# Over exhausted hedgehog ??



## esoteric (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi forum friends and fellow hedgehog owners.

This is my first post here and I am looking to get some advice on Hezzie's new habits. He is about 8 months now and the vet's checkup results were "very healthy" but lately I have been noticing that he would have strange sleeping habits. The vet didn't explain too much about it when I asked.

Here's the situation:

On most nights he would wheel for hours (wake up 9pm, wheel, nap 12am - 3am, wheel 3am - 6am), on intense days of wheeling. Then his following schedule is A LOT of sleeping. Instead it would be (wake up 10 minutes, eat, wheel for 1 minute (poop), then go back to sleep). Sometimes because he doesn't wake up on his own, I would have to manually wake him up then he would proceed to wheel and be fine. 

Wanted to know if this is normal for hedgehogs to "over exhaust themselves" and sleep 23 hours the next day...? Is Hezzie just bad at pacing himself?! He might not be sleeping, but just hiding under fleece? I also noticed that he might not "know" that it is dark, and he still is hiding...

Few other notes:
-late bloomer, in quilling stage, see some new quills coming in, losing about 10 each day with dry skin
-temperature shouldn't be an issue, it's pretty regulated
-has a pretty good diet and seems healthy 
-the room is pitch black, and quite quiet, he has a good light&dark schedule (natural)

He has been sleeping excessively like this 7-10 times now.

Any help, suggestions, and advice appreciated! 

Thanks for reading.

Anna

P.S. Moved my post here from 'hedgehog world', it was up for a while but no replies. I am glad to have found this forum as it is more active


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Natural light isn't enough for a light schedule. As the length of the days change so does the amount of natural light they get. This can trigger a hibernation attempt. You need to make sure he has 12-14 hours of light a day. This can be from the overhead light in a room or a lamp. 

How old is he?
What are you feeding?
What is the exact temp in his cage and do you have a heating set up?


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## esoteric (Sep 4, 2017)

Hey Nikki,

Thanks for the reply.

Age:
Hezzie is almost 9 months old, I am still finding that quills are falling out and new ones emerging. He was a rescue, so temperament is still quite anti-social

Diet: 
I am feeding him Natural Balance - green pea and salmon, with a mix of 8 In 1 Ultra-Blend Hedgehog Diet, a couple meal worms daily and occasional fruits/veggies.

Heat:
I have a thermostat and a ceramic heat lamp, it keeps the temperature between 24C - 27C 


Lighting: His cage is by the window (east facing) and he gets the lighting from that. On days with a lot of direct sunlight, I close the curtains so he is not in direct light. I also use the room and I turn on lights sometimes at night. I find that Hezzie really enjoys the 'pitch black' experience, will not come out until that time..? -- This could be the issue!? Hope to find a fix.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

The lack of a consistant light schedule could be part of the problem. Also many hedgehogs will only come out when it's completely dark in their room.


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## Marissa90 (Sep 5, 2017)

I just got my hedgehog Zoë and she's only 7 weeks old I found this forum because I was trying to google if sleeping so much was normal behavior. This is my first hedgehog and she has been having a lot of the same behavior as yours. I also have been using natural daylight around her living environment and make sure it is pitch black at night, regulating a normal temp. She seems to sleep all day long, I do interrupt her a couple times just to get her used to being picked up by me, and her temperament is always friendly and playful, she will usually go right back to sleep when she's done playing. The past couple nights she has been sleeping through the night as well. Do you guys think this is just because she's still a baby? Or maybe because she's still getting used to being away from her original home/breeder? Everything else seems fine, she seems to eat and drink and from what I can tell she seems happy and healthy. Just really sleepy!!


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## esoteric (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi friends!

Special welcome to Marissa, I am glad that you found the forum and proactive to help Zoë. I think sleeping excessively is common for baby hedgehogs. Still keep an eye out if it happens for a longer time. Hope the discussion helps.

So it's been exactly 1 week from when I moved Hezzie's cage away from natural lighting and implemented consistent light for about 13 hours then following, dark schedule. For the first few days it was better and he was getting up on his own. Yesterday and a few other times, I had to do the "manual" wake up again. He is not a baby any more (9 months!) but I still see new quills emerging ....and he has a small itch. He was already treated for mites.

Yesterday, after lights out at 10:00pm, he came out for about 5 minutes to use his litter box, eat and wheeled for 1 minute..then went back to sleep. Afterward, I manually woke him up at 3am and again at 4am, then he wheeled for a bit longer (20 minutes). 

I do not think it is related to lighting now  

Does it have to do with being shy or lazy or tired?

Also - a side question: Can hedgehogs tell hot from cold? The heat lamp provides constant heat to 1 spot of the cage and is regulated by a thermostat. Would a hedgehog know to move to that spot if they feel too cold?

Thanks again for reading, please chime in if you have any suggestions, advice or comments.
Much appreciated!!


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## blondie0530 (May 27, 2017)

I'm by no means an expert but is there any way he could maybe be injured? I know it's said that hedgehogs hide their injuries but maybe he's resting because he is hurt?


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

When I first brought my boy home he seemed to sleep all the time, including most the night (he was about 5 months old then and now he is almost 11 months) but would come out sometimes during the day. Then I introduced a more structured lighting schedule and that seemed to help him, also the weather warmed up so not sure if this helped. But now he will only come out when lights are off and we are out at night or in bed and never comes out in the day anymore, like he used to. If I want bonding time, then I have to manually wake him up every evening and bribe him with food! ><

But since lighting hasn't had much of an impact for you, what about his nails? Are they trimmed well? As I notice my boy wheels less when his get a bit too long and need trimming. Also check the wheel is working ok and not damaged or the stand is uneven etc. 

Also maybe you could try hiding mealies etc around his cage to encourage foraging and night time activity. I gave my boy a superworm alien the other day, left it on a rock in his cage during the day and he actually woke up and nabbed it, taking it straight to his sleeping space! Was so quick I missed him doing it haha :lol: if you do this then you can check the next morning if he found them 

If you notice any other change in behaviour, like eating less, poop is different etc then it might be worth taking him back to the vet or getting a second opinion. 
Hope this all helps!


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Also I had another idea, I saw you said you feed him Natural balance, I'm also introducing this to my boy but the duck and pea formula. He seemed to like it at first but now won't touch it unless it is soaked and mashed up into a wet mix with other cat food and superworm pieces ><. Anyways, what I noticed with my bag of natural balance, is that it is super rock hard ~ like I can't even break it with a spoon until it has soaked in water for at least 10-15mins and even then the spoon bends! So no wonder why my boy won't eat it. I'm not sure if I just got a dodgy batch (I'm in Japan, so maybe the formula is slightly different etc) but maybe your boy is hiding a mouth issue? If you can, try check his mouth and teeth (I'm yet to figure out how best to do this myself, since my boy won't eat any hard food anymore, but he'll eat wet mix like a champ at least  ). It probably isn't this since you said he's eating ok, but might be worth paying extra attention to how much NB he eats in case it is less than before ~ just trying to think of other things that might be causing him to be less active. ♡


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## esoteric (Sep 4, 2017)

Thank you both for your replies !! It was super helpful. Perhaps he is just being very uncomfortable due to the "1 year quilling stage". There are many new quills poking through!

Yukidama's mama: I am so glad to hear your experiences. My next step is to use a light timer, so that it would be more "structured". Nail trimming is very difficult to do (especially front paws) because he is so squirmish. I do try my best though after his bath!

Regarding Natural Balance... It is very crunchy! Hezzie seems to love it and is very picky. He doesn't really touch his 8 in 1 hedgehog food anymore. I do notice a change in poop odour due to the salmon though. Regarding firmness, it is slightly more firm than the 'hedgehog food'.. I am able to break it into pieces with my fingers. The crunching noises are loud when he eats though. I will be observant of any mouth injuries or food behaviours, but the vet said his teeth were perfect and to keep on dry food to improve teeth?

I will try the "meal worm" hunting method...too scared of superworms  ! 

Thanks again ♡♡♡


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Yep I purchased a light timer recently and it makes everything so much easier! Haha yes nail trimming is always such a stressful ordeal, as well as baths! I find to make both easier, to distract my boy with his favourite food, that normally distracts him long enough to get things done! The last time I done his nails, I was on my own though (normally my boyfriend holds him whilst I do the clipping), but somehow I did it myself  ~ he was just calmer (or more like gave in to it, the poor thing), he just sat on my lap and I just gently held one foot and snipped, I just took my time. But normally he is pretty squirmish too, just depends on his mood! Normally a footbath and nails in the same night is too much for him, so I try to do his nails after he has cleaned them himself. I also find baby nail clippers much easier than nail scissors, they're more accurate. There's a few useful posts on here with more nail trimming advice, just use the search function and they'll come up 

Oh ok, I must have a dodgy bag then, there's no way I can break the natural balance with my fingers! :shock: I do worry he's chipped a tooth or has some other mouth issues from previously trying to eat it as he won't touch any cat kibble now unless it is completely mushed, but to be honest I think the only reason he eats it is because I add insects to it :roll: such a fussy hog! 

That's good though that he likes it and has no problems eating it and the vet previously said his teeth were in good condition . I think I've read on here before that that is a myth about dry food being better for their teeth but I could be wrong. I feed my boy insects every night with his mushy cat food so I guess he is still having to chew the insects pieces! ^^

Haha, yeh I had to overcome my fear of creepy crawlies pretty quickly, after we started purchasing live superworms! Now I have a colony started, with their alien forms and beetles (which still creep me out a bit!). Just had my first set of babies supers hatching this week! :-D
I only use the aliens (pupae) and canned mealies to put in his cage for foraging, I couldn't have any live ones crawling around freely in there since we currently have a wired cage! ><

Anyways see if the foraging helps him become more active, could also try different toys. There's an enrichment list on here that has some great suggestions you could also try ♡


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