[SunRayz]

I have a question about weight loss...Paco has slowly been losing weight over the last week. Now this all started when I tried to figure out some way to keep him from going under his liner each night. (After his bout of mites and on paper towel for awhile, he has decided that he likes to be under the liner instead of on top of it) I have used double sided tape to keep the liner down and so far it has worked. But he has lost weight. He is still eating and drinking fine...still the same amount of stool as before. Everything else is the same except he cant go under the liner and the weight loss. Should I be concerned?? I also tried adding another food into the mix a couple weeks ago and he totally went against that...so maybe that had something to do with it as well?? I don't know, just want to ensure that I am doing the best I can for him.

Right now the only food he will eat is Solid Gold. I cant even find another food that he will eat. As for bugs and extra treats...its a no go as well...just the cat food...I know that everyone says a mix of 2-3 cat foods is best. But is there anyone else out there who is only feeding one food?

He has been on Solid Gold since just after we got him in Jan, the only other thing I thought it could be is the stale food as we were getting close to the bottom of the bag. So we opened a new bag. Still eating around the same amount, just not gaining weight.


Thanx Everyone.

 

[hedgielover]

Maybe he's running more since he can't go under his liner he'd have to replace that behaviour with something else.

As long as it is very gradual weight loss and it tapers off he is probably ok but weight loss is a sign of illness so a vet check couldn't hurt just to be safe.

 

[SunRayz]

ok...Thank You...I am gonna give him until Monday and then we will head to the vet.

 

[SunRayz]

Just wondering if I should take his wheel out until he gains a bit more weight. I will be also looking at possibly trying to add a higher fat food.

 

[Immortalia]

No.
You'll end up just stressing him out more. Just add in a higher fat food, a lot here feed Halo Spots Stew, which has 16% fat, if memory is correct.

Just keep doing what you already are, and continuously observe his weight. If it keeps continuing to drop, then it would be time to seek vet help.

 

[Zalea]

How much is the weight loss, and are you weighing him at the same times every day? One poop can cause a 25-30 gram weight drop. You should try to pick a time that's the same daily (say before he poops in the evening at x time, then in the morning when you check on him), write those weights down and note whether there's been a poop prior to it or not, and compare over a few days' time.

Is he eating the same amount of the Solid Gold he was eating before? Try counting the kibbles and recording that along with the weights for the day.

There are a few ways to get a hedgie to eat a new food. The best is often just to take some of the old food and mix it in a Ziploc baggie with some of the new. After they've been together a day or so, they'll smell similar. Another way is to grind up some of the new food and sprinkle the powder on the old food.

I would try to get some more x shaped foods, since he likes the Solid Gold. Sometimes shape will determine whether a food will be eaten or not. (Mine actually wouldn't eat x shaped foods for a long time.) Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul is also an x shape, have you tried it yet? The reason people recommend 2-3 foods is in case one brand discontinues, decides to switch ingredients, or the hedgie suddenly refuses to eat it--that way you have something the hedgie is used to that you can fall back on. It's not a dire situation if he won't eat more than one, but it can help if something happens that's out of your control in the future.

It does sound like he may just be wheeling more. Continue to monitor the weight at least twice a day and see if it plateaus out or if it's because of poops. If it continues to drop, a vet would be the best option to make sure there's nothing else going on.

 

[SunRayz]

The weight loss continued for a day or so, and now finally starting to go back up. He is now 443 which is down from 457 two weeks ago...which is around the time of my trying out the new food...Once he gets back up to 457 I will cut back on the higher fat food and stick with the Solid Gold. But besides the Fromm's Duck which is 20% fat, and the Solid Gold which is 12%, I have had troubles finding anything else he would eat. He was originally on the Fromm's Salmon which is 15%, but the last couple of bags that I had purchased from different stores had a sour smell to it...but I might have to try it again to keep the weight on him.

Thank You everyone for all your help...I am so glad that that it was nothing serious. Poor guy has been through enough already.

 

[HedgeMom]

In my experience, hedgehogs sometimes have to be "tricked" into eating a strange food.

Take their favorite food and crush a handful up in a blender or food processor. Then take a few cups of the new food and put it in a zipper bag or Tupperware container with the ground up old food and shake. Let it sit a few days and then try adding it to the kibble bowl.