Hedgehog won't eat! Help!!!

[wyvernrider18]

Okay, Hotaru is really starting to worry me. Last night before I left kennels, I gave her fresh food. I even gave her favorites to her, and she barely touched it! She's been eating very little for the past few days now, and the only thing i can get her to eat for sure is crickets and mealworms. She'll eat those like candy- the only problem is, we're running on a shortage of bugs and the other animals need them as well, so they're not something i can feed in large enough quantities to mantain her. We are trying to avoid force feeding her as she is recovering from surgery and we're trying not to stress her too much, but I'm starting to think we may have no other choice. Do you guys have any suggestions for me? I'm desperate. So far we've tried adult canned food, kitten canned food, chicken baby food, baby food sweet potatoes, baby applesauce, baby peaches, and Solid Gold dry cat food. The only things she will even try are the peaches and the applesauce and even then she barely touches them and they're her favorite treats! I don't know what else to try- we don't have any Prescription Diet a/d, and i don't think we can get it soon enough. It's making me crazy! Please help!

[PrettyHate]

You dont need a prescription for the AD- you should just be able to purchase it at any vet that carries the Hills brand, which most do :) No harm in calling around and trying.

If she isnt eating on her own, you may have to force feed her.

Hopefully others who have had experience with force feeding will be able to give you some tips, as well as different ideas of what to mix up to give her.

[Nancy]

She has to eat. 2-3 days without eating enough can start FLD.
If she will eat bugs then give her bugs. If you don't have enough, any petstore sells them.

If you don't get enough food into her she is going to have far more problems than the bit of stress that syringing her might cause. Any veterinarian will have canned AD. Phone around and see who has an emergency vet and go get some. You can also try canned kitten food. It is more difficult to syringe and putting it in a blender will help it go through the syringe easier.

You can also syringe her some Boost (any grocery store, pharmacy and even most corner stores) or Feline Rebound (vet). If she doesn't take enough at one time you may have to do it every hour or two. Just get food into her.

[Melody]

Nancy, what is FLD?

[hularious]

fatty liver disease? that's the only thing i can think of...

[Melody]

Can you feed Nutri-Cal (made for cats & dogs) or Critical Care to a hedgie? I believe both of these are okay for chinchillas. I am trying to put together emergency kits for each type of animal, so that if something happens in the middle of the night or weekend (or another hurricane), and I can't get to a vet, at least I have something to fall back on. I already have things set up for the parrots (Quick-stop, hemostats, handfeeding formula, etc.), battery-back up air bubblers for the fishies (don't laugh - they all survived 9 days without electricity during the last hurricane due to these things!) but am now doing for the chinnie, guinea pigs and hedgies. I keep Nutri-cal and Benebac (powder and tube-paste)on hand, just in case. But it so hard to put together good info on them! Any other suggestions for an "emergency" kit/supplies?

Sorry, didn't mean to go off-track, was trying to find food substitutes to recommend to Hotaru.

[Nancy]

Yes, it's Fatty Liver Disease.

[incrovaj]

Daisy recently went through a spell of not wanting to eat. We tried everything we could think of. We did have to force feed (she would not eat anything except her banana berry babyfood unless it was forced). I found that if I squirted a little on the tip of her nose, or since she would curl up, on clean feet, she would lick it off without having to try to squeeze the food into her mouth. It is something to try. It would be less stressful. Other than that, no real ideas. :dunno:

[HedgeMom]

Do NOT feed Critical Care to a hedgehog. It's for HERBIVORES and hedgehogs are INSECTIVORES. Oxbow makes Carnivore Care that would possibly be suited for a hedgehog but NOT NOT NOT Critical Care. There are SIGNIFICANT dietary differences between the two animals.

[tunes]

Also - I wouldn't recommend Nutrical for chins either. It's made for omnivores, not herbivores. It has the nickname calories in a can. If you need to feed a chin something because they've been sick or under weight - go with Critical Care or Lifeline.