# New Owner



## Traveler (Dec 27, 2009)

Hello! I just got my baby boy Winston yesterday. He is a pinto and very silly. Instead of me picking him, he attached himself to me. He crawled all over me and burrowed into my jacket. He wouldn't even let me put him back. So I knew he was the one. Since getting him home, he has spent a lot of time sleeping. I notice when I leave the room, he eats and poops, and when I come back in he hides. But I've taken him out to play, and once I get him out he's very mamas boy. He begs to be picked up again. Also, I've been trying to get him to potty in his little litter area and he did once, then somehow took it out of there and spread it around his house. Now he just makes a mess.

I just worry about some things:
Is sleeping a lot normal for a young hedgie in a new home?
He has blue eyes, are there any special eye problems vs brown?
Also, the pet store only sold the corn bedding, which I read is bad for young male hedgehogs. Why is this? And what else should I use?

Thanks for the help.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Welcome to HHC and congrats on your new little guy!  

Yes, it's normal for babies to sleep quite a lot. They often will sleep all day, and most of the night as well, only waking for a couple of hours to eat, drink, run, etc.
I can't answer this question, not enough experience...I wouldn't imagine there being any difference though.
Corn bedding is bad for males because it can easily get stuck in their private parts and cause lots of issues. You'll find that most owners on this forum prefer to use fleece liners, and if you use the search feature on the top left hand of the page, you'll find lots of info on them. If you want to use something safe for his litter box, a paper pellet (like Yesterday's News) or paper towel would be good, from what I know.


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## Ariel (Oct 26, 2009)

Hedgehogs mostly sleep. As long as when he is awake he seems active and bright eyed I wouldn't worry too much. If you are having concerns I'd definitely recommend a well visit to a hedgie knowledgeable vet.
Most of us have our hedgehogs on cloth liners that you can just throw in the washing machine when they get dirty. Perhaps consider a switch to liners? It will definitely be cheaper and healthier for your Winston if you were to do that.
Many hedgehogs have blue sclera. The sclera is the part around the iris, the colored part. Like our human sclera is white, most hedgehogs have blue. Some have it so blue that their eyes look blue. I doubt his eyes are actually blue. If they are there is something wrong with them and he is likely blind I would think.


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## Traveler (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks for the help. I'll definitely look into the liners, although he loves to dig. 

He wakes up to play, but after a short time he finds my pocket and climbs in to sleep some more. At night I hear him get up and eat and his cage is always rearranged, so maybe he's still a little shy and sleepy from his transfer to his new home.

Interesting about the eyes. I looked at them more closely today and that's what it was. Thanks.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Mine is a big time digger too  If you have any small boxes like a Kleenex box or something you can cut an opening in it and put scrap fleece strips into them. My guy loved to dig into them and ended up taking his blanket to sleep in it instead of sleeping in the hedgie bag he loved so much when he first came home. That let me know he loved it so I gave him an option of an Igloo with a cover over it and then put scraps in there and its his new favorite place and he loves to dig in there and sleep


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

Riley's kleenex box was upside down, on his food dish, with the opening at the bottom. Fleece strips everywhere else, what a goofball! 

Traveler, I use one main liner for the bottom and then bunch up extra small blankets into a small "mountain" and they use those blankets for the digging, rooting, burrowing purposes. So far they haven't tunneled under the base liner. Oh and I use a placemat for under their food and water dishes so if they tip those it doesn't necessarily get on the base liner. Its not foolproof but does help contain the mess and its much easier to lift up the placemat to shake off crumbs than having to remove all the cage items. I use a separate liner for under the wheel because the under-wheel area is such a mess every morning, it gets changed daily. The main cage liner only gets changed once a week, barring any real messes. Hope this helps and congrats on your little one!


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