Hard Food Reccomendations for My Picky "Picky" Eater

[StellaWithaBow]

Stella is picky in more ways than the average Hedgie.
I cannot get her to eat hard food. The woman I got her from told me she doesn't like her hard food and won't eat it unless she's 'real hungry'... I don't like this cause this means she must have tried not feeding her soft food until poor Stella was desperate.

I'm trying different cat foods and even Hedgie Food but she won't eat it. She even huffs at me when I try to introduce her to new foods...
I mix the hard with the dry, but she still says NO.

Does any one have a tip or technique to get a picky hedgie to eat hard food without starving her of wet food.- Or is it okay to let her continue on her soft diet?
I worry about her little chompers and tooth decay...

[Immortalia]

What brands of food have you tried so far? If you give us a list, we could make new suggestions.

But Natural Balance Green pea and duck has been a hit here for many hedgies. My boy absolutely LOVES it.
I would also check her mouth as well, as it could be the reason why she chooses to only eat soft foods, rather than just being picky.

[LizardGirl]

Have you tried offering the same foods, but cut/crushed into smaller pieces? My boy doesn't have any problem with whole kibbles, but he does eat more when his food is in smaller pieces.

I would recommend trying Royal Canin BabyCat. It's a bit expensive, but I haven't heard of a hedgie that won't eat it. The pieces are pretty soft and small, since it's made for weaning kittens. It's high in fat, too, so it should taste better than foods with lower fat. As long as your hedgie isn't too fluffy, there isn't any harm in feeding that while you find other foods she will eat to mix in with it.

[krbshappy71]

Mine love the Cat Lovers Soul lite one.

[StellaWithaBow]

-FM Browns Zoo Hedgehog food.
This is all I have tried, and I have had her a week.
The previous owner told me she'd tried:
-Purina Kitten
-Friskies basic cat

I really have not had too much time to experiment yet, I suppose I was asking more for suggestions.

[LizardGirl]

All of those foods are the nutritional equivalent of cardboard, so I'd try some decent quality food. I think if she's offered something worth eating, she will eat it.

[Immortalia]

Agreed with LG. All those foods are very very bad quality.

Check out Reaper's list of cat food, and ANY food on this list is much better to feed.

However, in a nutshell, the more popular brands that get fed are Wellness, Blue Spa select(blue buffalo), Chicken soup for the cat lovers, Natural Balance, Fromms, Solid Gold, etc etc, amongst the many others off of the list.

I would print that list out, and go to your local pet store and find a food off that list.

[Hedgieonboard]

Most commercial Hedgehog Foods were designed for a European Hedgehog and do not provide the nutrition our pet Hedgehogs need. He may not be eatting it because of this and not because its hard food. I'd try some foods off of the suggested Food List or from the ones recommended above and see if he won't eat those Congratulations on your new hedgie as well

[StellaWithaBow]

Thanks to everyone.
I'm definitely going to get out today and get her some decent food.

I've searched the forums, and I haven't come across anything on the forums advising me on checking her teeth.

Tips?

[StellaWithaBow]

Thought I'd let everyone know Stella and I have settled on Blue Buffalo food. She dug right in.