara]

Just curious because I think mine might have, so now I've stopped feeding them to her (live ones).

[groovychic]

I have never had my hedgies choke on a mealworm, but Herbie did choke on a piece of kibble before. It was when I first changed their mix and added CSFTCLS. I think the kibbles were a little too big for him and he made a high pitched screaching sound....kind of like he was in a panic. Luckily I was right there to help him out IF he needed it. It was just a really hard piece of kibble....hard to break up with my hands even. I did break up the kibble after that. He seems to be fine and eats with no problems now.

[Bigu]

My hedgie did choke on a mealworm the other day. I hand fed one to him and I noticed that he started to choke on it. Just then he spit it back out. I figured he just put a little to much in his mouth. Instead of eating it from one end to the other he kinda had it sideways.

[hemi_mygirl]

My girl has never choked on a mealworm, mainly because she's scared to death of them... LOL.

But she's always never choked on anything else. When I switched over her food, she had a bit of a hard time with a slightly bigger kibble, but she figured it out.

[HedgeMom]

Yes, hedgehogs can get excited and "bite off more than they can chew" so to speak. Try feeding smaller mealies or those who have softer bodies (the paler the mealworm, the softer the exoskeleton). You can also raise your own and feed the pupaes when they first form (which are also softer).

If she's eaten them all along with no problems, then it's time for a dental check up to make sure her teeth and mouth are healthy with no problems. Often older hedgehogs lose teeth and aren't as able to chew their food as well as they could when they were younger. Another indication that a hedgehog might be having dental or jaw issues is slime in the water bowl (from not being able to retain as much water in the mouth and dripping it back into the bowl) and an increase in the kibble crumbs from partially chewed food falling out of their mouth.

HTH

[barton]

This may be a dumb comment and totally irrelavant but... i have seen my hedgies spit up crickets before especially when I buy the big ones I guess she doesnt like them as much as she thinks she will. Is it possible that it was just a bitter bug so your baby spat it out?

[RufflesNTakara]

I'm not sure what may have caused her to choke, but it scared me to death as I watched her bring it back up. She has always loved mealworms and has never had a problem before. Maybe she was too excited or it was too big for her, but we've gone to the vet recently and he said that she has the perfect hedgehog teeth, even for her age (she's 3 years old). Thanks for all your advice. I think I'll just stick to giving her the smaller ones for now.