# Hedgie Arrival & A Few Questions



## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

I just got home from a six hour drive to go pick up my new hedgehog!!!!!

I have a couple quick questions:

I put up the cage, put in the food bowl and counted the kibble pieces (40) and ill take it out tomorrow and count again. (is 40 enough??)
I also added water.

The girl I bought him from kept him on wood shavings. I plan to switch him over to liners, should I giver him a little adjustment time for that?

He was kept at room temperature in their house, with no lamp or CHE or anything (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
I'm setting up the CHE right now, will that be a shock for him? or is it best to turn it on and get the cage to 73 ish degrees right away?

One more thing. When I called the girl and talked to her, I asked if I could have his wheel as well. She said he didn't have a wheel, he had a branch thing instead. 
??? :? :? 
a branch??? has anyone heard of this? How exactly does a branch work instead of a wheel... 
I looked at it.. Its just a piece of drift wood. Am I bad researcher for not knowing what this is?

I'll post pics a little later when he's more settled.
Thanks for all the help you guys have given me!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Congrats!!! I am so excited for you!

In the order you asked...

yes, 40 kibble should be enough...he may not eat a lot for the first couple days.

water...did he use a bowl or bottle? you should provide both until you're sure he will drink from a bowl.

shavings...personally, i would change right away to fleece, just so you're not changing them 2-3 days from now...others would say wiat...play it by ear, i think. if he's starting to settle in the cage with shavings, just leave them for a few days and see how little guy does

yes...CHE...now - 73-75 or so. may shock him but in a good way. have you tested it to make sure it works...with a thermostat?

branch? WTF? sorry noooooo idea....get him a wheel ASAP...you're not a bad researcher. she prob thinks he's a rodent and chewed on the driftwood or some equally stupid thing. :roll: Snarf had a salt wheel in his cage. :roll: 

We'll be watching for pics...enjoy...maybe don't enjoy too much for a few hours...let hims ettle in a bit, then gently let him sit - covered - in your lap...just enjoy your first hours/days with him...it's the last time you won't have to worry about poopy feet or wheels! :lol:


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

oh yeah, she had given him both bottle and bowl. And she said 'i dunno why but he likes the bowl better....' ( i sat there going I KNOW! PICK MEEE! I KNOW!!!) 

I think I'll stick to the shavings for now. 
Im trying to be super quiet and letting him sleep.
Turned on the CHE, checking the cage temp. regularly.

Oh and one more thing. The food he was on was pretty pets. (elcsgh).
I've heard that with pretty pets you shouldn't even bother having them gently switched to another food because they will usually like the other one better anyway. thoughts?

haha thanks for the reassurance on the whole branch-ordeal.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Water...yeah...bowl!!! You can skip the bottle altogether then.

Lots of hedgies live forever on shavings, so you're fine to switch later.

Personally, I wouldn't try to be super quiet so he gets used to the normal house noise...don't have any loud parties or anything, but act normally or else he will have to adjust later. I think it's nancy who suggests leaving a radio on all day - if you're not there - for much the same reason and it also masks any loud, sudden noises.

You have a thermostat, right? or else the CHE will just keep making it hotter and hotter.

Pretty Pets...I would mix it maybe half and half for tonight - he's likely not going to eat a lot but he'll get used to the smell and can eat it if he wants. He may just switch to the good stuff on his own, anyway...it won't hurt him to have it for another couple days and then it's one less thing for you to stress about. When I want Snarf to try new kibble, I put some of each side-by-side in his bowl so he can pick and choose - but his bowl is huge cuz he likes to sit on the edge of his bowl to eat. 

Did you put one of your shirts in with him?


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

Yeah okay... I feel better now about being in the room if I can make a little bit of noise.

I put in twenty little kibbles of my cats' food which is pretty good. 

I stuffed a shirt inside his house in the cage and I think he pulled it in a little bit more to snuggle with it (Yesss!!!!)

I don't have a thermostat hooked up to the CHE. I have a thermometer and I'm checking it, but right now the cage is a couple degrees below what it should be, so I'm not worried about it overheating.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

11swedishfish said:


> I don't have a thermostat hooked up to the CHE. I have a thermometer and I'm checking it, but right now the cage is a couple degrees below what it should be, so I'm not worried about it overheating.


Watch it carefully - I know the light on mine is constantly going on and off, indicating temperature changes...there is a very real danger of over-heating the cage. I would get a thermostat ASAP. This one is popular on HHC (I have the same one, as well):

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

yeah i know, I have one coming it just isn't here yet... bad hedgie momma i know...

Okay, I asked what kindof bedding he was on and she said I think aspen.
I just checked the bag and it says pine.

I remember reading Pine was dangerous for hedgies, should i just switch to liners ASAP?

thanks for all the help!!!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

You're not a bad hedgiemama!! You're doing all the right things and asking all the right questions...just be really careful with the heat. Poor Snarf was in his carrier when we took the hour drive to the vet - it was -20 - so naturally, I packed him in warm bedding, gave him a handwarmer, checked his temp with the digital thermometer carefully...the temp was climbing but not overly warm - 77-78 degrees, I think, and I had the top of the carrier open for circulation...when we got to the vet poor Snarf was cooking!! He was flushed and sweaty...and that was after only 2 hours...

I think better safe than sorry for the bedding...it likely won't hurt him to wait another day, but if you think you can move him out, quickly get the pine stuff out and fleece in, I would do it...maybe wait until late tonight - when he might normally be up, then when you get him up, he can eat, drink and move around if he wants?


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

welcome and thank you for being such a responsible new owner!  

there is NO replacement for the wheel, so i wouldn't go there.


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

oh.my.gosh.

He came out of his hut. I fed him a mealie. And I saw his nose.

Its been three hours and he's already (almost) exploring.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since he's been on pine for over a year now, I think I'll wait a bit before switching him to fleece...

I am being super careful with the heat. I check it every five minutes... right now its at 70.4 degrees.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

11swedishfish said:


> I am being super careful with the heat. I check it every five minutes... right now its at 70.4 degrees.


It's great he's already checking out his 'digs'. :mrgreen:

That's not very warm for a hedgie...the optimal heat is 73 - 78 degrees...I realize he's likely used to lower temperatures because of his previous owner, so you may be okay...

This isn't a great idea but may be safer: can you warm up the whole room/area to a higher temperature? Do you have a space heater? I'm thinking if the room is warm enough, you might be safer without the CHE until you have a thermostat. I am just worried it will get too hot while you're sleeping or if you leave...ya know?

Our apartment is really warm and for the first three months with Snarf we just used room heat. I switched to a CHE cuz I knew I would have to with the temp. fluctuations in Spring. It worked fine but I rest a whole lot more easily now that I can rely on the CHE and don't have to worry about windos being open or temp. changes.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

How old is he? Lower temps are much more dangerous for babies, I think...watch him carefully and if you can, try to feel his belly when he's out...it should be warm.

Hopefully, more advice will come along.


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

he's two years old.

I know that's not that warm... that's my point is that right now I can't even get the cage to being normal temp, let alone above. 

I have a timer, I think i'll plug that in and have it switch on and off to try to keep it from going way above or way below. 

He came all the way out of his hut and is eating some food.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

11swedishfish said:


> he's two years old.
> 
> I know that's not that warm... that's my point is that right now I can't even get the cage to being normal temp, let alone above.
> 
> ...


YAY!! :mrgreen: That's so cool.

Good idea for now with the timer...what time of day is it where you are? It's kinda cool he's up and around.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

MissC said:


> He was flushed and sweaty...


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

its seven thirty.

I had the lights on, too, which surprised me because i was expecting him to wait until the dead of night.

he picked out all of the Pretty Pets that they had given me and ate all of mine. SCORE.



then he went back for another nap. I'm leaving him for the time. I still havent taken him out to cuddle or anything but I petted him once. He started and started huffing so I let him be.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

fracturedcircle said:


> MissC said:
> 
> 
> > He was flushed and sweaty...


I know! Scared the bejeezus outta me!! This was in spite of me obsessively checking the thermometer every 2 minutes and leaving the cover open!!

He seemed fine otherwise and he looked/seemed perfectly normal five minutes later but a great lesson in hedgie preferences...his cage is at 25 (77ish) and the carrier wasn't that much warmer - it may have hit 78-79...but I guess a combination of liking 77 more than 79, travel, smaller space...good enough scare.

And to add insult to injury: Jamie was right, we should have just used the heat in the cab of the truck and waited with the handwarmer. :roll:


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Hehe, yeah they'll surprise you. My boy Loki is one of those "needs total darkness" hedgehogs to have fun, but if I don't turn the lights off at the same time or put his nightly snack (a big pinch of boiled chicken) he'll come out in the full light. If there's no chicken, he'll give me dirty looks and scurry back into his house.

As for the CHE since you don't have a thermostat. If you do get it up to temperature, when it hits 75, I would turn it off, as they'll generate heat for awhile even off, so say it might easily get up to 78 even when off before it starts dropping in temp. One thing you can try and covering the sides of the cage, namely the sides (if the cage is up against the wall) to help retain the heat. Also, if his cage is on an exterior wall, you might try and move him to another wall that isn't an exterior one (meaning the other side of the wall = outside).

Don't worry, a bad hedgiemom wouldn't be asking questions, most of us have made odd mistakes. My first hedgehog for the first few weeks didn't even have a light on her cage.


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

I covered the sides and the top of the cage with fleece, and have had the CHE running for about... three or four hours? and the temp is currently 70 degrees underneath the lamp.

The fleece has been on there for two hours. One side is uncovered, the other four are covered.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Congrats on your new hedgie!! Have you picked out a name yet??
I'm very excited for you & can't wait to hear all about him!

Get the thermostat as soon as you can....are you planning on keeping the che on tonight? If so, you'll probably want to set your alarm & get up to check it & make sure it's not getting too hot.
If you're like me - you won't be able to sleep anyway. :lol:


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

Yeah I will be checking on it, but right now its still not over 70 degrees. 
I know that it overheating is a big worry but right now...I'm having the opposite problem.

I don't have a name yet... He was called Fred, but I keep thinking there must be something more exiting for me to call him...

My dad (a nerd) suggested Acutie... that means spiney in Latin.


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## Sunflowerseeds (Mar 3, 2011)

Congratulations on your new baby! It sounds like you're very responsible, and quit thinking you're over thinking, there's no such thing when it comes to the safety and comfort of your "kids".  I can't wait for pictures, but I suppose I will since he's settling in...  

Yeah, I think there's definitely something more exciting out there than Fred...


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Acutie sounds like a-cutie to me! :lol:


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

PJM said:


> Acutie sounds like a-cutie to me! :lol:


exactly! thats why its so awesome :lol:


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## leopardhedgehog (Nov 18, 2010)

It sounds like all of your questions have been answered, so I think it's time for some pictures! If you can get some  . Also, Acutie sounds like a cool name, much better than Fred


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## mcwojo (Dec 29, 2010)

Welcome to HHC and to the world of the hedgie parent. If you never worried before you sure will now, as I can see you already have been. :lol: 
I am the queen of worryworts and having Hazel has just added to my reign. LOL :lol: 
You are already an awesome hedgie mommie. You are asking great questions and taking great care of your little guy already. Once you get used to him and figure things out you can only figure out with time and having him, you'll be fine. It took me quite a while not to worry so much and to finally figure out I'm doing the best I can and my Hazel is doing just fine and thriving. I still have lots of questions and things come up but the wonderful people on this forum have always been there to answer ALL my questions no matter how silly they may seem (Thank you everyone, by the way).  
I love the name Acutie, very original and I'm sure fitting. Try to relax and enjoy him. Can't wait to see some pics.!!!!!


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

I tried to get the pics to fit onto a post, but they were always too large. So I made a picassa album. Lemme know how this works..

https://picasaweb.google.com/1103187241 ... directlink


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## mcwojo (Dec 29, 2010)

What a cutie pie he is. "Acutie" sure does fit him. Thanks for sharing.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Acutie is adorable! And a typical hedgie - face always in the food bowl. :lol:


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## 11swedishfish (Feb 1, 2011)

He's all bundled up in his house with the teeshirt i gave him. When he comes out for a snack i try to give him a meal worm but he just starts and chuffs at me. 

I'm thinking of taking him out tonight. very very nervous/exited.
Meal worms standing by :lol:


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## Sunflowerseeds (Mar 3, 2011)

Those are adorable pictures, his color is gorgeous! Is that the "branch" that the previous owner used instead of a wheel? :lol:


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