# Babies are 2 weeks old!



## AmptheWaldo (Apr 9, 2015)

It's been 2 weeks since the mama gave birth to her 3 hoglets.
all are alive and well.

I read that I can now change the cage except the nest area, is this true?
Or am I in the safe zone now to touch either the mama and the babies?
The way I normally change the cage is that I take out the hedgehogs, water, food, everything important, and then I dump everything else out in the trash easy.
But I know things are different now due to the babies.

Advice and tips for the next step?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

No, you cannot change the cage. You can start to take out a handful of dirty bedding away from the nest to replace with a handful of clean bedding, once a day. Continue to leave the nest alone completely (as far as cleaning or moving anything). You cannot clean the entire cage until the babies are weaned & moved out of the cage. Even once they're as old as 4-5 weeks old, cleaning the entire cage risks freaking mom out enough that she could injure or kill the babies.

You can start to handle the babies a little, depending on mom's reaction. If she's out of the nest & eating some treats or something, you can take one baby out & handle it for a few seconds. Put baby back & see how mom reacts to the whole procedure. If she gets very upset or starts attacking the babies, then no more handling for at least several days. If she doesn't mind, then you can handle a baby for a little longer the next day, and so on. Go slow and keep a close eye on how mom feels about the whole thing.  Good luck!


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## AmptheWaldo (Apr 9, 2015)

Mama doesn't often come out of the nesting area, so that may be difficult. 
She basically has half of her cage covered with spread out fluff and she huffs if I move any of the fluff.
Also I read I can't touch the babies with my bare hand because if my scent gets on babies, the mama will eat them.


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## AmptheWaldo (Apr 9, 2015)

Wait, would I even be able to touch the mama at all?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I think you can try holding a baby for a second even if mom's there, just watch for her reaction & if she gets too defensive. Touching mom isn't an issue either. And as far as I know, there should be no issue with touching babies with your bare hands. Mom knows your scent, so your scent alone shouldn't be the reason she eats them. If she's going to get upset, it would happen with or without your scent on them.

Nikki will hopefully see this & have more experienced advice for you.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

The story of mom killing the babies if you get your scent on them is just an old wives tail and isn't true at all. When newborn babies end up outside of the nest and are cold we always tell people to hold the babies in their hands to warm them up before giving them back to mom. Mom knows your scent, you feed her, hold her and clean her cage, she knows what you smell like. 

Is there a treat that mom really likes? like mealworms or something else? If so then put some treats in front of the nest so she can see and smell them. When she comes out for the treats you can quickly pick up a baby for just a second and put it back. Only hold one and only for a second. Watch how mom reacts when she goes back in the nest to see if she's upset from you holding the baby. If she's ok with it then tomorrow you can do the same thing with another baby. Just hold them for a second and only one at a time. If she's ok with it you can start holding one each day for a bit longer. Once they hit 3 weeks you can increase the time even more and hold more than one at a time. Don't take them all out at a time until they are around 5 weeks old.


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## AmptheWaldo (Apr 9, 2015)

We've had difficulty finding what treat she mama actually likes because she's so picky.

We've tried dried up worms but not meal ones because I think the meal worms were more expensive?
The reason I asked if it would be okay to touch the mama was because I figured I might be able to give her a bath, then leave her in the tub for just a minute while I go see the babies


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## AmptheWaldo (Apr 9, 2015)

Or have my fiance play with the mama away from the babies while I see them


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