# Help with putting together a how-to guide for hedgehogs?



## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Would anyone be interested in helping me to put together a how-to book for hedgehog care?

The situation is this: I have been commissioned to write a how-to guide on anything I want, and I chose hedgehog care. There are two parts to the commission, the written portion of the book which details the steps and information about how to care for a hedgehog, while the second portion of the commission deals with having pictures to demonstrate each section of the book, for example one thing I want to cover is how to bathe a hedgehog; so I would need pictures of supplies needed and then a few pictures of a hedgie getting a bath and being dried off.

Though I have a hedgie herd of my own, I just don't have the variety of pictures needed for the project and was wondering if anyone here at HHC would mind sharing some of their photos with me? The written portion of the book is "easy" meaning I can write prolifically with a minimal amount of effort, but tracking down and/or taking all of the photos myself would be the hard part.

Below is the "table of contents" for the book:



> Introduction
> 
> *Chapter One:* Hedgehog Identification
> How to identify different species of hedgehog
> ...


This is a I-will-get-paid-for-it project, so I understand if someone would be unwilling to share their photos without being compensated for them. And I guess the same would go for any information that could be used to discuss the topics mentioned above. Just in the interest of honesty and full disclosure I wanted to let you all know that I will be getting paid for the end result (the book).

The funds from this project will be going toward establishing my hedgie emergency fund, purchasing supplies for my emergency kit for my boys, and fixing my vehicle so I have a way to get to and from wherever I need to go, for example to the vet in the case of an emergency.

If you are okay with what I will be doing with the photos and information, please let me know either here in this topic or via PM so I can send you my e-mail address so you can send pictures to me via email (the bigger the better ^_^).

Thank you for taking the time to read this monster post!


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

Wow! That sounds like fun! I will give you some pictures, but let me take them first! :lol:


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2011)

I would be interested in supporting it as I am working on gathering data on hedgehog diets and its a large project and I am still hammering out the site and survey.

I would make sure the wording is in a manner which presents it not so much as fact. While we do know some facts about hedgehogs a lot is still speculation and should be worded in a way which presents itself in that manner (In my opinion) as that is how I'm going about this diet project is gathering information and opinions from many people to develop a better understanding of what is best and practiced and what is not.

Pictures I have tons of and I could ask my room mate who has a professional camera and was trained for camera work to assist me with anything you might need when possible.

I think its a wonderful undertaking and am excited to hear about it ^.^

In regards to the photos and info just credit those who contributed and that's should be sufficient for most


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

You can use any of my pics from my site or my facebook.


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

I am not to sure what pictures you would like to use, so I will send you my photobucket pictures I have of my babies, Hedgie and Norah. Hope you find somthing you want to use! 
Hedgie
http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j32 ... 95/Hedgie/ 
Norah 
http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/JLF1995/Norah/ 
I know Norah has a bath picture so you can use that!


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Thank you everyone! It will be fun to see what kinds of pictures you all have of your hedgies doing various fun and hedgie-like things ^_^

I intend to put a disclaimer into the introductory text at the beginning of each chapter that explains that the information that will follow is only based on the best information available at the present time and is not to be taken as fact or in place of the advice of an animal expert or veterinarian.

Photos can be credited of course, just let me know what name you would like to have placed with the picture (your real name, HHC username, etc) and I will add it to the photos I use.

I'll be putting this together next week since I have that week off from school :mrgreen:


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

If you use mine that is, Just use my username and my hedgehogs names. This could be also a great way to avertise the website and get people to fall in love with the 'quills of joy'! :lol:


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## Jake (Dec 26, 2010)

I don't know if this here will help but I use magnets to hold down Terra's fleece in her pin.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

I didn't see if you were going to discuss quilling in there or not. Also maybe some of the sounds they make too could be discussed. Sorry I don't have any pics to share besides ones where they look cute lol. Good luck and I hope you will share the finished product with us or atleast tell us where we can find it!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I think that a section in the book about spaying and neutering would be helpful. My vet said that spaying has health benefits for females but neutering is not required for males. More explanation on those subjects would be helpful, as I have a hard time finding helpful information about it.


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## Littlefootsmama (May 23, 2010)

I'm very interested in the diet portion of the book and how to encourage a hedgie to swim. If I could help my boys enjoy a bath more, that would be fantastic. I will look through pictures tonight and see if I have anything that could help you out. I mostly just have LF eating bananas..... LOL He is easily amused. 

Oh I do have pictures of the inside of their condos and stuff?


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

I'm going to work in as much information as I can, but the majority of the book is going to have to be "how to" instructions, pretty much as though everything could be put in a bullet list for someone else to follow. I plan on adding an appendix and linking back here to HHC, the HWS, etc so that people who read the book can go on to learn more if there are things I can't get put into the book itself.

I will see what I will need pictures of the most and post those topics here so you all kind and generous people can see if you have any photos like that, and I will also be browsing the album links already given to me. I'll be laying the ground work this week and then higher powers willing I will be assembling and writing the rest of the book next week while I'm on break from school ^_^


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

Dexter wants to be famous!! You can use my pics  
This will be great because I was reading books on hedgehogs before I got mine and I could only find books published in the 90s and early 2000s! We need updated info! 
I think quilling would be really great to put in there as people always seem to have concerns about it. Maybe like, the approximate ages?

Edit: Here's a link to his thread 
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=12023


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

Alastrina said:


> I will see what I will need pictures of the most and post those topics here so you all kind and generous people can see if you have any photos like that, and I will also be browsing the album links already given to me.


I am awaiting that list!  I would _love_ to contribute to the project! Must...show...off...Carlos...as much...as....possible! :lol:

I am thinking I can take some shots of (or already have pics for...)

trim a hedgehog's nails safely
bathe a hedgehog
How to tell if your hedgehog is a boy or a girl (I can only contribute the 'boy' part, lol  )
How to give your hedgehog water: bottle or bowl? (I have pics of Carlos drinking from his bowl :mrgreen: )
...And perhaps some others :lol: Also if you see anything on Carlos's thread you could use, just let me know!  viewtopic.php?f=17&t=12719


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

*First Call for Piccies!*



I've gotten together my first "need to find" list for pictures!

The first two sections and the topics in them that I want to work on are:

Chapter One: Hedgehog Identification
- How to ID different species of Hedgehogs 
- How to ID the gender of your hedgie 
- How to ID the color of your hedgie

For this chapter I need the following pics:
- *If anyone with an Egyptian Long Ear hedgie or a Euro hedgie has any pictures*, that would be AWESOME
- *Need pictures of a GIRL hedgie most* (I only have boyos) though a good shot of a boy would be great too, my guys are still shy
- *I want to add a section on color ID*, so if anyone has pictures of some of the most popular/ frequently seen colors like Algerian brown, chocolate, gray, albino, and maybe a cinnicot that would be amazing. Both of my guys are in the Algerian chocolate/brown spectrum. ALSO, does your hedgie have an obvious pinto spot? If so I would love a picture of a big beautiful pinto spot for this section as well.

Chapter Two: Hedgehog Housing
- How to build an indoor cage for any hedgehog
- How to line your hedgehog's cage
- How to make a liner for a hedgehog cage 
- How to make a bonding pouch/bag for your hedgehog
- How to heat your hedgehog's cage safely

For this chapter I'm looking for the following pictures:
- *Pictures of the step by step assembly of any hedgehog cage*; C&C, another type of custom cage, adding a loft to a pre-existing cage, assembly of a Ferret/Critter Nation, etc. Pretty much any example where you put it together or built it at home. The important thing is to be able to see the progression from supplies to end result.
- *Pictures of different types of bedding that are well suited to hedgehogs* like Yesterday's News, Carefresh, wood bedding, fleece, and other fabrics. If you can, take a picture of the package next to a sample of the bedding but that's just icing on the cake.
- *Pictures of sewn and no-sew liners*; If you have step by step pictures of where you cut your fleece into sections, that would be great. Or, if you have no-sew liners, if you could lay them out beside each other for one shot and then lay them one on top of the other inside the cage with the corners pulled back to show the layers, that would be awesome as well.
- *Step by step pictures of how to make a bonding pouch*. The new-sew pouch that has been talked about recently on here would be great, I'm going to find the original poster and contact them to ask, I can't remember who it is right now >_< Bad brain!
- *Pictures of your heating set up for your hedgie's cage*. Do you use a heating pad? Electric blanket, or CHE? A picture of each part of your heating system and then one of it all set up would be phenominal. I want to use these pictures in this section as a "This is what a hedgie needs to be healthy and warm" sort of visual tutorial.

That's all for now, I'm going to be working on these two chapters today, and will post more tomorrow based on what all I get done tonight. I will be going back through this topic and visiting the profiles, topics, etc of those who have given me permission to look through their photos and contacting them individually if I find something I would like to use.

Thank you all again and again! :mrgreen:


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## Littlefootsmama (May 23, 2010)

I have two snowflake boys and a very distinct pinto boy, so I can e-mail you some pictures of the pinto if you would like. 

I also have carefresh bedding here and Kaytees small granule bedding (both used in litter boxes) I could get you pictures of both of those as well.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Littlefootsmama said:


> I have two snowflake boys and a very distinct pinto boy, so I can e-mail you some pictures of the pinto if you would like.
> 
> I also have carefresh bedding here and Kaytees small granule bedding (both used in litter boxes) I could get you pictures of both of those as well.


  Awesomeness, I would like those pictures very much!

My email address is: Screaming _ In _ The _ Dark (at) hotmail (dot) com minus spaces and inserting appropriate punctuation/special characters ^_^ The larger the better for pictures


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

I don't know much about this forum member, like if they log in to HHC frequently, or would want to share photos of their hedgie... but I did see this topic so perhaps you could get in touch with them for pictures of their hedgehog..? Just thought I'd put that out there, because there doesn't seem to be very many Egyptian hedgies on this forum...
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13174

Carlos and I could also contribute in terms of: Male, pinto spot, Algerian Chocolate, Carefresh as bedding, and a heating pad as a heat source (the same one that I recommended to you before :lol: um, K&H is the name if I recall correctly.)

Also, if you are doing anything regarding the varying sizes of full-grown hedgies, I could send a pic of a _tiny_ adult male xD (next to some household item for comparison, like a dollar bill... or even in the scale I weigh him on) Carlos is like... 240gs, full grown, and healthy (big appetite, & filled out nicely... just a little tiny guy!)
And for future chapters (sorry for getting ahead :roll: I just don't want to forget to mention this...) Carlos also has some stellar examples of tattered ears :| One ear was in the early stage, and the other has quite an apparent chip missing. When I first got him I thought they'd been chewed on by siblings... but then it developed a little further and I read about dryness being the culprit. So now he gets dabs of olive oil on his ears after bathtimes. But since they won't grow back, I may as well consider them cute and offer photos or educational purposes :roll:


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## Mushaboom (Jun 23, 2011)

I would be absolutely honored if you would use some of our pictures for your book. My little ham would love to be famous


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Here's my facebook album for Milly

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... .524125577

I hope that link works :lol:

I have a couple pictures of bath time, C&C cage pictures and a couple really good pinto spot pictures in her album.

I have a lot more pics on my computer. I have one where you can see her lady parts, but her face is blurry. If you don't mind blurriness, let me know and I can e-mail it to you!


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

I already posted this earlier, but here are the links again, I am sure that this project will be a hit! 
Hedgie
http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j32 ... 95/Hedgie/ 
Norah 
http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/JLF1995/Norah/ 
If you need some pictures of Norah, because she is a girl let me know ok?


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