# Do to list



## Brooke2Lancelot (Sep 9, 2019)

So, similar to one of Ria’s posts, I’m going to go dog sit this weekend. I’ll have to sleep there at the house for two days. 
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And I’m not taking Igor!
I’m stressing so hard on this. My mom said she’ll take care of Igor, so I made a step by step instruction list on how to do everything. 
It’s 101 steps...

I’ll miss him so bloody bad. And I’m so scared that something will go wrong. For the whole time I had Igor, it was only me who took care of him. It was my soul responsibility. 
Now I have to pass that responsibility on to my mom? The person who refuses to touch him? I’m sceptical. I mean, I don’t think she’ll ever hurt him on purpose, and I’m sure she’ll do everything on the list, but, paranoia!


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

101 steps! 
Why so many!?

Tbh I wouldn't fully trust anyone if they wouldn't hold Holly while she was out, let alone trust them to get her out while I wasnt there.
But its better than risking problems with a dog.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Okay, of course I love that you clearly care about Igor so much, but 101 steps?!

I've left my pets in the care of someone else on multiple occasions and let me tell you, if you do not keep this clear and concise, then there is a MUCH higher likelihood of them accidentally doing something that you wouldn't approve of. 101 steps is overcomplicating and to many (me included haha) would seem daunting. I genuinely cannot fathom why so many steps would be necessary for a literal 2 day sleepover. 

I've left my hedgehog in the care of other people while I was away before. This is all I have ever asked them to do.

1) Huff test; self-explanatory, Co is a free range hog and this is just to check that she made it back to her bed okay. 
2) Check food & water.
3) if wheel is dirty, scrub in bath.
4) check temperatures of enclosure, and make sure they are within x range.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. It is simplified, because it's only two days. Of course, I myself do much more - i brush her teeth every day, i do a full health check every day, i make sure i spend time giving her her evening snuggles & massages, but I'm not going to ask the same of someone doing me a favour for such a short period. If I was going away for something like 5-7 days +, I would leave my hedgehog in the care with someone who was comfortable with handling her. But for something as short as two days, i'm not personally fussed. My older sister is too jumpy holding Coco when she huffs. If the person caring for my hog during such a short period is not fully comfortable with holding them, then I will actually make a note that they please don't attempt to hold my hedgehog at all. 2 days of not being handled is not a big deal - but being dropped because the person holding her wasnt comfortable is.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Emc said:


> i brush her teeth every day


You seriously brush coco's teeth daily? Does she not get grouchy with you for it!?


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Ria said:


> You seriously brush coco's teeth daily? Does she not get grouchy with you for it!?


Yes! and believe it or not it actually hasnt been that difficult! The first 3 weeks were rough; I think due to a combination of it being a new thing for me (so i didnt have the technique down), and also for her due to not not being used to having her mouth messed with. But now she's a trooper, and it's easy for me to get done on a daly basis.

She gets a moriworm before and after brushing, so she doesnt hold any grudge against me - honestly, i think it's only had a positive impact on our relationship. She's not really face shy, and will let me look at her mouth with ease now - when that was totally off-bounds before haha.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Thats really impressive, I can not imagine Holly letting me do that ever. Let alone daily! 
I think the tartar control treats work well for her.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

I've never tried tartar control treats, but I do like brushing her teeth mainly because it has made her more tolerable of having her mouth touched and so it allows me to do frequent checks on her mouth/teeth now with ease. Whereas before, I honestly would have gladly chose to wrestle an alligator instead haha. 

Coco also broke one of her incisors within the first few weeks of me having her - so i guess i'm also extra paranoid about her teeth.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

I use them because its easier than fighting to brush teeth!
Plus it means my mum can still give it to her even if I'm not there, so I know her teeth are still going to get cleaned.


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## Brooke2Lancelot (Sep 9, 2019)

Well, I wrote down precisely what I do in the night with Igor. I placed it in step order, so it kinda stretched to 101 steps. 😅

There isn’t much to handling him, just the cage. I have to make sure my mom won’t do anything damaging. And Igor is a messy hog, so daily wheel scrubs is a must. His food is complicated. I think that’s where most of the stuff came into. I know it’s over doing it, and I really appreciate my mom big time for doing this. 

Igor has to be put in my bed in the mornings, and then put in his clean cage at night. That’s his basic routine of travelling. Now my gran agreed on picking him up... with a cloth or gloves. I don’t want to change his routine too much over the course of two days, seeing as that can lead to stress. 

I would love to brush Igor’s teeth, but the place where I live isn’t really keen on animal care. Here people don’t even brush their own teeth, why would they brush their pets’ 😂. And Igor is already a year with me, I feel like trying to start now will just damage the relationship I built up with him.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

I am insanely curious to hear your daily routine haha; even if I wrote everything down in steps, I would come no where near 101!

As far as brushing teeth goes; I had Coco a year before I started doing so (only started on the advice of my vet, before that I never even knew it was a thing!) and I feel like it has only improved our relationship. Plus, hedgehogs are incredibly prone to dental disease & also oral cancers - so having them familiar with getting their mouth touched is a huge bonus. It has made Coco far more comfortable and less stressed during our check ups - if you do want to start doing it, don’t worry about it damaging your relationship at all.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Even Holly's daily routine doesnt come to 101 and we all know how I can be when it comes to her.
I would love to know how you get it to 101.

Does coco ever cover herself in the toothpaste?


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Yeah I briefly went over what I do with Coco on any average day, and I only have like 10 steps - i am insanely curious to hear King Igors routine haha.

& Nope, I honestly dont think she likes the poultry flavour that much to do so. I only use a small amount on a q-tip; but she's never anointed with it!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Everyone thought I was nuts when I said I brushed hedgehog teeth too. I heard "It not possible" But with enough practice and patience I've been able to brush even defensive hedgehogs. You need to practice a lot. And understand that a lot of hedgehog behavior is a defensive reaction because they don't understand what you are trying to do. With practice they often will learn that this is what happens and become tolerant. Nail trimming is difficult for many, but if you practice regularly/daily they adjust. They may not like it, but they will learn to tolerate the interaction a lot better.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

I do Holly's nails every other day, and she is more tolerable of them, but I also find ways that work best for her that day.

I can't imagine her reaction to brushing teeth!
The only thing is learning how to do it!

We might have to start buying toothpaste and brushing my dogs teeth anyway, so maybe I can just use a little for her every other day. I'm not sure how effective the tartar control treats are is she chews it up and then covers herself in it!
Also means less fatty treats!

At an estimate I think Holly's comes to about 20 steps. I haven't worked it out though!


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## Spiky_Floof<3 (Jun 21, 2019)

I am so curious about your routine also!


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## tomcruise1916 (Aug 20, 2021)

what are some things I need to focus on while raising my hedgehog, basically, I don't let anyone in my home touch my animal so when I get free from working on my blog page of golf tips and facts I play with it for sometime .


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