[evan]

Hey all, I made this post to see if anything might potentially be wrong with my hedgehog, Cocoa. As I picked her up last night and let her run around on my bed for playtime, I noticed that she was really skinny, and from reading a few threads on this forum, I understand that hedgehogs should be on the plump side. Well, I don't understand because she eats all the time, I have a dish in her cage all the time, and I can tell that shes eating, I give her treats and everything, but I just don't know how she can be so skinny. I mean... shes very active and her poop is normal looking so I don't think she is sick. Is there anything that I should be looking out for?

 

[Kalandra]

There are two types of body shapes for hedgehogs. A nice teardrop shape (more plump) and a runner body style (lean and thin). Runner styles often look long, thin and like they are running on stilts.

To determine if she is too thin, look at her from above, do her sides sink inward, is her hips sticking out?

Poptart has a runner body style, she's been a real challenge to keep weight on as she does run non-stop most of the night. I've actually had to give her a higher fat kibble to keep her weight from plummeting even further.

 

[Zalea]

Do her sides have a shape like this: )( ? Or is it just that she's thin? A shape like this || is common with hedgies that run a lot and are very active. If her sides are sunken in like the first example, she needs to gain weight and you should probably see a vet. But if it's just that she's straight along her sides, she's probably just a smaller hedgie or a really active runner.

 

[evan]

Yes, she does run on her wheel A LOT, I'll double check right now to see if her sides sink inwards. I went and got some different food for her, some with a higher fat content in it to see if it helps.

*Edit: Her sides are a little sunken, so should I just start feeding her more fatty kibble?

 

[Kalandra]

If you are not yet, start weighing her regularly. If she is extremely active hedgehog she may always require a little higher fat kibble in her diet. If her sides are sunken a little, I'd add some to get her weight up a bit.