Picky Eater

[Choya]

My hedgehog Choya is about 6-7 months old, and he is a great pet. The only thing is, I have lists and lists of what hedgehogs CAN eat, but he won't actually eat anything. He eats his kibble and he absolutely loves mealworms and the occasionally cricket. He won't touch anything else. I've tried hand feeding him all manner of foods, and also putting them in his bowl. He completely ignores them both ways. Every once and a while he will take something and then spit it back out on me.

Is he just picky? Are there any suggestions to what foods I should try? So far I have tried peas, ferret treats, bell peppers, lettuce, bananas, strawberries, rasberries.

Also he is not losing weight or has any other problems. I don't think he has mites. His skin is a little dry but I live in a very dry climate and the dryness is improved with oatmeal baths.

[jinglesharks]

Originally Posted by Choya

My hedgehog Choya is about 6-7 months old, and he is a great pet. The only thing is, I have lists and lists of what hedgehogs CAN eat, but he won't actually eat anything. He eats his kibble and he absolutely loves mealworms and the occasionally cricket. He won't touch anything else. I've tried hand feeding him all manner of foods, and also putting them in his bowl. He completely ignores them both ways. Every once and a while he will take something and then spit it back out on me.

Is he just picky? Are there any suggestions to what foods I should try? So far I have tried peas, ferret treats, bell peppers, lettuce, bananas, strawberries, rasberries.

Also he is not losing weight or has any other problems. I don't think he has mites. His skin is a little dry but I live in a very dry climate and the dryness is improved with oatmeal baths.

I wish I had good advice, but I mostly just have sympathy... my Pepper is the same way. Loves his kibble, loves his mealies, and pretty much turns his nose up to everything else. He has twice tried boiled egg, but isn't always interested- have you tried that? I've also heard a lot of people say they love watermelon... of course, Pepper spit it out immediately, but that might be worth a try!

Anyway, I definitely sympathize. It's hard when you're offering them all of these mouthwatering treats to make them happy little hogs, and they just say "no way"! But I guess if they seem happy with what they have and they aren't in any way unhealthy, that we shouldn't really worry. But I know it's hard not to.

[PJM]

My hedgie is named Cholla (but pronounced Choya) too! Named after a type of cactus we had in Arizona. He's very picky too. So far he won't eat anything but his regular food. not even mealworms! I just keep trying.

[EryBee]

My hedgie is also very picky, and the only treats he even consents to try are plain cooked chicken and plain fried eggs. He especially likes eggs if he can have both yolk and white.

[Choya]

Originally Posted by PJM

My hedgie is named Cholla (but pronounced Choya) too! Named after a type of cactus we had in Arizona. He's very picky too. So far he won't eat anything but his regular food. not even mealworms! I just keep trying.

My hedgie is named after the same thing, I just americanized the spelling. I live in Colorado but have visited where there are jumping Cholla cactus, and my Choya is the same color as one too.

[PJM]

Originally Posted by Choya

My hedgie is named after the same thing, I just americanized the spelling. I live in Colorado but have visited where there are jumping Cholla cactus, and my Choya is the same color as one too.

Ha! I grew up in Colorado & moved to Arizona after getting married. Now we live in Little Rock. And NO ONE knows how to pronounce Cholla's name or even what a Cholla cactus is. But I love them all anyway.

[Kait]

Ferdie is like this... to anything except MEAT. His favorite treat is any form of chicken, beef, or fish scraps from the dinner table.

I've tried giving him different kinds of berries and vegetables, and every now and then he'll eat one, but usually he will say no to anything unless it's protein. The only time of plant he ever seems interested in is the grass outside, which he finds smells fascinating for some reason.

I found out today that he liked a piece of plain popcorn, of all things. :P I accidentally dropped a piece on the bed while I was eating some during our cuddle time and he snatched it up before I could look twice.

[schmelderz]

I have the same problem with Prickles. She turns her nose up at her kibble. I've been told that its the same stuff they fed her at the petstore I got her from. She won't eat more than a couple of pieces of kibble, dry or dampened. For now, I've been feeding her mealworms so she won't lose too much weight. I've also tried chicken and other treats and she doesn't seem to like them. What to do?

[illsley]

This is a tough area for me too...I brought my baby boy home about a week ago and he has since become pretty comfortable with his new environment and has been woofing down his kibble and mealworms, but nothing else. I checked him with my exotic vet who said everything was healthy but that, of course, vegetables and especially fruits are very important for hedgies, especially in the summer when they would normally be eating fruits in the wild. I have since tried raw carrots, mooshed banana, apple, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and applesauce. But nothing so far that he'll eat. :[

I have heard some hedgie owners rave that they have never met a hedgie who did not like watermelon. You could try this, however when I offered some to Smee all he did was lick and sniff it a little and then run off to explore something else.

The next thing I was going to try was cooked vegetables, which is something you could try also! I have heard stories of some hedgehogs who won't eat any veggies that aren't cooked. Supposedly cooked peas are good.

One more piece of advice from my vet: he says stick to berries and melons you can get your hedgie to eat them. And absolutely stay away from grapes. Good luck!