# Tips and Tricks



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I don't know if this will help anyone else. I am usually short for time in the mornings. I get up early, clean wheels, replace food & water, check hedgies, hide treats and leave. Doesn't take much time, however, it's a bit of a chore to count kibble. Especially since I am still in the process of introducing new kibble. 
I happened to see one of those pill boxes & thought it just might work. I can do the kibble mix ahead of time & all I have to do in the mornings is just dump it into the bowl. It allows me the ability to gradually increase new kibble too, without having to figure it out every morning.
Anyway, it's been working great for me & I thought I would share.

Do you have any helpful tips and suggestions you would like to share??


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

That is a great idea PJM! Those pill boxes are so easy to find and inexpensive besides.


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

Great idea! Thanks for sharing!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

That's an awesome idea! I'm totally gonna do this from now on


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

great idea!

well, this may not be so useful, but covering Harvey's cage with a blanket at night for extra warmth had an unexpected "side effect": it *drastically* increased his level of activity. forget about Harvey being on the restful side of things.  

so this is something to try with incoming adult hedgies who don't seem too active... my room is obviously dark at night but it wasn't dark enough.


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## NoDivision (Aug 29, 2010)

I might try covering part of *inster name here*'s cage as well, just to see what happens.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Hedgie Tip: A good way to trim a hedgehog's toe nails is by doing it when they are in the bath, they do not ball up and many are just too distracted with trying to escape, might take a little wrestling with them but it helps big time, versus trying to do it out in the open.

(not a new tip but good to ad to this thread)

Ditto on the darkness as fracturedcircle mentioned above, I started doing this and had at least a jump of double activity in both my hogs. My room was dark except for the tv and monitor glow, but even that proved too much for poor Loki, who went from sleeping most of the night to wheeling most of the night.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I use pill boxes too! I have separate foods Inky eats so I count and separate them out for each day. It saves a LOT of time when I'm rushing to get his food out to him at night before he wakes up!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Ok, all of you people suggesting pill boxes are genius! I can't believe I didn't think of something like that sooner. Herc gets 3 different types of food mixed together, and it's such a pain to have to get up at crazy o'clock (also known as 5am) to count pieces of kibble. I could hug you all! 

How many kibbles do you guys feed a night? Do you think 50-60 kibbles would fit in a pill box? He gets a blend of 8 in 1 Ultra Select (still weaning him off it), Chicken Soup Light, and Blue Spa Select Light, so they're not exactly tiny kibbles.


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

I am a new hedgie owner, so pardon my dumb question, but it sounds like I should be giving a specific amount of food each night? So far, I have just kept his little bowl about half full and he can eat as much as he likes. He doesn't eat it all, maybe 1/3-1/2 of what is there. Should I be doing something different?


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Sheryl, you are doing great by letting him have as much as he wants. That's what's recommended. It's a good idea to keep count of the kibble so you can tell if there is a change of some kind. It can help to alert you if you have a sick hedgie. 
What you do is count a bunch out, leave it overnight. Then count it again the next day & see how much they ate. The goal is to give them just a little more than they eat. Not only helps you to keep track in case there is a health issue, but also keeps the kibble fresh longer. 
And as far as having a mix - most of us use a couple different kinds of food, because there isn't 1 perfect kibble for hedgies yet. And when you introduce a new kind, you want to do it gradually so it doesn't upset their tummy. The pill boxes are great for that too. 1 new kibble, then 3, then 6, then 10. or whatever.


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

Ah! Thanks, PJ. That makes sense.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Sheryl said:


> I am a new hedgie owner, so pardon my dumb question, but it sounds like I should be giving a specific amount of food each night? So far, I have just kept his little bowl about half full and he can eat as much as he likes. He doesn't eat it all, maybe 1/3-1/2 of what is there. Should I be doing something different?


Hi Sheryl,

It's never a dumb question! I used to give Hercules a couple of spoonfuls of food a night and just refill every morning, but he's been sick twice in the last 2 months. Both times, I thought he wasn't eating as much (which sometimes can be a sign something is wrong), but I couldn't really tell. So, I read on this forum about counting kibble to make sure he eats and I just got into the habit of doing that, so I can stay on top of things if he stops eating again. Also, I seem to waste less because I know around how much he eats, so I don't overfill and have to throw it away in the morning.


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## Marc00 (Sep 9, 2010)

Yeah should there be a certain number of kibbles per hedgehog? Does the amount depend on the age and size of the hedgie?


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## Marc00 (Sep 9, 2010)

Never Mind. Thanks.


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## Xena (Sep 14, 2010)

Hi everyone...I am new to the forum and have two hedgies that are sisters...

They recently stopped spinning completely, which really bothered me. Was it the wheel? Did they hate me? What am I doing wrong?

So when we got home from work yesterday, my husband tried the trick of covering their cage with a blanket and placing treats on the wheel. Literally within 15 minutes there was mad, crazy spinning noises heard from the cage. We lifted up the blanket to peek, and the two of them were trying to spin together on the same wheel.

Needless to say, whatever this blanket trick does for them, it worked! They spun for at least 6 hours...


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Xena said:


> Hi everyone...I am new to the forum and have two hedgies that are sisters...
> 
> They recently stopped spinning completely, which really bothered me. Was it the wheel? Did they hate me? What am I doing wrong?
> 
> ...


awesome!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Xena said:


> So when we got home from work yesterday, my husband tried the trick of covering their cage with a blanket and placing treats on the wheel. Literally within 15 minutes there was mad, crazy spinning noises heard from the cage. We lifted up the blanket to peek, and the two of them were trying to spin together on the same wheel.
> 
> Needless to say, whatever this blanket trick does for them, it worked! They spun for at least 6 hours...


That's so good to hear! My Zoey is like that, we've discovered. She likes total darkness. Would have never thought of it on my own. Gotta love this site!


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## AmyLiz (Sep 16, 2010)

I have a brand new hedgie that i brought home yesterday (10 weeks old) and shes a doll. Shes already social, eating fine, using her litter pan, etc. I'm quite pleased that shes not traumatized from her move to a new home  . 

Theres only one thing...She did not have a wheel at the pet store i found her in, so she doesnt seem to have a clue as to what it is or how to use it.

Any tips on getting her to figure out what it is?

Its a Carolina wheel.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

another tip: when we first got Sweetie, he'd quickly lose patience cuddling with me. so i thought OK, he's done cuddling. then i gave him some water and--lo and behold--he immediately calmed down. now it's part of the routine--he lets me know when he gets thirsty, he gets his water from a little cup, and off we go cuddling again.


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