# Picking up a new hedgie today



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Hi Everyone, just wanted to let you know that I'm picking up a hedgehog today that needed a new home. She's 1 year old and her name is Izzy. From what I understand, Izzy hasn't had much handling and the trip back is going to be a big one for her. Hope she doesn't get car sick.  

I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll post them when I get back on Monday. She lives in TX so I'm going to visit some friends in Louisiana while I'm down there. Wish me luck!


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

Goodluck!!

Welcome home soon Izzy?


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Have a safe and wonderful trip!


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Cant wait for some pics!!! good luck with the car ride!


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Good luck and best wishes on the trip!! And, a welcome to Izzy!


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## ProjectParanoia (Jan 27, 2010)

I'm sure she'll have a great, loving home from here on out. Congrats on the new baby!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Congrats! Can't wait to see pics  thank you for taking in an adult needing a home


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Congrats!  Be safe!!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to hear all about her.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I brought her home and she did not get car sick. Yay! Although I didn't ask her personally. I just know she didn't throw up.  

I don't have pictures yet. I want to let her just settle in her cage until tomorrow night. She was being housed in a small aquarium. It happened that the woman I got her from, went to her mother's home for a visit and saw that her younger brother was ignoring Izzy and her aquarium was a mess. She rescued Izzy (Isabelle) from her brother but after learning about the time involved in caring for her, she wanted to give her a home with someone who could invest time and patients with her.

I saw her post on another forum and decided to go get Izzy and visit some friends and family in TX and Louisiana before school starts in September (I'm going to Michigan State for my graduate degree).

Well, she didn't have a wheel and the travel cage I brought her home in was bigger than the aquarium, so I left that, but I have her toys, food dish and her little bed.  This woman that gave Izzy to me was very concerned that the little girl went to a good home. I'm looking forward to holding Izzy tomorrow in her little hedgie bag and begin the journey of falling in love.  

She's beautiful and bigger than Harvey. I have some questions though.

She is going to the vet on Thursday and I want to get her fixed so I can introduce her and Harvey (supervised of course), but I don't have to worry about accidental hedgies running around. I would love hedgies running around, but neither hedgies are breeding quality. Neither have a geneology. Harvey has been known to bite, although I love him dearly and he's a cutie pie!  I not biased, just truthful! :lol: 

Anyway.....I understand that females can have problems if not neutered and not breeding. What are the pros and cons of having a one year old female neutered? Also, if you can think about good questions I can ask the vet, that would help.  Thanks.

1) Will there be a personality change after surgery? (Although she's very huffy and sounds like a rattle snake because she hasn't been handled.) Maybe a personality change might be good.

2)Also, if she is fixed right away, will she relate the pain of surgery to me and interfere with our bonding?

3) Anesthesia is risky for any hedgie, but do the risks increase because she is a year old?

4) Is she too old to benefit from the good the surgery would do or does her risk of cancer and other problems decrease still? I've heard some horrible stories about precious girls (hedgies) expelling their uterus......are these females who have been bred and gave birth or "virgin" hedgies?

Basically, I want some opinions on if the benefits outweigh the risks. I can make it so Harvey and Izzy never meet face to face (or other parts meeting)  , if the risk is too great for surgery now.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!  

Another question is about bathing. She really smells, but her skin looks like it's in good condition. I don't think the younger brother ever bathed her and the woman probably didn't either. I haven't seen her feet to see the condition they are in (nail length and poopy boots, etc). I just wanted to let her settle and get accustomed to her cage and now to not being in the car for several hours. When should I bathe her? I don't want to overwhelm her with so many changes at once. Although she did take to her wheel right away! I had to pick a comfort wheel up at the petstore because it was an emergency. I didn't realize she didn't have one. But within a couple hours she was exploring and running on it, even with me sitting next to her in the car, driving home. I'm taking this as a good sign, don't burst my bubble please.  

Concluding this novel, any information about spaying and about a good time to bathe her would be great. 

Thanks so much for your help and support.

Rainy, Harvey and now Izzy

I'll be posting about color identification on an appropriate thread when I get some pictures of her and she settles down a bit.


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2011)

I'm no expert but I am sure your male would still want to umm "get busy" with her even if fixed which would probably be stressful to her.

Can't answer any of the medical ones I am sure Nancy or Nikki will be around to answer


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## AnimeMutt (May 2, 2011)

Super cool! I'm sure that Izzy could not have gone to a better home!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Thank you TWCoger and AnimeMutt. But, what about a bath so soon after bringing her home? Would it be too many changes right now? She's really smelly but also very, very huffy and scared.


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## AnimeMutt (May 2, 2011)

Rainy... While bathing can be stressful, I'm almost positive that being smelly and most likely covered in urine and feces is attributing to her behavior. Tonya came home with me in the same condition and this method (a combination of things I've read on this forum and a couple ideas of my own) seemed to work very well.

Before you bring Izzy into the bathroom, get the water adjusted to temperature and keep the flow rate low so the noise doesn't freak her out so much. Don't fill the sink or tub just yet.

Hold Izzy in your palm over the sink. This will help her to feel more secure than if you just set her in the water, she'll be able to ball up without drowning, and she won't end up soaking in her own filth.

Gently cup the running water over her with your other hand. Balling up at this point is actually helpful because when the quills spread it's easier for the water to rinse away the yucky stuff (which will go down the drain, instead of back on Izzy).

By this time, she should be comfortable enough to allow you to soak off the "doodie booties". While she's soaking her feet, you might want to try rubbing her belly a bit to loosen any crud that might be there. Since you are not a "virgin" hedgie parent, I'm sure you have a good idea when enough is enough. 

Follow this up with the usual drying method, lots of praise and a few mealies. 

Just a quick note... Don't try to get everything all at once (unless she's being cooperative). With Tonya, I had to do the doodie booties and belly over the course of 2 evenings. The second night was much easier than the first. I attribute this at least in part to her feeling better. How much better? Well... Let's just say that she went from a light yellowish-brown color to almost white (she's an albino)! 

Good luck!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

AnimeMutt said:


> Rainy... While bathing can be stressful, I'm almost positive that being smelly and most likely covered in urine and feces is attributing to her behavior. Tonya came home with me in the same condition and this method (a combination of things I've read on this forum and a couple ideas of my own) seemed to work very well.
> 
> Before you bring Izzy into the bathroom, get the water adjusted to temperature and keep the flow rate low so the noise doesn't freak her out so much. Don't fill the sink or tub just yet.
> 
> ...


Thank you for all the tips. I can just put Harvey in the water and he walks around and swims until he just looks at me like he's ready to come out. Then I put a little Aveno Oatmeal wash on my hands, rub him and rinse. For non bath foot soaks, I just do the same without the Aveno. 

I was thinking of just putting about a quarter inch of water in the sink and letting her just get used to that. If the water is really nasty after than and she is okay, then I'll do more. But having water running like you said is probably better right now because she smells really bad. I haven't seen any poop (besides her boots) on her but I'm sure she's soaked in urine.

I saw her feet today and they don't look very good. I have a vet appt on Thursday and I'll have a better look at her feet after her bath. I won't wait on her bath then and I'll give it to her tomorrow.

Thank you so much for the help and tips, especially since you've been through this exact same thing.


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## AnimeMutt (May 2, 2011)

You're very welcome!

I've been having a heck of a time finding unscented Aveeno (or ANY unscented oatmeal based shampoo) around here and everything I've read stresses unscented. Besides that, I'm really not fond of the scent of baby powder. There are some stores that I haven't tried, like Bed Bath & Beyond. I'll be headed there tomorrow to pick up an air freshener or 2, so I suppose I could look while I'm there. Any other suggestions?


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## Littlefootsmama (May 23, 2010)

Although I'm sure she is freaked out right now, I wouldn't wait on the bath. I'm sure she can smell herself and if her feet are bad it could be causing her discomfort. She may associate her bath to you trying to help her and make her feel better. You can also put a washcloth in the bottom of the sink or tub for her to stand on, so she can get use to being in water and not slip all over. Holding her in your palm is also a very good idea though as well! 

If her nails are really bad I would almost wait and have the vet take care of it on thursday. However, if the bath relaxes her some and she is cooperating just do what she is allowing and then leave the rest for thursday. I rescued a "texas tumbleweed" and when I got him his nails were grown almost into his feet, so Im just having horrible flashbacks right now. I hope they aren't that bad, but if this boy never took care of her, god only knows. I'm so happy she is with you now!

I've never owned a female, so I don't know anything about spaying, but I wish you the best of luck!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

AnimeMutt said:


> You're very welcome!
> 
> I've been having a heck of a time finding unscented Aveeno (or ANY unscented oatmeal based shampoo) around here and everything I've read stresses unscented. Besides that, I'm really not fond of the scent of baby powder. There are some stores that I haven't tried, like Bed Bath & Beyond. I'll be headed there tomorrow to pick up an air freshener or 2, so I suppose I could look while I'm there. Any other suggestions?


Oh, I didn't realize that scent was a problem. :shock:

This is what I use. What are the issues related to scent?

[ur]lhttp://www.walmart.com/ip/Aveeno-Active-Naturals-Daily-Moisturizing-w-Natural-Colloidal-Oatmeal-Body-Wash-18-fl-oz/10293948[/url]


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Littlefootsmama said:


> Although I'm sure she is freaked out right now, I wouldn't wait on the bath. I'm sure she can smell herself and if her feet are bad it could be causing her discomfort. She may associate her bath to you trying to help her and make her feel better. You can also put a washcloth in the bottom of the sink or tub for her to stand on, so she can get use to being in water and not slip all over. Holding her in your palm is also a very good idea though as well!
> 
> If her nails are really bad I would almost wait and have the vet take care of it on thursday. However, if the bath relaxes her some and she is cooperating just do what she is allowing and then leave the rest for thursday. I rescued a "texas tumbleweed" and when I got him his nails were grown almost into his feet, so Im just having horrible flashbacks right now. I hope they aren't that bad, but if this boy never took care of her, god only knows. I'm so happy she is with you now!
> 
> I've never owned a female, so I don't know anything about spaying, but I wish you the best of luck!


Thanks for the tips. I'm going upstairs to give her a bath right now.


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## AnimeMutt (May 2, 2011)

I guess there can be an allergic reaction to some scents. I didn't really think it would be an issue at first, but the Aveeno Unscented Baby Wash is the only one I saw that was strongly recommended. Other shampoos that I've seen inquiries on ranged from "I woudn't" to a flat out "NO!" Upon reading the lists of ingredients on the bottles while browsing the stores, I was able to narrow down the list even further. In the end, I seriously thought about buying a container of Quaker oatmeal, cooking it up and (after it cooled) rubbing it on her. 

Perhaps I'm overly paranoid when it comes to Tonya, but I only want what's best for her. Since the one you use is all natural I don't see a problem, and I'll have to try that myself.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, I completely respect your choices in caring for your hedgie. I just didn't know about the list of products. Harvey and Izzy hasn't had a problem, but that doesn't mean that your hedgie won't. 

Hope you find what you're looking for!

Rainy


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