# Sudden Growth Spurt?



## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Before I say anything I don't have a scale so I can't tell you her weight. 

Roxie seems to have almost doubled in size. She's not fat because she has no issues rolling into a ball and has no 'flabby' skin under her arms and certainly no double chin, though she's got a kind of 'hump' on her shoulders. 

She's about 14 cm long, from nose to bum. She was about 11cm-ish when I just got her. 

She is approx 3 mo 2 weeks old, currently undergoing quilling (first batch of quills are poking out, yeeg scary) 

I just wanna know if she'll get more growth spurts along the way or will she stick around this length more or less? I've heard our pet hedgies can get from 7-9 inches in length, but judging from the ones I've seen on forum, being around that size is rather...rare?


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Search around the forums to confirm the answer but I think growth wise a hedgehog reaches their full size at around 6 months, so she'll probably grow some more. They can range is size, length wise I cannot say but weight wise they can range from 250 grams to 600, 700, though the larger sizes seem to be uncommon. I think it was Nancy who said years ago when they first became pets, it was average that they were large, say between 600 and 1000 grams, but then the smaller size became 'standard' and breeders have bred them to be so.

My Loki is 420grams while Hester is 620, my first hog was 250 grams. So I'd expect her to get somewhat larger, a scale will help to follow her growth.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't know about others' but my hedgie is about the same age as yours, and in about 1.5 months my hedgie has more than dobuled in weight. Babies of any species grow quickly so I wouldn't worry. I would get a scale if you can... they're pretty cheap on eBay or from a local store too.


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Yeah I should!

I'll probably get it when I go for the next round of stuff for her (early Dec?) she's outgrown her sleeping place and I'm thinking of adding another sterilite bin to the ensemble


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

My Mila is a little over 12 weeks old. 

When I got her (at 6 weeks) she was 135 g, now she is 370! she had leveled off at 320 for about 4 days, and somehow she has gained another 50 g over the past week! she is definately bigger in every way possible. 

Mila's food intake has been steady though, so i am not sure if appetite is an indication of a growth spurt or not.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Hercules is about 10 or 11 months old, and his growth didn't taper off until a couple of months ago. He is just shy of 500g now (a big boy), and there was a point in time when he leveled off around 420, but then he gained a little bit more. Your Roxie's growth should slow down too.


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Wow, if she's gonna keep growing like that, I might have to rename her Hogzilla  

As far as I've seen her eat, she's been polishing off practically everything for the last couple of weeks, its like she's been particularly ravenous the way she's eating lol. About 2 tbsp of kibble a day plus/minus the bit of fruit n' veg she gets.


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

Tarynsgate said:


> Wow, if she's gonna keep growing like that, I might have to rename her Hogzilla
> 
> As far as I've seen her eat, she's been polishing off practically everything for the last couple of weeks, its like she's been particularly ravenous the way she's eating lol. About 2 tbsp of kibble a day plus/minus the bit of fruit n' veg she gets.


She should be free fed until she is 6mths old (this goes for any baby hedgehog). She should always have food left in her bow when you go to change her water and food. This ensures she is indeed getting enough.

If she is finishing off what you give her then she is hungry and if she is ravenous about it then she is so because she isn't getting enough in her mind.

Please start free feeding her and see how she goes.

Her weight should taper off between 6-8months old.

*for spelling correction


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

PapilionRu said:


> She should be free fed until she is 6mths old (this goes for any baby hedgehog). She should always have food left in her bow when you go to change her water and food. This ensures she is indeed getting enough.


Correct me if wrong but I thought hedgehogs should always be free fed, even when older than 6 months, unless some specific health condition requires it differently, or the hedgehog in question is overweight.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

susanaproenca said:


> PapilionRu said:
> 
> 
> > She should be free fed until she is 6mths old (this goes for any baby hedgehog). She should always have food left in her bow when you go to change her water and food. This ensures she is indeed getting enough.
> ...


Yes, you are right. They should all be free fed except for health and weight issues.


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

susanaproenca said:


> PapilionRu said:
> 
> 
> > She should be free fed until she is 6mths old (this goes for any baby hedgehog). She should always have food left in her bow when you go to change her water and food. This ensures she is indeed getting enough.
> ...


Yes all hedgehogs should be free fed unless there is a medical reason not to whether it be health or weight related.

I was just addressing the issue at hand since the owner seems already worried about her size, didn't particularly want them to worry even more from free feeding later on.

 Sorry for the confusion!


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

The amount was enough until recently so on your advice(s) I added an extra spoonfull last night's feeding and she didn't finish it all so I guess she's finally had her fill (with extra!) 

Scale's on its way, got a nice one on ebay


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

I reduce the amount of food I put in my hedgie's dish when I add flax oil so she'll get more of it sooner... I don't starve her though because there is always extra kibble leftover in her bowl! 

Nice, which scale did you get?


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Getting this one : http://cgi.ebay.com.my/Electronic-Digit ... 483dbfdfeb

I've got a basin that I use to wash Roxie's feet in so that goes on top


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

If you think about it... when does your hedgie every sit still?!

I struggle almost every day when weighing my hedgie. I always try the direct method (plop hedgie on scale + weigh) but it's pretty rare for me to get a good reading. So, I wrap her in fleece and she usually stops wiggling around after a few seconds and I get a couple seconds to get the reading. Goodluck!


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Hmm I dunno  when I take her out she usually keeps pretty still for a few minutes when I plop her down on the table. I think she just enjoys the fact that its cold haha.


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Didn't want to double post but, I finally got a reading on Roxie's weight and.... she's a whopping 420g at 4 months old  she's gonna be huuuuuuuuuge.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

That's about as big as my Zoey - but I do love the feel of a hefty, healthy hedgie!


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