# Grumpy Possibly Sick Hedgie



## xHOGxLOVERx (Apr 3, 2011)

Hello Everyone. my hedgie peanut is always in a ball with spikes up. she also is really small. my awesome friend brayden has a hedgie from the same litter. his hedgie is twice the size of mine. our hedgies are both about 3 and a half months old. here are some pictures of my cage setup and my hedgie.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g435/Brayden_Ascasibar/DSC00659.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g435/Brayden_Ascasibar/DSC00661.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g435/Brayden_Ascasibar/DSC00658.jpg[/IMG
[img]http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g435/Brayden_Ascasibar/DSC00657.jpg








this picture is of pokey braydens hedgie

Please Help im really worried!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

What is the temperature in the cage?

Will your hedgie uncurl after a few minutes...how is her belly? warm?

How much light is she getting?

(You will want to lose that mesh wheel soon, too: too dangerous for little toes/feet)

Eating? wheeling? pooping?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

From the picture of her next to the toilet paper roll she looks to be an average size. Even from hedgies from the same litter some can be bigger or smaller than others, hedgies come in a wide variety of sizes. 

I do have a few concerns about your cage. She should have 2 square feet of open space in her cage after you put everything in it, that cage looks small to me. The wire wheel is very very dangerous to her little feet as she can catch a toe or nail in the mesh while running. She should have a solid surface wheel.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Nikki, I'm not sure but I think his girl is half the size of the one in the pic and same litter...and again, not sure but I think concerned she won't unball. Again...not to sure!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Nikki, the image at the bottom is of the other hedgehog, Pokey. I don't see an image of the one in question.

Couple of things: If you are seriously concerned about the hedgehog. Take it into a veterinarian for a wellness check. While it can be normal for a hedgehog to be a lot smaller or more grumpy, if you, as the owner, are concerned take it in for an exam. It won't hurt and it may put your mind at rest that things are ok.

We cannot diagnose a hedgehog over the internet. 

Next:
Littermates can be extremely different sizes and can have extremely different personalities. There are very friendly hedgehogs, and then there are those that are extremely distrusting and will not come out of a quill ball. If you have not had her for long, she may not be quick to trust and you may have to patient and spend lots of time with her to gain that trust.

How long have you had this hedgehog? How is her weight? Is she growing?

I have had a couple of litter mates that were very different in size and personality. Most recent was Riley & Rose.

Riley was always extremely skittish and would curl into a ball quickly. He was friendly, but you had to know how to act around him. At one point when he was quilling I hardly ever saw his face. He was a clicky quill ball quite a lot. His skin hurt and being touched at all caused him pain. We worked around this by softening his skin and being very careful to never touch his back. Once his quilling was over, he became much friendlier (to the point he would walk into my hand). He was an "average" sized hedgehog. I don't have his weight chart near me at the moment, and I need more coffee to fully wake up, but I seem to remember him being in the 450 gram range.

Rose. Rose is just a sweetheart. She is a very loving, sweet, and yet very strong willed hedgehog who hardly ever curls up or raises a quill. She has always been this way. Rose's healthy weight is somewhere around 750 grams. She has an extremely large body structure and made her brother look like a runt (he was not). She is just a large hedgehog.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

oops..my bad  The OP said there were pics of their set up and hedgie...sooooo I just figured that was their hedgie...lol. Thanks for correcting that.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

nikki said:


> oops..my bad  The OP said there were pics of their set up and hedgie...sooooo I just figured that was their hedgie...lol. Thanks for correcting that.


I thought the same thing...typed a response, then something made me go back and re-read.


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## xHOGxLOVERx (Apr 3, 2011)

nikki said:


> From the picture of her next to the toilet paper roll she looks to be an average size. Even from hedgies from the same litter some can be bigger or smaller than others, hedgies come in a wide variety of sizes.
> 
> I do have a few concerns about your cage. She should have 2 square feet of open space in her cage after you put everything in it, that cage looks small to me. The wire wheel is very very dangerous to her little feet as she can catch a toe or nail in the mesh while running. She should have a solid surface wheel.


no thats my friends hedgie next to the toilet paper tube


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## xHOGxLOVERx (Apr 3, 2011)

This is my hedgie








sorry picture cuts off but this is abiut half of her


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## xHOGxLOVERx (Apr 3, 2011)

MissC said:


> What is the temperature in the cage?
> 
> Will your hedgie uncurl after a few minutes...how is her belly? warm?
> 
> ...


she takes about 15 mins to uncurl. if she does. she gets light from the fireplace but little light. i have put a new flat surface wheel in. she eats the hedgehog diet food that looks like cat food. she runs at about 9:30pm ish to 10pm ish. her poops are small and scattered around the cage. about the length of a grape and width of a raisin. soory, dont know the temp but she is right near the fireplace.


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## xHOGxLOVERx (Apr 3, 2011)

nikki said:


> From the picture of her next to the toilet paper roll she looks to be an average size. Even from hedgies from the same litter some can be bigger or smaller than others, hedgies come in a wide variety of sizes.
> 
> I do have a few concerns about your cage. She should have 2 square feet of open space in her cage after you put everything in it, that cage looks small to me. The wire wheel is very very dangerous to her little feet as she can catch a toe or nail in the mesh while running. She should have a solid surface wheel.


the hedgie in the pic is my friends. mine is about half the size.


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

xHOGxLOVERx said:


> dont know the temp but she is right near the fireplace.


Temperature is extremely important when you have a hedgehog. You need to buy:

Thermometer - this is used so you know what temperature the cage is. The cage has to be around 73-78 (23-25) at all times. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... le+Heating

If you house is not 23-25 C (73-78 F) at all times, then you need to buy:

Thermostat - this is used to control the temperature. You always want the temperature to be the same. A temperature that changes, will upset the hedgehog. You have your by the fireplace, which can get really hot, and when the fires not on, the hedgehog will get colder. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... le+Heating

Clamp Lamp for CHE - you place the CHE bulb in here, and heat is given off through the bulb to the cage. The 10" lamp is best. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... dn=Reptile

CHE bulb -the bulb that gives off heat. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... dn=Reptile

That wheel is dangerous. You need to get a wheel that has a solid running surface. I recommend the CSW (Carolina Storm Wheel). But if you can't order it, than the Super Pet Comfort Wheel. The wheel as to be at least 12". Don't get the Silent Spinner, the hedgies nails can get caught in the crack.

That cage looks way to small, and that type of cage doesn't provide good ventilation.

What type of wood chips are you using? Fleece liners are a better option.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Your hedgie needs a light source and needs to have the light on for 12-14 hours a day. The light from a fireplace isn't enough, it needs to be an overhead light or a lamp. Temperature is very very important, if she is cold or too hot she won't be very active and could try to hibernate. Fireplaces don't give off consistant heat, when you add wood they get hotter then cool down until you add more wood. You need to get a thermometer and a proper heat source for her. 

Commercial hedgehog food isn't good, its mostly fillers and junk. Slowly switch her over to a good quality, corn free cat food and that may help her grow better.


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

I agree about what was said about your cage... but as for her being curled in a ball all the time, when I first brought Norma home she was very nervous as well. i would hold her, with a cloth or towel because her quills poked me, with her head upwards, and rock her slowly in my hands until she relaxed, uncurled, and started stretching to be turned around. Dont give up on handling her.. the more you handle her the more she will get used to your scent and to you. Also take a shirt youve worn through the day, or sleep with one of her blankets for the night then put it in her cage, this will help her to relate your scent to her safe cozy hide/blanket/cage/home.


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