# Welcome Home Diggory!



## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

So I'm a new hedge-mommy and I'm super proud of it! I'm also a nervous wreck though because although I've had hamsters in the past this is all pretty new to me. I think I drove my friends and family crazy talking and worrying about him for the past couple weeks(even though I got him just yesterday) so I decided to come here. Diggory is 6 weeks old today. I bought him at a "pet store" but I kind of consider it a hybrid between pet store and breeder because her store is still very new and small and she breeds almost everything at home on her own. The store is Paws, Claws, and Exotics Too. They have everything from hamsters to bobcats(!!) and everyone who has purchased from there seems happy.

His cage is two big totes(the one is 24x16 I think but the other is slightly smaller) connected for his cage. The smaller one is his sleeping area and the larger his playroom. I bought the flying saucer wheel and despite never seeing a wheel in his life he seems to really enjoy it. I'm using a cat/dog heating pad under his cage which makes me a bit nervous because I've never used a heating pad on a small animal before. But he goes right in his house and sleeps on it so he must like it. I'm using fleece baby blankets as his bedding, and I'm feeding him hedgehog food that the lady at the store suggested. She says its from Missouri and its the best around. I don't know if I'm going to keep using it or ween him off of it once this bag is done, any suggestions?

I'm open to any and all advice because I want everything to be perfect for him.

Last but not least, here's a picture.


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

He's cute  . Congrats.

1. You need to have a CHE setup. A heating pad only heating the bottom of the cage, not the air. There is a thread in the housing section about heating.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579 Just using a heating pad doesn't stop him from going into hibernation which is deadly. So you'll need to get a CHE setup or a space heater.

2. I'd change the food as soon as you can. If you are feeding the Mazuri Insectivore Diet the first ingredients are "Poultry by-product meal, poultry meal, ground brown rice, dried beet pulp, ground wheat". Protein: 28%, Fat: 12%.

That is defiantly not the best food out there. For food you want to feed a mixture of high quality cat foods  
Protein: 28-33% - You don't want high protein, it's not good for them
Fat: 8-15%
The first ingredient needs to be real meat (chicken, turkey, duck, etc.)
Second ingredient should be real meat or a meat meal (chicken meal, turkey meal, etc.)
Don't use foods with fish because it gives them smelly poop  
The food shouldn't have by-products or corn. 
People recommend doing a mix of foods from different flavors like 1 chicken, 1 turkey and 1 duck.

As an example, compare those first ingredients to these ones "Turkey, Chicken, Barley, Brown Rice, Chicken Meal". This is what you want in a food, this one is Innova Low Fat Adult Cat.

When I look at the picture you posted I'm also worried about the holes in the bins... They are fairly big and sharp. If he tries to get out he could really hurt himself on the sharp holes.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

He is very handsome!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Welcome to HHC!  Diggory is such a creative name, love it and him to of course!  More pics when you can,please!


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

He's so cute! I definitely know about that constant worry talk. My family gets so annoyed because my new hedgie is all I want to ever talk about


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

HedgieGirl519 said:


> 2. I'd change the food as soon as you can. If you are feeding the Mazuri Insectivore Diet the first ingredients are "Poultry by-product meal, poultry meal, ground brown rice, dried beet pulp, ground wheat". Protein: 28%, Fat: 12%.
> 
> When I look at the picture you posted I'm also worried about the holes in the bins... They are fairly big and sharp. If he tries to get out he could really hurt himself on the sharp holes.


I think I am going to call and ask what brand of food they are ordering so that I can look up information about it online, but I do plan on changing the food as soon as this bag is out. I wanted to start out with food he was already used to.

And I know the holes worried me too.  only two of them are like that, I was hoping they were high enough that he couldn't get to them. He tried getting on his house once but was unsuccessful. the bin that you can see in this photo was an older one I had in my house with slightly thicker plastic, two of the holes just kind of shattered when we were drilling them. They are also much bigger than the rest of the holes. I unfortunately do not have the money to get a better cage for a while, will it help if I try to put tape around the edges?

Also, when I can get a hedgebag for him(probably in a couple weeks) should I just take out the box all together so he can't climb up to them?

Aaand last thing, I do have a space heater. My room is very warm and comfortable. I just forgot to mention that cuz I am a naturally cold person and have been using a space heater long before I ever thought of getting a hedgie.


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

You should buy a different food now  When you change their food you want to do it gradually over a few weeks to avoid an upset tummy. When adding new foods into their diet only add one at a time so if one makes them sick you'll know which it is. For new food you want to do it:

Week 1: 25% new food/75% old food
Week 2: 50% new food/75% old food
Week 3: 75% new food/25% old food
Week 4: All new food!  

If you get a hedgie bag you won't need the box  Boxes aren't that great anyways because you have to keep replacing them. 

For heat, make sure your room is at 73-78° F (23-25° C) all the time. You'll want to get 2 thermometers (1 for each bin). Is the space heater on 24/7? Cause hedgies need 73-78° F (23-25° C) 24/7.

EDIT: Also, for the holes you could put tape over them. It's just the 2 so it should be fine. But I'd really worry about him getting hurt on those so I'd cover the 2 with something


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

The space heater is on all the time and I do need to get thermostats still. I am all worried about him trying to get out while I'm at school now  I won't be home till around 9 so I can't check on him. But as soon as one of my family members get home I will make them go check on everything and tape the edges of those holes. I really don't think he get get on his box(yet) because he's still clumsy and pushes it around. I've just been worrying about everything all day and I really hate being 40 minutes away.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Aww, Diggory is a handsome little dude. His name reminds me of Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter.  

I would definitely take the box out once you get a better sleeping spot for him. Cardboard doesn't exactly have soft edges, and HedgieGirl mentioned that you'll be replacing it quite often.  

As far as food, HedgieGirl told you the basic guidelines, but keep in mind that all hogs are different and the guidelines are far from set in stone... and as far as feeding cat food with fish in it, you CAN use it, but you should expect smellier poos. I use Purina One Beyond Salmon & whole brown rice and my hog loves it. Her poop isn't that bad. 
Personally, I wouldn't take 4 weeks to switch his food over since he's eating Mazuri... definitely not the best hedgie food. Instead of waiting a week to increase the new food and decrease the old food, you could just go with 4 or 5 days between each switch.

Keep in mind that Diggory will be sleeping all day. I wouldn't worry about him escaping or getting into much trouble.  Welcome to the world of hedgie parenthood, where worrying is our number one trait!


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

hanhan27 said:


> Aww, Diggory is a handsome little dude. His name reminds me of Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter.
> 
> I would definitely take the box out once you get a better sleeping spot for him. Cardboard doesn't exactly have soft edges, and HedgieGirl mentioned that you'll be replacing it quite often.
> 
> ...


I'm a bit confused on what you mean about the food. Do you mean give him a whole bowl of one kind for four or five days and then switch to the other one for four or five days? Also I'm not even positive if its the "Mazuri" brand... the lady's exact words were "It comes from a company in Missouri" But looking online I also see that Spikes Delite comes from there too. The lady at the pet store's hedgies eat it and they seemed okay....I'm only defending it because I just paid $10 for it yesterday and want to at least use the bag up. But I'm not opposed to getting him used to cat food at the same time too.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Oh, also, he was named after Cedric Diggory. The series is very dear to my heart and my boyfriend is just now reading them and he came up with the name. I fell in love with it immediately.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

I have another question! Sorry if this is in the totally wrong place by the way. At first I couldn't find the introduction thread and now it just makes more sense to continue this one.


I want to wash his feet. I'm pretty sure they're dirty from being in the cage with all his siblings. But tonight will be the first time I even pick him up. How long should I wait before I rinse his feet off? I don't want to scare him too bad.


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## SquiggyTheHedgie (Jul 26, 2011)

You can just give him a short little foot bath. Just fill a tub with about an inch or two with warm water and let him walk around in it. Then just snuggle with him in a warm towel until he dries and you can start the bonding process that way


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

alyssinreality said:


> I have another question! Sorry if this is in the totally wrong place by the way. At first I couldn't find the introduction thread and now it just makes more sense to continue this one.
> 
> I want to wash his feet. I'm pretty sure they're dirty from being in the cage with all his siblings. But tonight will be the first time I even pick him up. How long should I wait before I rinse his feet off? I don't want to scare him too bad.


 Congratulations on getting a hedgehog. Your hedgehog will constantly be stepping in his poop so you will constantly be washing his feet, it's just part of having a hedgehog


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

alyssinreality said:


> hanhan27 said:
> 
> 
> > Aww, Diggory is a handsome little dude. His name reminds me of Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter.
> ...


I was referring to the weaning - You're supposed to offer 1/4 new food mixed in with 3/4 old food for the first week, then give 1/2 new, 1/2 old for the second, 3/4 new and 1/4 old the third week, etc, and I was suggesting you speed that along a bit (assuming Diggory takes to it well, which I'm assuming he will because hedgehogs almost never choose low-quality food over higher quality food!).

It does stink that you paid the $10 for it, but they might accept a return on it if you have the receipt still. Especially since cat food is what's recommended for our little ones and the food you have isn't good at all.  Even if it is Spike's Delight, it's still not appropriate. There isn't a hedgehog-specific food out there that is better for our hogs than a good quality cat food.


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