# Hedgehog moving slow



## jon012001 (Dec 29, 2015)

Hello. Today, I noticed that my hedgehog is acting strange. I took him outside but he was moving slow, I'm hoping that maybe he is tired or something like that. He was also moving a bit wobbly, which is scaring me. I've had my hedgehog for 3 years now, he is albino and I've heard that they only live for about 3 years. Anyone know an answer to this? I'm hoping he was just tired since it is a bit early in the morning, but I just wanna make sure, thanks!


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

First, husbandry questions. 
Heat.....
-Do you have a heating system? If so what is it? 
-How warm is he cage? Low and high temps?
-Is the cage heated uniformly? Is one area warmer or cooler area? 

Light...
-How are you proving light?
-How many hours of light is she getting?
-When it's dark is there any light in the room from electronics, night lights, outside, or adjoining rooms?

General questions...
-Runny nose?
-Cold belly?


----------



## jon012001 (Dec 29, 2015)

No runny nose, the temperature seems fine and normal in the cage, he gets a lot of light, I don't have a heater the temperature is kinda cold in the house but the vent doesn't hit him (I forgot to mention he's male, sorry) directly. I've also seen he hasn't eaten much from last night since he stays up all night. He likes to eat a lot so I was also kinda worried about that, I haven't noticed it until now.


----------



## Leeloosmommy (Oct 14, 2015)

I think you need to heat his cage. Do you have a thermometer in the cage?


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Without a heating source, if your house is cool so is his cage. 
Sounds like he is attempting to hibernate. You need to warm him. 
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/62-hibernation/18-hibernation.html
Once he's warmed up, you need a way to keep him warm.
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/113-heating/4048-heating-your-hedgehog-s-cage-simplified.html


----------



## jon012001 (Dec 29, 2015)

I've searched up some ways to heat him up since both of the links don't to open. I can't do some of the options but I've seen that the best way to heat him up is to hold him and keep him warm inside your shirt. Would that work? For heating up the cage, does putting towels on top of the cage work to heat it up?


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

To get to those links...
First one. From the main page go to the health section. And click the link that says hibernation.
There are two posts that are pinned at the top (stickies) it's right there.

Second one was in the housing section under heating. 

Yes holding him against your shirt will work to warm him up. 
Without a heating system for his cage, towels will do no good. You will need a digital thermometer, and a heating source. The heating source can be a space heater or a CHE setup, that consists of a ceramic heat emitter, a lamp that is rated for a CHE, and a themostat.


----------



## jon012001 (Dec 29, 2015)

Oh alright then, thank you so much. I hope what he is trying to do is hibernate, I will try to get those things for him. Thank you so much for the answers!


----------



## Slava (May 29, 2015)

jon012001 said:


> Oh alright then, thank you so much. I hope what he is trying to do is hibernate, I will try to get those things for him. Thank you so much for the answers!


just wondering, how did you ever get a hedgehog without knowing they need heat? no heat is like torture for them, and what?


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

It happens more than you'd think and it's not always the persons fault. 
Books on hedgehogs are outdated. 
Some breeders will give out incorrect or outdated information. 
Pet store employee may not be trained to educate buyers.
Not everyone looks everything up online.
Some sources online are just wrong.

I don't think the op was knowingly doing something wrong. The best thing we can do is go with the assumption that any person that comes on here wants the best for their animal, and may just not know any better than what they are doing until they show us differently. Then give them the information we have in a friendly manner, and remember we were all new at one point.


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Slava said:


> just wondering, how did you ever get a hedgehog without knowing they need heat? no heat is like torture for them, and what?


Slava that was a very rude and uncalled for comment. Many people don't know hedgehogs require heat and accusing them of torturing them is not helpful or productive. Please think before you comment.


----------

