# Socializing a New Hedgehog



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

I have had my new hedgehog for five days now; I brought him home from a store here in Korea on Saturday, and it is Wednesday now. I carried him on the initial trip from the store to my apartment, which involved about an hour-and-a-half on a subway and bus, partly in my hand, and partly in my coat pocket for warmth; he seemed fine with that. (I'm saying "he," but I'm not sure of the hog's gender; its name is Tugger.)

Tugger's home was already set up: A large wire cage with a solid floor, a good-sized wooden hide house, food bowl, water bottle, and a small litter pan with corn cob litter. On Monday I bought a large solid-construction wooden hedgehog exercise wheel, and I re-arranged the cage so that everything fits comfortably and there is still plenty of room for Tugger to move around, even when he doubles in size, which I think he will. He's quite small now; I think he's pretty young. The housing looks good for him. He has not discovered the purpose of the exercise wheel yet.

Tugger has shown a healthy appetite for his hedgehog food, has been drinking plenty, and pooping normally. I put a piece of teeshirt with my scent inside his hide house for a blanket, and he is certainly using it. 

I have taken him out of the cage just twice briefly so far. I haven't wanted to rush him, and have wanted to give him time to get used to his new home. He has met my very peaceable 15-year-old Birman cat Claire, and my six-month-old spunky male Lionhead rabbit Benjamin. Tugger did not seem alarmed by either animal and did not ball up. The others seemed curious about him, and friendly-like. So far so good there!

Should I start to take Tugger out of his cage for a daily half-hour with me now? Has he had enough time to start to settle in? When I do take him out, should I only do so if he is already up and about (which is a little hard to time properly)? I hate to take him out of the hide house, but my best window of opportunity for playtime is at night between 10:30 PM and 12:30 AM, and I don't want to waste it. I teach ESL at a Korean adult academy. on a split shift (6:30-11:30 AM, 6:00-10:00 PM). 

When I have had Tugger out, he has only balled up once or twice (maybe when I moved a bit too quickly?). He has been climbing on my hand or lap in a pretty friendly way. So I am hopeful that he will be a sociable pet.


----------



## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Welcome to HHC!

From what you've written it sounds like Tugger will be a very sociable hedgehog, that's the great thing about these guys, their personalities are very diverse, some can be very timided and stressed, others won't be. If he's only balled up on you a couple of times and is already out and exploring and climbing on you, I'd say he's not overly stressed out about anything. Its part of their nature to be defensive towards quick movements and such, because it could possibly be a predator coming at them, but if he's exploring and crawling around with his quills down, he's definitely a happy hog.

Well, if he/she doesn't ball up on you, you can check the sex. Just look at his underbelly, if there is a 'belly button' looking thing near the middle of his stomach, then he's indeed a boy. If there's nothing there, then he is a she. The belly button of course is actually his penis.

With the way he's acting, it sounds like he's already adjusted pretty well to his new home, and I'd say you're good to take him out nightly. Time wise is up to you, many owners will take their hedgies out in the early evening, say between 7pm and 9pm, but usually does involve waking them up. Most hedgies will be grumpy about being woken up at first, but they calm down pretty quickly. I'm kind of the same way about my guys, I hate waking them up (or anyone for that matter) so I usually wait for them to get up, or pretty close. My guys always wake up between 10:30 and 11pm, so I'd say set "10:30pm" as Hedgehog time, its always good to kind of schedule the time, hedgie will get use to the schedule.

There are two things I would change about his enclosure. First would be his hide house, wood can habor mites and fleas while also being hard to clean, plastic works out the best. Most people use pet igloos sold at pet stores, not sure if they sell them locally in Korea but there's always ordering online too. You can also make them out of per say a plastic storage container, I use a 12 quart storage container with my guys and like it because I can remove them while they're asleep to clean the cage without having to really wake them up. The other is the corn cob litter, this type of litter has been known to get caught up in their private parts, especially males. Also if available there's a product called Yesterday's News which is a pellet type litter made from recycle paper. Many others just use paper towels.

A healthy appetite is also a good sign that he's not stressed out. Food wise if its an actual food made for hedgehogs, you may want to check into alternatives. Most owners here feed their hedgehogs high quality cat food, as commercial hedgehog food tends to be actually not so good for them. Here's the link to the recommended list..

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15

Again I'm not sure what will actually be available to you in Korea, the main thing is looking for a high quality cat food that has roughly 35% Protein and 15% or less fat that doesn't have too much filler like corn, and possibly made from real meat. If nothing on the recommended list is available to you, you an always post up foods here and other members can tell you if its a good or not.

Last the two things I like to tell people, Heat & Light are very important to prevent a hibernation attempt, warmth being the most important. Hedgehogs need to be kept between 23'C and 26'C degree, anything lower than 23'C may cause hedgie to attempt hibernation, which isn't a good thing. Light is also important, they need a source of light for at least 12 hours a day, during the daytime. Don't depend on the sun. You don't need a special light, just the room light kept on or many owners will setup a light near or on the cage, with a timer so the light turns on and off at the same time everyday.

Besides that, it sounds like you two are well on your way.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Welcome to HHC & Congrats on Tugger!
You can also use fleece or flannel for the bottom of the cage. It's safe, soft, re-usable & inexpensive. The only thing to look out for is that there are no threads, because they can get wrapped around little hedgie legs & cause damage. 
It sounds like you four have hit it off! Let us know how things go & if you have any other questions.


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

Wow, thanks for all the detailed advice! It's very helpful to a new owner like myself.


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

I had Tugger out for a half-hour tonight, in my hand and in my lap, and it went well. I checked the sex and he is indeed a boy. He is still a little tentative, but I would expect that. I think that as he feels more and more secure in his surroundings, he will blossom as a personality. He seems quite sweet-natured. My rabbit Benjamin was very cool about Tugger tonight, sitting right next to us and taking a friendly interest in his new housemate. I watched Tugger for signs of distress about that, and there were none; he didn't seem to mind Benjamin's proximity. I always have had luck mixing species; it seems to be a talent of mine. 

So, good going, so far.


----------



## I<3Hejji (Aug 29, 2010)

It sounds like you two are a good match! Generally it seems to take hedgehogs much longer to warm up to their owner, but Tugger seems really comfortable with you! Congrats on your boy and welcome to HHC!


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

I<3Hejji said:


> It sounds like you two are a good match! Generally it seems to take hedgehogs much longer to warm up to their owner, but Tugger seems really comfortable with you! Congrats on your boy and welcome to HHC!


Thank you for the kind welcome. Yes, Tugger and I are doing very well! And the other pets have been quite pleasant about the new addition to the family. The main development I would like to see now is for Tugger to discover the purpose of his exercise wheel, but I'm sure that will come. When he does, I think that Claire Cat and Benjamin Bunny will probably enjoy watching him!


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

Tugger used his exercise wheel last night! The way it came about may provide a helpful example to others. For Tugger's socializing time, I bought a medium-depth plastic storage tub and lined it with newspaper. I put in small food and water containers and all his toys, including two exercise wheels, large and medium (the medium-sized wheel seems a smidge small for Tugger, but you never know). There is also a hamster seesaw that he likes manipulating with his snout.

After taking Tugger out of his cage and handling him for a while, I put him in the tub and let him explore, which he did, thoroughly. He got on the large exercise wheel and took it for a few spins.

The tub was on the floor, so that I could sit next to it, and the cat and the rabbit could come by and watch and interact, which they did. Tugger did not mind their presence and everything was very friendly. I kept him in the tub for about an hour-and-a-half, during which I continued to talk to him and make my hands available for sniffing. He didn't eat anything during that time, but he did drink quite a bit. 

Tugger is not balling up at all when I pick him up; he seems to have accepted my hands as a safe zone.

All told, this experiment seemed very successful, so the "Tugger Tub" will now become a daily routine!


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

"Tuggers don't jump, they bounce!" Sorry for the Winnie the Pooh reference. Just had to do it. Sounds like you guys are having a ball! Very glad that everything is going well. Feel free to post any pictures of your little group any time you want! *hint, hint*


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

PJM said:


> "Tuggers don't jump, they bounce!" Sorry for the Winnie the Pooh reference. Just had to do it. Sounds like you guys are having a ball! Very glad that everything is going well. Feel free to post any pictures of your little group any time you want! *hint, hint*


I think that Tugger's name came equally from Tigger and from the Rum-Tum-Tugger, one of T.S. Eliot's poetic cats that the famous musical is based on.

I was a lot influenced by the Pooh stories when I was growing up, also by _The Wind in the Willows_, all of Beatrix Potter's tales, and Hugh Lofting's _Doctor Dolittle_ novels. I have some fairly pronounced Doctor Dolittle tendencies myself, obviously!

I have some great photographs on my Korean cell phone camera, including one of the entire threesome from last night, but I need to get an infrared adapter to be able to transport them over to my laptop, which is not currently infrared-enabled. Soon I'll do that.


----------



## Patrick Murtha (Dec 14, 2010)

Tugger continues to do very well. He is quite relaxed in my hands and seems to enjoy attention. I used the "teeshirt trick" to get him used to my smell, and it certainly seems to have worked. He has a charming, friendly nature, and accepts the other animals (as they do with him, also). I ordered freeze-dried mealworms to use as treats and a bonding tool, and I am looking forward to offering them to him. He has a robust appetite and I think he'll enjoy that. Already in just ten days, I think he has filled out a little bit! It always pleases me to watch my pets eat and drink happily, because that means they are in good health and enjoying their lives.


----------



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

That's wonderful news! I'm sure he'll enjoy the mealworms.


----------

