# Does Your Anxiety Ever Stop? New Hedgie Owner



## shooterhedgie (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone else has to run to the hedgehog room first thing in the morning before they do anything else? I'm not sure why I worry so much about him but I do ALL the time! He is always fine and I tell him good morning and go on with my day.

Will I eventually stop worrying or do all you hedgie veterans still do this? I've only had the Shoot man for 3 weeks.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Nine years and 100+ hedgies later and checking on them is still the first thing I do in the morning, last thing at night as well as numerous times throughout the day. :lol:


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## Melanie (Jan 2, 2012)

Me too only the worrying is less after some time, its mostly to make sure there's poop on the wheel and the food is gone or mostly gone. 

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## kaZombie (Sep 12, 2011)

I wouldn't call it worry so much, as routine. I wake up, turn on his lamp, check his cage out and get ready for school or work.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It's kind of depended for me, but I started out with Lily with constantly worrying about her, asking lots of questions, and generally hovering. :lol: Then I calmed down (kinda) for a year or two, though I still usually looked in her cage in the morning to make sure there was the normal food gone and poo on the wheel. Now that she's getting older (and though she's sick at the moment, which changes things), I'm back to worriedly checking her in the morning and hovering a bit. Right now though, plenty of chances to check on her since I'm syringe-feeding her every two hours, lol.


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## Melanie (Jan 2, 2012)

Hows she doing? 

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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

After you have one that has been sick, I don't think you ever relax. The first time you discover a hair wrapped around a leg, you will start to do leg checks daily (if not multiple times a day). The first lump/mass, you'll start feeling around for masses on them regularly. The first time they stop eating, you'll be weighing or counting kibble. The first hibernation attempt, you'll feel their tummy regularly to see if they are toasty and warm. After you experience each of those (and many more that I haven't listed), your entire day becomes "Is the hedgehog(s) ok?"


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

No. I have nightmares sometimes that I've done something horrible that could jeopardize Regina, like leave her alone with a male hedgie, or leave her out of her cage, or not pay attention to her and she falls off the bed or gets out of the house or something. And then I wake up feeling guilty and go check on her.

But all the worrying is worth it when they do something that makes your heart melt


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I've had nightmares too, wake up sweating thinking it's ice cold and the power is out, not a pleasant feeling at all!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Melanie said:


> Hows she doing?
> 
> Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


She's still doing the same, really. :? Still fighting to get the advised amount of food into her, though she's decided she'll eat watermelon on her own. She's taken a few bites of chicken/peas baby food mixed together, but not much. Everything else is more or less the same though. I'm looking forward to our vet visit on Friday to see what the vet has to say.



Kalandra said:


> After you have one that has been sick, I don't think you ever relax. The first time you discover a hair wrapped around a leg, you will start to do leg checks daily (if not multiple times a day). The first lump/mass, you'll start feeling around for masses on them regularly. The first time they stop eating, you'll be weighing or counting kibble. The first hibernation attempt, you'll feel their tummy regularly to see if they are toasty and warm. After you experience each of those (and many more that I haven't listed), your entire day becomes "Is the hedgehog(s) ok?"


That reminded me how much I worry about Lily's temperature. It's seems like second nature now to constantly be going up to check it, or making sure I get a huff from her when I wiggle her igloo. I almost forget that I'm actually worrying because it's always there. :lol:


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## shooterhedgie (Dec 31, 2011)

Well I'm glad to know that I am not the only one...I felt like maybe it was just me (and so far I have never even had cause to worry). I don't even want to think about when he gets sick.  

He is doing awesome and I just wanted to share that he hardly ever balls up anymore (except when getting him out of the cage) and he just loves to be handled which was not the case when I first got him. I'm so excited about him!!!


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## EinsteinsMama (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm a new hedgie owner too. I find myself checking on the temperature in his cage more because of our strange Michigan weather! :lol: 

But I do check on him every two hours to make sure he's warm or cool enough, because one day it will be completely nice out and the next (like today) it will start snowing like crazy!


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

I'm in Michigan too! and I obsessively check the temperature in my hedgie's cage (even though my bedroom tends to stay around 75-77F and my guy has a CHE with a thermostat just in case) I have a wireless temperature readout so the gauge is in his cage but I can bring the readout with me and monitor the temperature even when I'm in different rooms in my apartment! hahaha, maybe overkill?


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## EinsteinsMama (Jan 18, 2012)

MUST. BUY. WIRELESS. THERMOMETER! <3 :lol:


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

I was trying to figure out if there's one that could transmit to my cell phone so I could monitor even when I'm not at home :lol: but I'm not sure if such a thing exists.


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## TeddysMommy (Apr 24, 2011)

AL111 said:


> I was trying to figure out if there's one that could transmit to my cell phone so I could monitor even when I'm not at home :lol: but I'm not sure if such a thing exists.


If you have an iPhone you can!


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

I do have an iPhone! how do i set that up? what do i need to buy??


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## TeddysMommy (Apr 24, 2011)

AL111 said:


> I do have an iPhone! how do i set that up? what do i need to buy??


I believe iCam does it, the app is $4.99, and buy a wifi cordless web cam (preferably night vision so we can watch them at night too, MWAHAHAHA) and it should connect, I know the Foscam brand works well, but you might have to fuss with it


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## EinsteinsMama (Jan 18, 2012)

Now I am very thankful I over worry! I have been up in my room to give Einstein some quiet time (his cage was in our living room) and when I went downstairs to check on him, it was absolutely freezing because of the harsh cold winds we're getting! We moved him into our office/spare bedroom where it's so toasty and completely pitch black dark and he's happily chirping away like he just ate a bucket of mealworms.  It doesn't even bother me that he's being noisy, I'm just happy he's up and about lol.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

I was a constant worrier when I first got Petunia. Four months later, I still get up in the middle of the night occasionally to check her temperature, but for the most part I've stopped stressing over every little thing. 

Thanks to all the support from the members on this forum, I feel like I'm in good hands when I have concerns and questions


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Sar-uh said:


> I was a constant worrier when I first got Petunia. Four months later, I still get up in the middle of the night occasionally to check her temperature,


Samme here! :lol: Milly is in my bedroom, and if I wake up in the middle of the night and don't hear her wheeling, I check on her every. single. time. 

Teddysmommy, can you do that with an iPod touch? I am definitely interested!!


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## TeddysMommy (Apr 24, 2011)

hanhan27 said:


> Sar-uh said:
> 
> 
> > I was a constant worrier when I first got Petunia. Four months later, I still get up in the middle of the night occasionally to check her temperature,
> ...


I think so, You would just have to be connected to a wifi hotspot, its worth a try.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I used to have a web cam pointed at a digital thermometer next to the hedgehogs' cages years ago. I'd check in from time to time. However, that just wasn't good enough. Later I purchased a cabin sitter/monitor. Its a device that will call me if certain events happen, like the temperature goes too low, too high, the power is out, etc. When an event happens it will start to beep and give a verbal description of the error, after a set amount of time, it will start call our cell phones. The thing that I really like about it, is because it does start to beep when an event happens, it will wake me at night and I can fix the problem.

Yes, I hit super paranoid mode years ago.


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

How much does that cost/where could I get one? I've never heard of it but I like the idea! Especially since I'm super paranoid about power outages when I'm not around.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Mine was about $250-300 at the time I got it. Its a sensaphone variety. They don't make that model anymore, but there are others out there now. Do some searching for a temperature alarm that is programmable & dialable. I've seen some for as low as $100 before though. Just ensure that they are programmable and will call you.

A quick search and I found this one, http://www.smarthome.com/7001/Intermedi ... CCA/p.aspx
I have no experience with it, but it looks like it has the required features. Amazon has it for about $150.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Where can I get a wireless wifi webcam? I was searching on google but they all look wayy more high tech than I think I actually need. :?


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