# Millie's quilling!



## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

I just brought my first hedgehog home about 2 weeks ago! I love her to death! She has taken a bit to get used to me as a normal hedgie in a new home and environment. I also had the awesome luck of getting her just as she started to quill. I've done everything I have read and heard to help her with her quilling and she seems to be over the worst of it. She is more used to me than my husband or anyone else, but I am the one who spends the most time with her. 

She is a normal huffy grumpy hedgie at times, but I don't mind. I have a lifetime for her to learn to love me. haha My question is.... she sleeps a lot like a normal baby, but when she is awake, she just lays there and won't leave her igloo, or roam her cage or anything. The only time I ever see her leave the igloo is to eat, drink and poop. I even tried putting her wheel in there permanently (I take it out from time to time because it gets too crowded) and she won't even get out to run on that even when I am in another room. 

When I get her out to play or hold her on my lap, she is just fine, takes a minute for her to accept she has to get attention, but plays normal, loves her wheel when it's not in her cage and nothing seems to be wrong with her. 

Is it weird she won't leave her igloo even when she is awake at night? Or can I just blame it on the quilling? I just want to make sure I don't have anything to be concerned about. 

I'm a new owner and obviously don't have the experience to know better


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

What is the temperature in the cage and what heating and lighting system do you use?


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

The breeder kept her at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so I'm keeping her at 82-85. I'm using a reptile heating lamp and it's warm everywhere in the cage. I have a thermostat thing located on the bottom of the cage that will keep the heater on if it is not at the selected temperature. I learned they need 72-85 degrees at all times... our apartment is usually around that anyway... I'm almost positive she isn't too cold... could she be too warm? Is that what you are leaning towards is it's a temperature issue?


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

I do wonder if she is just too warm, 85F is very warm in my opinion. We keep our guys at 75-78F.

Adjust the temperature in her cage slowly down into the 75-78F range. If you have her out on your lap while you do this and your house is normally at this range she won't have a temperature shock when you put her back into her cage. 

If she runs on the wheel outside the cage then she just must be way too hot in her cage to even do any exercise.


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

Hmmm... that's a good thought! I'm going to try that. Hopefully that helps! Thanks for the idea. I'll let you know if it hasn't worked in a couple of days to see of any other ideas  Thank you!


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Millie is very cute! 

What kind of heating lamp do you have? Does it produce any light? Some hedgehogs are very light sensitive and won't move or anything if there's a tiny little bit of light in the room. 

82-85F sounds pretty hot to me, as I've always heard 72-78 being the ideal temperature range. But, before you do anything about the temperature, wait for more experienced people to say something as temperature drops can trigger a hibernation attempt or weaken her immune system and cause a respiratory infection. 

Also, what kind of cage is she in? If it gets too crowded with the wheel you might want to think about upgrading to a bigger cage. 

Welcome!


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## suwanee (Nov 15, 2010)

> wait for more experienced people to say something as temperature drops can trigger a hibernation attempt or weaken her immune system and cause a respiratory infection.


sueproenca, isn't Papilionru a breeder? That seemed pretty good advice given in the post just above...


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I wrote my post before Papilionru had posted hers so I hadn't seen it when I submitted my answer. 

It is very good advice indeed.


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

susanaproenca said:


> Millie is very cute!
> 
> What kind of heating lamp do you have? Does it produce any light? Some hedgehogs are very light sensitive and won't move or anything if there's a tiny little bit of light in the room.
> 
> ...


I have a red light lamp to make sure it doesn't affect her sleeping. I'd hate to make her try to hibernate. Hmmm... everything I have read has said keep them at a range between 72-85F. I think the dude above you is a breeder...he said to slowly change the temp range. I think I'll do it as slowly as I can just to ensure I don't make her sick or attempt to hibernate.

She is in a superpet wire cage with a plastic bottom. My breeder spoke highly of them and I wanna say it's the biggest one they make. it's not super crowded, I'm just in the middle of still trying to litter train her and don't want too many distractions for her. But she does get her exercise every night! I would love to upgrade her eventually, but where she is still so small, I'm not sure it's a must right now. I'm planning on using a C&C cage, I've heard a lot of great things about those. If you guys have any other suggestions maybe better than what I'm using, or better than what I plan on using, let me know! You are the ones with the experience, I'm still a noob.


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

I used to use a red lamp for Pliny, but they do still give off some light, and I know there are hedgies who refuse to come out if there is any glimmer of light whatsoever. You can get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) bulb which just gives off heat, but produces no light at all. Perhaps you can use the red bulb during the day and a CHE at night? It is basically the same set up, just a different bulb.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

The biggest Super Pet cage is a very good cage. There's a thread on the Housing section with lots of cages setups, just something you can look up when you do decide to upgrade.


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

Wow. It's amazing all the things I've learned just in this short time with this site.  I heard they can't see the red light, but I think I'm going to try and find that heat emitting light bulb that doesn't give off any light. I feel so bad now! To think I may be doing things wrong already, poor Millie.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Killer quills said:


> Wow. It's amazing all the things I've learned just in this short time with this site.  I heard they can't see the red light, but I think I'm going to try and find that heat emitting light bulb that doesn't give off any light. I feel so bad now! To think I may be doing things wrong already, poor Millie.


Don't feel bad, it's great that you're doing research! 

This is the lamp I use:

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiCare ... 327&sr=8-1

It's usually cheaper to buy online than at the petstores.


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes do it slowly and you can always keep an eye on her for a URI over the next 2 weeks after adjusting the temperature.

Also if your using the infrared heat lamp, she may not be wheeling because of that. Some hedgehogs do not like the infrared lights, she might be one of them.

As Pliny said, change to a CHE Bulb you will also need a 
Repti Temp 500 RT.
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75
Heat Emitter Bulb
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=408


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

Wow. Here I was thinking I did all my research and knew enough about hedgehogs to be a good owner! haha Apparently, I still have a lot of work.  I'll be so sad if I'm the reason she is having a hard time. I'm going to look into the CHE bulb tomorrow for sure! I'll start lowering the temp slowly. Poor Millie has to deal with a stupid human to care for her. 

She also is having a really hard time using her litter pan. I've done everything I have read on here and she still refuses to go in her litter. She started in one corner, and I was told to put the litter pan where she goes most, so I moved it, and she chose another corner. I tried putting some of her poop in there hoping she would smell it and realize that's where it needs to go, so far that doesn't work... I'm using litter recommended and used by my breeder, but so far I'm learning it may not be the absolute best advice. What works best for your hedgies? What do you suggest to maybe help her use a designated litter spot? Her mom was litter trained and the breeder said Millie was as well, but she hasn't used the litter pan once since I've had her. I brought her home with her brother to drop him off to someone nearby, and he is already using his litter pan. They grew up together the same way so I'm wondering what I might be doing wrong or what I can do to help her maybe become litter trained....


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

You are trying your best to do what is best for little Millie - so please don't feel bad or guilty! It is great that you did so much research first, but things are always a bit different once you have a living hoglet around! All hedgehogs are different, so you need to figure out what is best for your little girl. And you are definitely on the right track for that - HHC is a great place to learn and ask questions.
The litter training can be tricky. What kind of litterbox are you using? I use yesterday's news litter for Pliny; I know some people just use paper towels.
What kind of bedding do you have? When I used carefresh bedding Pliny was more likely to poop anywhere he pleased, but once I switched to fleece liners he stuck to using the litterbox or wheel as his toilet. The Carolina Storm Wheel that Larry T makes is great because it comes with a litterbox that fits underneath the wheel.
Just keep persevering with your Millie. You haven't had her for that long, and sometimes it can take them a while to establish a routine in their new home.


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

ThePliny said:


> You are trying your best to do what is best for little Millie - so please don't feel bad or guilty! It is great that you did so much research first, but things are always a bit different once you have a living hoglet around! All hedgehogs are different, so you need to figure out what is best for your little girl. And you are definitely on the right track for that - HHC is a great place to learn and ask questions.
> The litter training can be tricky. What kind of litterbox are you using? I use yesterday's news litter for Pliny; I know some people just use paper towels.
> What kind of bedding do you have? When I used carefresh bedding Pliny was more likely to poop anywhere he pleased, but once I switched to fleece liners he stuck to using the litterbox or wheel as his toilet. The Carolina Storm Wheel that Larry T makes is great because it comes with a litterbox that fits underneath the wheel.
> Just keep persevering with your Millie. You haven't had her for that long, and sometimes it can take them a while to establish a routine in their new home.


Well everything I have was used or suggested by my breeder. They said use a corner litter box for farrets. I use a pine bedding but I want to use a fleece liner but I was actually waiting to upgrade until she is litter trained. haha maybe I should do just the opposite. I know it can take a long time to get them to cooperate, I guess I'm just praying for the day I don't have to pick up her poop for her haha Every mother's dream right? haha


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

Yup, that sounds a lot like Pliny. I used a ferret corner litter box until I got the CSW and he would only use it sporadically; every time he did I would be unnaturally excited about it! 
You will probably just find the liners easier over all; waaaay less messy than shavings. I also know that babies poop and piddle a lot more than adults, so she might become neater as she gets older.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi, congratulations on Millie. Once you have the temp down to a more comfortable range for her you'll proably find that she's wheeling alot more. The wheel should be kept in her cage all nigth so that she can wheel as much as she wants, some hedgies run as much as 13 miles in a night. Once she's wheeling more you'll also find that most of her poops etc will be on or around the wheel. I put litter boxes under all my wheels and with the exception of one or two hedgies 99% of the mess end up in the litter boxes or on the wheel. I have 19 hedgies and haven't actually tried to "litter train" any of them but most trained themselves. 

Good luck with Millie!


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

So I got a CHE today. Put her wheel back in her cage and put a few pieces of food on it to see if she runs on it tonight. Cross your fingers! She seems to have actually slept today. A lot of times when I walked up to her cage very quietly she would just be sitting there with her eyes open. She seemed to sleep more on me than in her cage. She has slept pretty well today!  Got up and did the routine poop, eat, and run back to sleep. Not late enough for her to be up and about, so cross your fingers this CHE bulb and new thermostat works better than the last.  Thank you everyone for all of your help! 

Also, if I do upgrade her to the C&C cage... where can I get cloroplast? I've ready shipping stores and sign stores have it.. but everywhere I have looked, no luck. Any ideas of where to look next? I've looked at Walmart, shipping/sign stores, googled where to find some and apparently did not search the right keywords. Any suggestions would be awesome! Thanks in advance.


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

Killer quills said:


> Also, if I do upgrade her to the C&C cage... where can I get chloroplast?


I've also looked at hardware stores and no one seems to understand what I mean. haha I read the post about chloroplast... I'm thinking that clear vinyl carpet runner would work... just no idea where to look for that big enough to fit a cage...


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

Success!! She ran on her wheel last night! All the little prices of food I put on there was flown all over the cage by the wheel!! Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help! She seems to be much happier!  thank you, thank you, thank you!!


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## Ophelia (Dec 10, 2010)

(Just an off topic tip; coroplast is a brand name for corrugated plastic! So ask for this instead at the store.  Also, I scored a bunch of free signs from my store that are corrgulated plastic. So, try your local 7-eleven or something and ask when they get rid of their signs.  )


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Ophelia said:


> So, try your local 7-eleven or something and ask when they get rid of their signs.  )


 :lol: 
I'm picturing a cage with a big Mac's sign...


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## Killer quills (Jan 1, 2011)

MissC said:


> Ophelia said:
> 
> 
> > So, try your local 7-eleven or something and ask when they get rid of their signs.  )
> ...


I can see it now, half coffee sign, half Big Mac, half donuts.... Boy would the cage be colorful! That's an awesome idea thank you so much for the tip MissC!


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