# housing a male and female



## swahf24

I just recently found a female hedgie needing a home. I already had a male. I was curious . if there was anything wrong with housing them in a c&c cage with a divider so they each have their own side. I was was wondering if it's ok to sniff each other through the grids or if I need to block it off so they can't touch at all? or if I have to block it so they can't even see each other?

thanks for the input!


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## SpikeMoose

I would say that for the health of both hedgies it's important to have them totally separated. If you are going to use one cage with a divider make sure that the coroplast comes up high enough that they can't see or smell each other, and especially not climb to get each other. You don't want a breeding accident for for one of your hedgies to end up hurt. 
They are solitary animals, and imagine putting a teenage boy in front of a model and saying "Look, don't touch!"

They also shouldn't be sharing anything, and preferably be in separate rooms, for at least a month long quarantine to make sure your new girl won't bring in something that could hurt them both.


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## nikki

Also make sure there is no way for one to escape and get in with the other. You have to have completely escape proof cages when you have both sexes. Believe me if there is a way for them to get together, they will.


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## AngelaH

Another to consider is that I've read that the females don't menstruate... unless they are near a male. I can't find where I read that right now, so hopefully someone can weigh in to verify, but that is not something I would want to deal with!


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## moxieberry

Ovulate, is the word you're looking for. Housing a male and female in separate cages next to each other won't be a problem as far as that goes.


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## Quinn

I have my male living in the cage above my 2 females. When I first brought him home and was being quaratined in a different room Quinn still escaped her cage and found him. It's super important to have escape froof cages. Luckly she couldn't find a way in his cage. Once they got use to each others smell they no longer cared about living in close proximity.


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## Sugargliderlove

When I still had my female I had Sonic and her cage divided make sure that it is high enough to where they can not climb over and there is nothing on that shared wall that they can climb on to get over. Sonic used his tunnel from his loft to climb over to get to her and I woke up to him squealing cause she went after him.


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## Christemo

You kind of have to think of a male hog as a teenaged boy. If they can, they will do anything and everything to get to the female. Keep them on opposite sides of the room (or house if you can), off the floor and on something they can't climb. Have a very secure lid too.


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## pickles17

I think its a bad idea and too risky.


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## swahf24

thanks for the quick replies! So basically, just to make sure I understand this correctly, as long as there is absolutely no way for either hedgie to get out of their cage and into the other side, there is no other health concerns I should be worried about as far as a long term housing option? I had read somewhere about the female ovulating when a male is near, although I searched for hours last night and couldn't figure out where I'd read that.

I just want to make sure that my male isn't constantly aroused and that my female isn't constantly ovulating because they were in cages right next to each other. Do they have to actually be in the same cage for this to happen or can it still happen in separate cages that are nearby? I live in a small apartment so there's not really anywhere else for me to comfortably put a second cage long term. I just want them both to be healthy and happy. I did see some of the cages other people have for their hedgies and figured, though I may be wrong, that if the cages are either stacked on top of each other or only a couple inches away from the other that the hedgies would still be able to smell each other and know there was another hedgie of the opposite sex close by.

Thanks!


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## pickles17

I had a male and female stacked on top each other with no issue, but I had rabbit cages that were very secure.
Some people though when they put theirs beside each other or on top of each other will find their male will start singing and they will desperately try to get to each other. I never had this problem but I've heard of it.
You will have to make sure that they are 100% secure, I worry about how secure a divider can be and think maybe it would be better to make two separate cages? Best of luck!


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## swahf24

Thanks Pickles!
I have the divider made out of extra cubes and it is very securely zip tied together that it might as well be two cages other than there being no distance between the two. Worst case scenario I guess I can always just take that side and give it to one cage and add two more cubes to the other cage. They still wouldn't be more than a few inches apart though...


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## nikki

As long as they don't have any direct contact they will be fine. Its contact with a male that causes the female to ovulate, just being in cages side by side isn't a problem. Just have a solid wall between them.


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## swahf24

awesome! thank you so much Nikki!


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## SpikeFern

I have the same type of set up c&c cage. But i used plexi glass for the walls and divider. Do u think it is ok that they can see each other through the plexiglass? Or should i make it so they can't see each other?


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## shinydistraction

This post is about 3 years old. It would be better for you to post your own thread when you need to ask a question. It can be confusing to people reading and they may try to answer the original question rather than yours. 

However, to answer your question as best as I can as I don't have both a male and a female, I would think it's better that they don't see each other at all. If they're close enough to see each other that can put them into mating mode. All that will do is frustrate the male (which will lead to extra grumpiness) and cause potential health issues for the female. To add to that, hedgehogs are solitary animals, so being aware of another one that's close enough to steal food (remember, they don't have the capacity to realize they can't get to one another) will add a whole other layer of stress. The less they know about the other, the happier each will be.

You know, I wrote this whole thing out assuming you have both a male and a female. The advice still stands either way, but I just realized you may have two of the same gender. Either way, seeing each other won't help and may hurt.


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## nikki

Another thing with that cage is that either hedgehog can easily escape and enter the other ones cage. You need to put complete, secure lids on both cages. If they are the same sex they could injure or kill each other and if they're opposite sex then obviously pregnancy is an issue.


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## SpikeFern

Yes male and female. The male is a year old and has never gotten out. The female i just got a few weeks ago, not sure on her age. She is a rescue. The sides are complete plexiglass. Not sure how they could possibly get out. I will find a way to get a divider in the center that they can't see through. I don't know how to start my own post. Lol.


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## nikki

Don't count on her not getting out even with the plexiglass. I had an 8 week baby climb into a 13 inch waste basket. C&C cubes are 14 inches so she can get over it if she wants. Your male is also going to be more interested in getting out now that there is a female nearby. Any time you have both a male and a female hedgehog you need to ensure that there is no way for them to ever escape because they will. He can smell her and will be determined to get to her.


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## SpikeFern

Thats crazy, eekk. Well tomorrow I'll be looking into how to make it so they can't escape. This is totally off topic but I'll ask. The rescued one is a female. She was left on the door step of a wild life rehab facility outside mid winter. She's lucky to be alive. Anyway, i know nothing about her. She seems plump, it's got me wondering if she's pregnant. I've heard it's really hard to know. Do you have any tips on how to tell if she's pregnant?


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## nikki

There really isn't anyway to know if she's pregnant or not. I would plan as if she is and count 55 days from the day you got her. If there are no babies by the 55th day then you will know for sure she's not pregnant. Right now all you can do is keep her on loose bedding like she has, make sure she's got lots of food and water and watch for anything different.


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## SpikeFern

Ok thank you


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## MorgansPets

Like SpikeMoose said, definitely have them 100% separated so they can't smell, see, taste, or touch each other.


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