# New to forum & ownership



## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Hello everyone! I have a few questions I would like your input on! I got Buddy 2 days ago so I’m still learning Buddy’s personality and hedgie behavior. So the first night he did what I thought was typical behavior, slept in his hide and ran on his wheel (along with eat, drink, poop and pee of course). But yesterday and last night was different. He slept in his food dish a few times and I didn’t hear (or see) him run on his wheel much. I guess my main concern is, is he ok? Is this normal? 🏻 Thanks in advance!


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

I think it might be a getting used to his surroundings. 
Did his wheel have any sign of being used - like having poo on it ??
To he honest for the first like week, when they are settling they tend to change how they act. The first day I got Holly she slept in her hide then for the rest of that first week and half the second week that I had Holly, she would sleep anywhere but her hide, I started to put her back into her hide to get her to know she can go in there, just incase she thought wasn't able to, I dont know if it really helped but she did start sleeping in her hide !!

For the wheel if you have one like the Caroline storm wheel you could try change the tilt so its more upright, most people find that helps. Another reason for not using the wheel could be due to getting used to surroundings, and another reason could be the wheel is too small so he struggles running comfortably - This is a much rarer one though since most people get the right size wheel.

To be honest if he's eating and drinking still I wouldn't be overly worried about how he is acting for the first week or two while he's getting use to his new home.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Thanks Ria! He’s pooping, peeing and eating but no signs of wheeling last night. Poop is near his food dish. The wheel I got is what was recommended so I think I’m good there. His temp is 73-78, I think that’s what worries me most. Is it too hot, too cold? I know it varies by hedgie on what their preference is, but how do I know what his is?


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Do you know what the size of the wheel is ?? They should be at least 12" anything smaller is too small.

That cage looks quite small, whats the dimensions ?? Most people like to get at least 2ft by 2ft. Holly's vivarium is 2ft wide by almost 4ft long 
Zoozone 2 cages are exactly the right minimum size (I cant remember the measurements though) 

As for heat, most hedgehogs like it around 74. (I'm working in degrees c here now) Holly likes her cage at 25 to 26.5 She can go down to 24.5 and be okay, but anything lower than 24.5 she gets too cold. Anything higher than 27 is too hot.
The way I could tell was I played with the temps. I started having it at 24 as thats what the breeder kept her at, but she didn't like it and tried to hibernate. So I just put it up, until I found the temps she was most active at so I kept it there and then just remembered it.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

I’ll have to check dimensions of cage and wheel size to be for sure. I was though cage is good size for his while life. 😞 He’s only 7 weeks now. The wheel is the biggest they had. I’ll get back to you with the sizes later this morning, I have to go to work now. Also his temp has been at 75-77, when I first brought him home (and he was more active) it was lower, about 73-75. Maybe he prefers it at that? Quick question, how long have you owned hedgehogs?


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

Hey there! Sorry to jump in... it’s totally normal for them to switch up where they sleep (though I’ve never had one curl up in a food dish like that. Not gonna lie it’s adorable) lol. A lot of people who recommend hedgehogs as pets or even supplies for hedgehogs don’t fully understand their needs unfortunately. The house is a bit small, but the way you can counter that without upgrading (though I recommend) is to give him LOTS of out of house time to run around, whether it be on your bed, floor, or what have you. 
As for heat, hedgehogs can prefer a range from about 72-80 so there’s definitely wiggle room. It sounds like he’s doing great, but it will take him upwards of a couple of weeks to fully adjust to his new surroundings!
Hope this helps 🙂


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

I'm not sure if the cage just looks a bit small in the picture, it could well be the right size. More toys may help him be a bit more active, it could be because its not very "cluttered" with things he which he may prefer. Tunnels and balls are good things to have in there even if they aren't used.
The plastic platform I know it acts a double platform and hide, but try taking it out and putting in a igloo hide, or something like that, and see if that makes a difference to him sleeping in or out of his hide. 

The only way you can really tell what temp your hedgehog likes is by testing it. Try putting it back to the temp that it was when you first brought him home and see if he becomes more active. 

I did research for like a year and half and have had hedgehogs for a year. 
I've looked after friends hedgehogs and I've done bits for wild hedgehogs. Holly is my fist one from baby she's a year old today. I sorta adopted one from my friend when she ran out of time to look after him when he got ill, and I just did everything the way she had and for the medication ect, and then he ended up dying because it wasnt a fixable thing, but he died at 5 and I had him for about 7 months


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Do you have anything in that house for him to snuggle up in? Something like a blanket, cuddle sack, etc. I'd wonder if he's sleeping in the bowl because it gives him some sense of security; try offering him something to snuggle with in his house - even one of your old t-shirts, so he can get familiar with your scent.

Is his heat lamp connected to a thermostat? What's the wattage of the bulb? My concern is that it looks really, really high up and given that you have a barred cage, the CHE has to work harder to maintain appropriate temps. At night, the temperature could be dropping - controlled via thermostat or not - and he could be too cold to sleep anywhere else, so he's attempting to sleep directly under the heater. Do you know what his nighttime temperatures are reading?

Another possibility is that he could very well be stuck. I know it's not a steep drop, and some hedgehogs are fearless (and they have crappy depth perception) so will just leap off, but some appear to have some sense of knowing where the edge is and just being too afraid to get down. 

He could just be confused, and will start sleeping in his house as he settles in, but I'd still double check is night time temps. 

With regards to wheel activity; how wide is the running track?... It looks a little narrow; I'd recommend looking into bucket wheels, if you havent already. 

I also don't know what his cage size is, but hedgehogs are incredibly active animals and the 2ft by 2ft minimum is wildly accepted by many to be outdated. The absolute minimum cage size is 4ft x 2ft, or equating to 8 square feet.


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

My first thought was that he was trying to get as close to the heat lamp as possible. Where is the probe for the thermometer? I have 2 separate ones for my tank and have noticed that one side of the cage can be a different temp than the other. 

I agree that a snuggle sack would be a good idea -- some place he can curl up and be covered too.

I've also read that hedgehogs aren't too fond of open spaces. It is a good thing - for them- to have a more cluttered or filled cage. Tunnels, hideys, toys, etc. can provide both cover and interesting things to explore.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Thanks for all your input, it’s much appreciated! I did research but then I got him and got in freak out mode! 😕 Ok, so his wheel is 12” and his home is L34”xW19xH23” (inches). I’m going to make him a few flannel hides now and remove that plastic thing in there. Only problem is he poops and pees at the top of the gray plastic thing near his food. Maybe dim flat sheets of newspaper in that area after I remove the plastic will work for him to do his business?
The temp in there at all times has been 75-78 (F) but when I first got him (and he was more active) it was about 72-74(F).
Thanks again for all your input!! 🙂


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Also he was sleeping in his hide this morning and when I got home he was back in his food dish.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

You could get a little tray and use shredded paper towels or just use what your using as bedding for litter as well, if you put it under the wheel it will catch whatever falls off once he start getting more active the wheel will basically become his toilet area.
I wouldnt put newspaper there mainly because of the ink, if it gets really wet the ink starts running which can become dangerous. 

Flannels arent the bet thing to use either, because of the way they are made they can get nails caught in the flannel very easy and get hurt. If you have a lot fleece blankets, you could turn one into a pouch - Cut it to a decent size then just sew it up to make a light pouch it wont keep itself open, but he'll be able to get in and out especially if you leave a fair bit of wiggle room, it will be far safer than using the flannel

I think he may be moving to his food bowl to get to the heat because under the plastic level the heat probably isnt getting in there well if at all.
That or he's waking up in the day to snack at the feed then gets lazy and just sleeps in the bowl !!. Although the first one seems a bit more likely than the second. 

Try putting the temp to where it was when you first got him and then see how is goes.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Where is the probe for the thermometer and thermostat?....

My suggestions; you can remove the plastic hide, and offer him something like loose fleece blanket to snuggle in instead. Or place a blanket inside his house, whichever works best for you. Personally, I think it’s warmer for them to have a blanket pile under their heat lamp: it creates a warmer sleeping area, in my experience at least. I would also suggest to move the CHE to hang from inside the cage; I really cannot see how a CHE would heat a barred cage effectively from such a massive distance. But you absolutely must hook this up to a thermostat and monitor it with a digitital thermometer (that has a probe inside his enclosure) so you can see how warm your cage is getting. I don’t see any probes - which makes me concerned. 

Most newspaper should be soy based, so ‘ink’ running shouldn’t be a huge issue.. albeit messy. However, if you want to be on the safe side: you can offer him something like a shallow baking tray filled with a safe litter (I.e wood based cat litter) to use as a litter tray. He’s still young though; so his litter habits may change, and he could prefer a different area once the house is removed.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

So this is his new set up. Kind of bare I know. I’m going to make him another fleece hide in a tube shape. I changed he food bowl to something smaller. He’s hiding behind his wheel now so I left him alone and I’ll check on him in a bit. I didn’t want to over stimulate him. Now that plastic thing is not blocking the heat. I hope this is better. Not saying that he wasn’t happy or things were bad. He was actually a little active now that I was moving stuff around. I was holding him for a bit and he was all squirmy.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

One more thing! I connected a thermometer with a probe in the cage and it’s reading 77F now. I was going to put heat bulb hanging inside but I was afraid it would get too hot.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Buddysmom said:


> One more thing! I connected a thermometer with a probe in the cage and it's reading 77F now. I was going to put heat bulb hanging inside but I was afraid it would get too hot.


Yes, you need to get a thermostat. Using unregulated CHE bulbs is incredibly dangerous. Using a thermostat would ensure the temperate stays within an appropriate range; and it would never get too hot, nor too cold.


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

PS he’s adorable


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

EMC, here is picture of thermometer probe.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Aj.t said:


> PS he's adorable


. Thank you! &#128522;


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Buddysmom said:


> EMC, here is picture of thermometer probe.


It's great that you a thermometer! But you really need a thermometer *and* a thermostat.  Your CHE bulb is awfully high and given that you already have a barred cage, at the height its situated at I'm really wondering if it's effective at all - especially a nighttime when the temperature will inevitably drop. To ensure the safety of your hedgehog, all heating equipment absolutely must be used with a thermostat; this will turn the bulb off when it gets too hot, and will turn it on when it gets too cold.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Emc said:


> Buddysmom said:
> 
> 
> > EMC, here is picture of thermometer probe.
> ...


Forgive me for my ignorance, what does that look like and can I get that at any pet supply store? &#128533;


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

Hey there! This isn't the exact one I use (mine was a bit cheaper so I'm sure you can find a comparable one). It has a plug where you plug in the lamp to the thermostat then you plug the actual thermostat into the wall. This will regulate the temperature that up set to turn the lamp off or on if it gets too hot or cold! 
https://www.petmountain.com/product...pIL3UDMJOzHA9fG_Qwm0P8Lw-f23V02saAgBrEALw_wcB


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Buddysmom said:


> Forgive me for my ignorance, what does that look like and can I get that at any pet supply store? &#128533;


No worries at all, you're fine: There's no 'set' appearance of a thermostat - it varies on brand. Aj.t linked you to one already, but here's the one I use. As you can see, they look vastly different.

Most pet stores should carry them, especially if they stock reptiles. Nonetheless if you can't find one locally, you can order them on amazon for relatively cheap. There's different types of thermostats; pulse, dimming, and on/off. With ceramic heat emitters, pulse thermostats are the preferred option (they send 'pulses' of electricity to the bulb vs something like an on/off thermostat which will just feed full power or none at all - I hope that's not too confusing!) but I use a regular, on/off thermostat and it honestly works just fine.

You need to check the wattage of your CHE though to ensure you get the correct thermostat. I.e if you have a 150watt bulb, a 100watt thermostat would be overloaded.


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

If it all sounds confusing to you, the following video goes over how to set up a thermostat with a CHE, and thermometers.





As Emc said, there are many looks to various thermostats. This is the one I use.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Mecki said:


> If it all sounds confusing to you, the following video goes over how to set up a thermostat with a CHE, and thermometers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


CHE? I look for thermostat with CHE and thermometers?


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

This is what I found but I can’t find it cheaper than $37 (US). Anything else that would work for cheaper?


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

This is a little less...
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temp...7450&s=gateway&sprefix=inkbir,aps,252&sr=8-16

Just looked back at your heat bulb and noticed you have it in a guard which isn't necessary when you have it over a metal roof anyway. You should get a dome in place of that guard. The dome will direct the heat downward. Just be sure the wattage of the bulb correlates with the specs of the dome's socket. Here is an example:
https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Premiu...for+heat+bulb&qid=1555827737&s=gateway&sr=8-6


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## Mecki (Nov 4, 2017)

Your bulb goes in the dome. The cord from the dome is plugged into the thermostat. The thermostat gets plugged into the wall outlet. The thermostat has a probe that will read the temp which will be displayed on the thermostat (at least it displays on the thermostat shown here). Having an additional, separate thermometer is a good idea. I believe you already have one.


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Mecki said:


> This is a little less...
> https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temp...7450&s=gateway&sprefix=inkbir,aps,252&sr=8-16
> 
> Just looked back at your heat bulb and noticed you have it in a guard which isn't necessary when you have it over a metal roof anyway. You should get a dome in place of that guard. The dome will direct the heat downward. Just be sure the wattage of the bulb correlates with the specs of the dome's socket. Here is an example:
> https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Premiu...for+heat+bulb&qid=1555827737&s=gateway&sr=8-6


Awesome, thank you! I was debating on the dome too, darn it! I can exchange what I have for it, no problem! &#128077;&#127996;


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Will this work?


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

That looks like a comparable option! It sounds like there’s some sort of audible alert that tells you if you’ve reached your temp limit, so that’s great. Ideally, you’d want a thermostat that can automatically turn the lamp off if it gets too hot instead of just TELLING you it’s hot, but if this is the only you can find in your area and you’re at home often, it should work fine 🙂


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Aj.t said:


> That looks like a comparable option! It sounds like there's some sort of audible alert that tells you if you've reached your temp limit, so that's great. Ideally, you'd want a thermostat that can automatically turn the lamp off if it gets too hot instead of just TELLING you it's hot, but if this is the only you can find in your area and you're at home often, it should work fine &#128578;


I didn't get it because I'd rather have one that turned off and on automatically. I'll get one online. I went to 2 pet supply store and that's all I found. Oh well, it's getting warmer here now so I only need it on at night. I'm going to order online tonight.
Thanks! &#128578;


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Emc said:


> Buddysmom said:
> 
> 
> > EMC, here is picture of thermometer probe.
> ...


What does CHE stand for? Ceramic heat emitter?


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## Brooke Lancelot (Jan 30, 2019)

Yeap!


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

This is will work right?


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## Aj.t (Jan 29, 2019)

Definitely! I think that’s even the exact “upgraded one” that I have


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## Buddysmom (Apr 20, 2019)

Awesome, I finally found one! I ordered it and it should be here Monday.


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