# New hedgie! + question



## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

:3 I went and got this feller today http://twitpic.com/1zmu1u He (i'm sure it's a he) was very active and on the way home decided to fall asleep. He's out of the box and exploring his new home now. Keeps going back to the water bowl, he was very thirsty!

The question I have today is:
Is the product below something I can give to my hedgehog, or does he really not need it? I also have to slowly switch him over from the Hedgehog Diet 8 in 1 they were feeding, to Natural Balance Green pea and duck. Will this help his tummy adjust to the change?

The girl who helped me at the store gave me a package of Ornabac, which "contains Lactobacillus byproducts and Vitamin B." She says it to settle his tummy until he's used to his new home. Here's information on the back of the box:

Statement of Ingredients:
Processed Grain By-Products, Condensed Lactobacillus Frementation Solubles (I think they meant "fermentation"...?) and Vitamin B12 Supplement

Guaranteed Analysis:
(looks like it's within good ratios for hedgies)

Vitamins: 
Vitamin B12 - 0.006 mcg

Thank you  More pictures will be uploaded soon!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

It doesn't sound like it would hurt him too much but it also doesn't seem necessary... Usually rehoming stress will sort itself out quickly without a need for any acidophilus supplements.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Okay, thank you. I guess if I spot any tummy upset I'll try giving this to him. He seems to be doing well, I was able to pick him up for a bit and he was really active. Also ate some food and has been sleeping for 4 hours now. I have a feeling we'll get along quite well.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

While there aren't a whole lot of quills fallen out yet, I think my hedgehog has just started quilling, but I'm not sure. 

His skin, at least behind his ears, seems to be flaky and dry and I did find one random quill stuck to the fleece blanket in the cage today. Not to mention he's been huffy and hates it when I touch his quills, but is actually fine if I pet or touch his furry parts. (granted, at this stage he huffs up when my hand gets close at all)

I may try giving him a soothing bath in the next few days, but I just wanted to double-check.

**also** .... There seems to be something stuck to his nose. There was a tiny piece of aspen there, and then he got a piece of blue fluff on there which I managed to rub off with a fleece blanket... I think the aspen is still stuck there. How do I get it off tactfully? I don't want it to get infected and he won't stay still enough for me to take it out gently... Should I just go in there with tweezers?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

If you think he will be cooperative, you can try to use fine-pointed tweezers to grab the shaving. If you are afraid you'll push it in farther or that he won't sit still for it, I'd have to say take him to the vet and see if you can team up to get it out safely, or have him gassed and it removed. I guess it depends on how likely it will stay there and cause problems. :?


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Thank you LizardGirl... Fortunately I was able to be quick enough and grab hold of it with with pair of loooong tweezers I have, and I'm so relieved that I got it out instead of pulling it the wrong way and causing more damage. There was no blood once I removed it, and my hedgie stopped huffing just for a bit as if thinking "Oh! My nose stings a lot but there's nothing stuck in it anymore."

Now all I have to worry about is if he'll be grumpy forever. >: lol.

P.S. Do you think it's too early to try giving him a soothing bath for his dry skin?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Give him time. If he were truly grumpy, you would not have even been able to see his nose, let alone touch it with tweezers. :lol:


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

One thing that really stood out was that this little guy has not balled up on me at all. Only once, and that was because I woke him up and from under the fleece he was startled and confused. Even then he was quick to uncurl, even if he kept on huffing!

I've got another issue.... Are hedgehogs prone to having stuff stuck to their noses? This morning I noticed he's got another blue fluff stuck to his nose AGAIN.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Getting things stuck to their nose really isn't any more common than with a dog or cat. By any chance is his nose runny?


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Hi Nancy,
After reading your post I had a look today and he doesn't seem to have a runny nose. I believe the fluff as sticking to a wound on his nose, and when I put him back in the cage after removing the first fluff and piece of aspen he likely dug around in the hedgie sack and got the other piece of fluff stuck on the still-healing wound or up his nose. There's nothing on there since I removed the previous fluff, and the wound looks to be healing fine.

Thank you for your help 

I have chosen a name for him!  He is now Hedgeworth von Scrubs.


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## Amy1024 (Mar 18, 2010)

Congratz to you and Hedgeworth von Scrubs and good luck! I hope there's nothing wrong with his nose and it'll heal up soon


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Thank you Amy! Right now there's nothing wrong except for a speck of a dark, fleshy-looking bump on his nose. I'm really hoping it's just a scab that will fall off soon.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Well his nose has healed up some days ago. 

I have another question. What is a better time to pick your hedgie up for socializing? Hedgeworth sleeps a lot so I always have to wake him up. He seems ok but I feel like I'm causing him sleep-deprivation. o3o


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Thats such a cute hedgie name  For socializing every hedgies different but mine is happiest with me holding him around 10pm or later. There is a lot of ppl here though that get theirs up earlier in the evening and there hedgies seem fine with this too. I laugh though cause Hedgies have a way of letting us know sometimes without talking and it wont suprise me if your little one is the same and will end up letting you know what time he likes lol


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Then I will assume that if he's hissing and balling up it was a bad time to wake him! Haha.

It's 10:50pm right now, I saw him awake and moving around under the fleece blanket so I uncovered him and let him eat/drink a bit.. now he's snoozing in my lap uncovered oAo No crazy pooping/peeing either so that's really great for me. lol!

http://twitpic.com/21yrt0


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Quigley hisses at me no matter what time I wake him up. I get him out during the day to sleep on me if I'm watching a movie or something. Also he's happy to get up and go out for a walk in the park during the day. When he doesn't want to get up he pops and is in a tight ball. We don't have a really regular schedule because I work really odd hours (some days I'm home @ 1pm sometimes not till 10pm). If I'm home for the day he is usually out for a few hours with me but he lets me know if he wants to sleep or wants to play.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

My schedule is really odd too (I work at a theatre, so there is never a regular call time) and it happens that I just pick Phinneus up whenever I am home and have the chance. I like to pick him up earlier in the day and weigh him, and then at night when I am home from work I let him out to run around and explore.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Thanks for your replies :3 I have another question: When is a good time for a hedgie's first vet visit? I'm going to assume that they're good to go for a new-pet wellness check once they're settled in at their new homes. Please correct or confirm?

Thank you~

p.s. I got the location of a "very good vet" in my town, so I'll post info in the vet listings section once I meet them and confirm this second-hand information :0


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Faifai said:


> I'm going to assume that they're good to go for a new-pet wellness check once they're settled in at their new homes. Please correct or confirm?


i'd say yes.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Faifai said:


> When is a good time for a hedgie's first vet visit? I'm going to assume that they're good to go for a new-pet wellness check once they're settled in at their new homes. Please correct or confirm?


That's what I did.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Thank you :0 I'll call the clinic tomorrow and see if I can get an appointment for the weekend.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Ack! I've noticed that Hedgeworth has started dropping plenty of quills. He doesn't seem to have new quills growing out at skin-level (though he did a week or so ago) and he doesn't seem to be particularly itchy - just dry skin on his back despite the moisturizing bath yesterday, though he seems smooth and shiney behind the ears. We had a bit of a heat wave for a few days last week, but it's cooled down now, and I don't think I'm putting too much stress on him. What could this be about, then? I'll also ask the vet about it; the appointment is on the 20th.

Also, he seems to have acquired a habit of wedging himself under the litter pan that's under the wheel.... How do I discourage him from doing this? If it's because he's too hot, I accidentally stepped on the tile that was in his cage during the heat wave (which he never laid on) so.... what's another way to cool him down, short-term? XD Temperature is reading 77 F right now though.

Thank you!


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## illsley (Jul 16, 2010)

I would say you probably don't need it. Just make sure you are switching him to the new food slowly. You should feed him what he is used to and slowly mix in the new formula more and more every day. 

To avoid his stomach getting upset even moreso, I would also crush up the mixed food a little to ensure that he is getting an even more thorough mixture of the stuff. I had to do this for Smee (my little hoglet) because he was only eating two or three pellets at a time, which sort of defeats the purpose of slowly switching him to the new stuff (meaning, if those few pellets he chose to eat were all new food, his stomach would get upset). Once I crushed up the mixture his appetite actually improved greatly and he did not have any stomach trouble. 

Also, natural balance is a great brand to be switching him to. I feed mine natural balance reduced calorie formula. It is important that the food they eat not be more than 8-9% fat, since in the wild they eat mostly bugs, which are not very high in fat. I am not sure what the fat percentage is in the green pea and duck, so you might want to double check, but I think it should be fine. But as far as the brand of food goes it should be good quality. Nice choice!

P.S. Hedgeworth is an AMAZING name. My boyfriend suggested I name my little buddy Hedgeworth too, after Miles Edgeworth from the Phoenix Wright video games. I'd be interested to know if that was where your name came from! ;D

P.P.S. (Sorry for the second update) If he's dropping a ton of quills suddenly, he could be going through his adult quilling (between 9 and 10 weeks of age they do this, not sure how old Hedgeworth is though). Totally normal if this is the case, although you may find him suddenly grumpier because of it.


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Thank you illsley! I'll crush up the mixture a bit for sure and see how that goes.

The Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck is 12.0% minimum fat and 30.0% minimum protein, and contains omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. It even has canola oil and flaxseed in the ingredients.

Everyone likes his name! I'm glad x3 I thought about a name for a really long time, and eventually "Hedgeworth" really felt like a match. I didn't realize it was like Phoenix Wright names until aftewards - Edgeworth and von Karma. I guess Hedgeworth von Scrubs can be a hedgehog of justice. o3o

(Edgeworth is so _tsundere_ anyways, so I guess it kind of fits my own hedgie lol)

So... I guess he might be doing a bit of quilling. He's around 9 weeks old, I think... I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he's not going bald. He's not very grumpy at all though. Just the normal huffiness from being woken up.


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## illsley (Jul 16, 2010)

Sounds good! Yeah, I believe quilling varies among hedgies...between nine and twelve weeks if I remember correct? So that may or may not start happening soon; my breeder told me my little guy was due to start any day now when I got him, then literally the day after I brought him home he started itching at his quills (it might be the cutest thing you ever see, like a dog scratching his ears with his hind leg but hedgehog style). 

Sometimes they'll get grumpier during that time, sometimes you won't even notice a difference...Smee still lets me pet him and roll him on his back without getting frustrated :3

A hedgehog of justice...amazing!


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## Faifai (Jun 10, 2010)

Eeeeep. Hedgeworth poops and pees while he's eating, and then he sits his little bum down right on top of it.

Is this normal as well?


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