Stressed???

[galya]

Hi,
My girl is 6 months old. About a month and a half ago we noticed that she significantly decreased the amount of food she usually eats. We took her for a vet check but the vet said she was completely healty. We also tried diffent foods, different treats, mixing the food with water to make it softer but nothing helped. She countinued to eat about a half of what she used to (which means about a half of a tablespoon for 24 hours).

Then, last week we needed to go out of town for the weekend and decided it would be better for her to leave her for 2 nights alone at home. We put a double dose of the usual quantity of food that we give her (so 2 full tablespoons) and I was expecting that when we get back home I will see half of the food left as usual in the last month but oddly she has eaten everything and gained 9 grams for only 2 days! I thought that she was finally getting back to herself but only to notice that the following days she ate again only half of a tablespoon for 24 hours and lost any weight she had gained (she is currently weighting 274 grams).

Is it possible that she is stressed when we are at home and when she was alone for the weekend she had been calm to eat more? Although she doesn't seem to be afraid of us - she almost never balls up and rarely hisses.

Any thoughts? Do you think it is OK for her to eat half of a tablespoon? I am worried that she is not eating enough but I am out of any ideas ...

[nikki]

I doubt that it's stress from you being home. Is there any chance there is light getting into her cage when you're home that wasn't there while you were away? Is she in a quiet room or one with activity during the evening/night?

[TikkiLink]

My hedgie only eats between half to a tablespoon and she's still a chub!!

How is your hedgie's activity level? She might be doing what mine started doing last year: she may be comfortable when you're home and therefore gradually being less active, thus eating less food. Then when you went away it broke her routine and caused stress, so she may have been MORE active and ate more. Then you came home and things went back to normal. That's what my girl does, anyway.

[galya]

Hi,

thank you for your answers.
@Nikki - yes, when we are at home there is some light and noise from the TV reaching her (and of course our voices) but at 12 pm we usually go to bed and after that it is completely quiet and dark as when we are not at home.

@TikkiLink - that is an interesting point, i have never thought about this. However, I still have the feeling something is not completely OK.

Last few days she has been less active and I think it is connected with her not eating but I don't know which is the cause and which he effect - she is eating less because she is less active or she is less active because she is eating less.

And she is lossing weight. Currently she is 265 grams (and last Sunday after we left her at home for the weekend she was 283 grams) - is this weght normal? How much should a female hedgie that is 6 months old weight?

Thanks in advance for your response.

[nikki]

I would try covering her cage earlier at night or if possible moving her to a quieter room to see if that helps. There is no "right weight" for a hedgehog...they can be quite small or very big

[galya]

Thank you for your response.
We are giving her some boiled chicken meat and now she seems to eat it all + eating some of her cat food

[MomLady]

How old is the food? It could be getting stale or tasting funny too.

Hedgies are so picky that sometimes they quit eating food that's been open for a while even though its not past the expiration date.