[isa_squared]

Hi I’m new here and just recently got a 3 month old hedgie for my birthday a week ago. Her name is Stella and I love her dearly but i’m worried about her. The past few nights all she’s been doing is running on the wheel we got her (I live with my parents) for hours on end without a single break for food or water and tonight she’s doing the same thing so I took her wheel away in hopes that she would drink or eat something, but she’s refusing to do either!! can someone help??

 

[Kalandra]

If you have had her for only a week she is still adjusting and may be using the wheel heavily to deal with the stress of the situation. Taking a wheel away from a stressed hedgehog can cause them to develop other bad habits, like climbing cage walls for example. I wouldn't keep her wheel away from her all night, she needs it not only for physical well being, but it seems to help a lot with stressed out hogs mental well being too.

Lets start with a few basics....:
How is her weight doing? If you aren't already, start weighing her routinely. If she really isn't eating/drinking she will be dropping weight.

Are you feeding the same food as the breeder? Even adult hedgehogs will sometimes go into a starvation mode when you drastically change their diet. If you can make sure you have some of what they were eating before and over a period of 3-4 weeks change it out. I

Why do you think she's not eating? Are you counting kibble? Watching her constantly? Weighing food? If you are always watching over her, back off, give her some space to settle in. If you are counting kibble or weighing food, go back to the paragraph above.

 

[isa_squared]

Thank you for responding! I did give her her wheel back and she seems to be fine for now, but she still has diarrhea (I forgot to mention that in the original post) and i’m just trying to help her stiffen her stool again. I tried pumpkin purée but she doesn’t like it and she’s too squirmy to syringe feed it to her. As for weight I’m not sure how much she weighs yet, my dad ordered a scale for her on amazon and I don’t know when that’s gonna get here but I assume it’s soon. I am feeding her the same food as the breeder and haven’t changed her diet since she got here.
She also needs a bigger cage and I’m looking into getting one but I also need to make sure it’ll fit in my room.

I’m just trying my best to be a good mom to her and maybe I’m being too paranoid but I just want her to be healthy. I’ve been giving her her space during the day but have also been bonding with her every night at 7 while i hold her in my lap and put on a tv show. But I do have to understand it is still her first week here and maybe she’s still adjusting. Thank you again for the response!