# Introducing Mila!



## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

Here she is! I have TONS of pictures, so i just whipped together a quick collage.








I'm thinking of naming her Mila (its a province in Algeria). 
And this collage has a picture of me..   
My baby girl is doing very well so far. I am happy to report that she is using the loft I built! (came home to find poop in it).
I witnessed her eat some kibble and take a drink of water. I also was lucky enough to capture a short video of her exploring her wheel for the first time (she climbed right on without any bribing!) She threw a party in her litter pan... some scattered in the corner, but thats ok because she also used it  
I am contemplating giving her a bath sooner than later.. she is quilling and has dry skin, so i think it could be pretty soothing. 
She is very outgoing in the evening (as opposed to the day time) which is understandable. 
She has a cute pinto stripe on her back but it might quill out..  
She has lots of mottling on her legs, her back legs are almost black. I am so curious how much her pigment will change over the next three weeks! I don't know what its called, but she has 2 dark stripes that extend from her mask that almost reach her visor. (reverse blaze? high mask?) Also, she weighs 135 g right now (6 weeks today). Is that about right? She is bigger than I had predicted. 
I am in love with her big ears 
I offered her 20 g of food, she has eaten about half of it so far.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

*Re: Introducing...*

She's so precious!! I think that Mila suits her just fine.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

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Congrats! She is a sweetie.  
I can't see any pinto in the photos. Could you take a closeup of the pinto spot?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

*Re: Introducing...*

I suggest letting her settle in for at least a couple of days before a bath. Depending on the hedgehog, baths can be very stressful and coming to a new home is stressful enough. Of course if she needs one, then she needs one.

The white stripe down the back is fairly typical for babies and usually disappears although some keep it.

I love the colours in her cage. Lime green and pink is so cute and in style.

She is gorgeous.


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## schmelderz (Jul 7, 2010)

*Re: Introducing...*

She is beautiful Kenzi! So happy for both of you


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

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LarryT said:


> I can't see any pinto in the photos. Could you take a closeup of the pinto spot?



















I hope you can see the few pure white quills in this picture. (I focused on just them to see the contrast). The pinto stripe extends further, but I couldn't get a good picture of all of it.



Kenzi said:


> I don't know what its called, but she has 2 dark stripes that extend from her mask that almost reach her visor. (reverse blaze? high mask?)


I just wanted to add that i now think these are called badger stripes.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

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Awe! She's so adorable!! I just love how dark she is! And the name is perfect! I'm so excited fo you!


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## erica582 (Oct 1, 2010)

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Congratulations Kenzi! She is adorable. I especially love the picture where she is sniffing around on your shoulder  And she looks so active and alert for her first day at home! How did the night go? She's veryyy cute. I get mine tomorrow but for now I am excited about yours!


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

*Re: Introducing...*

The night went well. i was up late and checked on her a few times, she was running on her wheel (but would stop as soon as i walked in) though she didn't ball up or get off, so that was a good thing. 
This morning i went in and found the wheel covered in poop, and some poop in the loft, plus she dragged the rubber duck around and moved the toy car, so that was fun to see.

I went to weigh the food again to see how much she consumed, and I found some of the kibble in one of the bowls softened.. I'm not 100% sure, but i think she might have peed in it? I don't know how else she would have moved water into it (though the water and food bowls are next to eachother). Kinda bad because now I can't weigh it properly. I'll count kibble instead or weighing for now I guess. (it weighs 6 g less.. but the damp kibble is heavier). I'm curious to see how dirty her feet are.. if at all. She seems to have pretty good hygiene so far. I'm happy that although she poops a lot, none of it is in her bag or tunnel


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

*Re: Introducing...*

Haha! Love new hedgie stories! She is beautiful!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

*Re: Introducing...*

Those are just random white quills. Pinto spots have white quills with pink skin underneath.

Badger stripes are two dark lines that go from the mask up the forehead between their eyes.


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

*Re: Introducing...*

Thanks for the clarification Nancy. She has very dark skin, so they must not be pinto. The only spot where she has those quills is along her spine.

Do the different stages (second, third/adult color) of quills have the same characteristics? (width and length?) hers are all rather uniform.


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

*Re: Introducing...*

She's adorable! Congratulations!


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

Last night I have Mila a bath. She was very active and kept trying to get out. I was a little nervous because I was afraid she might bite me in fear, but it went smoothly. I think the bath loosed up some more quills because I found 6 little tiny white quills this morning around her hedgie bag and stuck in her liner. They are so tiny though. I am pretty certain that her current random white quills will stay because the ones she shed are very thin and short compared to the ones on her back. 

Do quills grow in the length and width they'll stay, or do they get thicker and stronger? I haven't seen any new ones popping through, so I'm not sure (just curious).

I added two capsules of flax oil to her bath( in addition to Aveeno baby creamy oatmeal wash), they seem to have helped as she doesn't have noticeable flakes or build up around her quills anymore. 

Also, I accidentally left the light on in her room from about 9-10. I felt bad because she didn't come out at all during that time. I now know that she really prefers darkness. I was a bit anxious because there is a street light right outside the window that lets light in, and I didn't want to have to open and close the curtain everyday, but that light doesn't seem to bother her. (I could just leave it closed as I have a lamp on a timer from 6am - 7pm, but I like the natural light during the day).

I weighed her and counted her kibble this morning. She weighs 158 g! she's already gained over 20 grams (136 when I brought her home). She also ate 42 pieces of kibble. She is my little piggy.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Sounds to me like she will get a lot of attention from her new Mommy!!!!!!!!!


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

Mila looks so adorable, congratulations! Yours seemed to have grown quite a bit since!  Mine is a piggy too, I guess that's why they're called hedgehogs?


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## CeliSamurai (Oct 12, 2010)

Shadow being her brother is like a twin! He has the same "Stripe" on his back. Im not sure if it will stay either but I hope it does! Hes doing very well. Did you do anything to teach Mila how to use the litterbox? Because he doesnt seem to get what it is. Its under his wheel too. Other than that he stays clean I clean his cage often.


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

Mila isn't totally litter trained but she does make some effort in the main cage. I can't really tell when/where she urinates as it's probably being absorbed by the litter or fleece. I move her poo to her litter box and I find less and less of it around the main cage.
However the loft is another story... I put a lot of effort into making it, so im very happy that she uses it at all. She sleeps in it and digs in it, and poops and pees in it  
I went to the dollar store and found a nice small dish so I plan to put it in the loft and hope that she will use it! 

I *think* the white stripe will stay. For sure through this quilling. She is shedding white quills that are MUCH smaller in both length and width (look more like hair from a jack russel than quills). 

Did you find the food that Michelle gave you contained all three catfoods? I don't think mine did... Mila got an upset stomach from the wellness and natural balance.(she also annointed on them which to me seems like they are new to her). The sample Michelle gave me seemed like only purina...


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## CeliSamurai (Oct 12, 2010)

I think she gave me the full mixture, not sure. I cant find where to get the natural balance stuff. But I found the other 2. He hasnt annointed anything yet. Does Mila like the dry mealworms? I'm not sure if Shadow does, he always turns it down. But I have put it in his dish a few times and he seems to eat it.


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