# Hedgehog not coming out of sleep



## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

Hello, I am a new hedgehog owner and just adopted my friend's hedgehog. She needed to get rid of her hedgehog and I took it in. I moved it to my home a few days ago and it seemed to be fine until yesterday. Yesterday it crawled into a tube it likes to play in and just stayed there. I thought it was sleeping so I left it. But it hasn't come out since yesterday morning. Normally it comes out at night to eat and drink but I noticed it didn't touch any of the food or water. It is still in the tube even now. When I disturb her by moving the tube slightly or stroking her gently, she quills up and sometime hisses but never leaves her spot. I keep the temp at a steady 21 celcius with a ceramic heater. Does anybody know what is wrong?


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## Jen.Uh.Fur (Mar 29, 2011)

Might be to chilly, I keep mine about 23.


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

Try picking her up (use a t shirt or a towel to scoop her up if you're afraid to use your bare hands) and holding her in your lap for a while to see if she'll wake up and start exploring.

How's the light in the room? Does she have light in the cage during the day, so that she knows it's time to get up once it gets dark?


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

Her cage is in a very well-lit room so it is bright during the day. I did manage to get her out of her tube but she just kind of wobbled back in, not her usual way of walking.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

She's either not warm enough, or she's sick. Bump the temperature up to 23 or 24 and see how she is then. Also, if she doesn't eat tonight you will need to start syringe feeding her.


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

It really sounds like it might be best to have her looked at by the vet, since she was fine the first couple of days and is suddenly sleepy and wobbly. They're such little animals that not eating or drinking for a day or two can really weaken them.

If you can't get her to the vet today, try to warm her up. If you have a heating pad, you can turn it on low and set her on it. If you don't have a heating pad, wrap her in a tshirt and stick her inside your shirt to let your body heat warm her up. She should start waking up within about an hour if she was too cold. You'll know when she starts waking up because she'll poop. Don't put her in water to warm her up.

Also, adjust the heater for her cage, it needs to be warmer...I think 21 c is about 69 f and that's too cold for hedgies.


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

ahh ok thanks for the advice! If I am to syringe feed her, how can I prepare a diet I can use?


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

The easiest way to do it is to get some jars of baby food and use that...I usually use the turkey kind because they all seem to like it. I keep some on hand for emergencies. The ones that are just ground meat are more nutritious than the ones that are meat and gravy. 

You can also grind kibble and mix it with water. You can grind it in the blender, and add enough water to make it pass through the syringe easily.

The syringe you'll need is the kind for giving medicine to infants. You can get one usually for free at the pharmacy.

If you try the turkey baby food, before attemting the syringe feeding, just put some in a dish in the cage and see if she'll eat it...it's very smelly, which seems to appeal to hedgies. You could also try some unseasoned cooked chicken breast.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I second the heat thing. The only time I've seen Annabell wildly cranky to be touched & wobbly to walk was when her cage temperature dropped to around 20 - 21 C & she got cold.


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

ah thank you guys for the answers. I turned up the heat about 1 - 2 degrees and she came out of her tube and at night she ate normally and pooped all over her wheel!


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

That is very good news. It sounds like you have a CHE, do you also have a thermostat to control the CHE and keep the temp where she needs it?


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