# Garden house



## pickles16 (Nov 7, 2011)

I am thinking of turning my old table into a cage for my hedgehog since she is geting too big for her tank. We tried all the wood shavings before and now switched her over to recycled paper bedding. I was thinking a full on dirt garden. She has a snake rock that she loves but is having problems getting in and out so I was thinking with the dirt she can dig a little and make her own half tunnel in. 
I was thinking of planting cacti and succulents in planters so that I can control what will be dirt and wat wont be. And all of the plants are thorny so that will discourage her from eating the plants plus non of the plants are poisenous only they don't list if they are specifically not poisenous for hedgehogs.
My questions are, will she eat the dirt? Are the cacti and succelents a good idea or should I pick other plants?


also i just want to specify that I would never harm my hedgehog, watering the plants won't get the dirt she walks on wet, the dirt will only be 4 inches deep, lined with plexi glass, no glue to glue the plexiglass together, the dirt will be sifted, the potted planters will be plastic so that she can't climb it and I will check daily for any insects as I already regularly check her temp, water, clean her poop, check her wheel and when I do feed her live insects I make sure she eats within 20 minutes or I take the insect out. 

Phew, first timmer, slightly paranoid... madly in love with my hedgehog.


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## sweetergrrrl (May 5, 2009)

O_O; I have no idea how that would work out or really how to anwser any of your questions! I just have to say it is a really neat idea, I would just worry about the baby getting super dirty lol. Link has enough trouble staying clean with a fleece liner!! :lol:


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

She could hurt herself on the cacti and I think it would probably just be pain to keep both her and the habitat clean. Plus having to change the dirt completely every so often cause hedgehogs poop a lot. It'd be hard to spot clean cause it would match the dirt. Also with the plants that would raise the humidity in her cage especially since it doesn't sound super ventilated(though I may just be misreading that). But plants cause moisture and the dirt will hold it well. This could cause skin problems. I'm sure one of the more experienced owners will come along but I think their answer would be similar to mine. 
I think it would be best for you to just go to fleece and just take her outside every so often when the weather is right. 
Defiantly change from the paper bedding though. If it's anything like carefresh then it's dusty and is bad for respiratory health. Aspen could hold mites so fleece is your best option and also the cheapest.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

The cacti would be very dangerous and I could see an eye poke or worse happening very easily. Having dirt in the cage like that would make a way bigger mess than poop on fleece liners, it would most likely be everywhere in the morning. I don't say to be discouraging but just based on how great hedgies can be at "rearranging" how they want things :lol: I think it sounds great to be thinking of another cage other than an aquarium. If you are liking the garden idea maybe you could plant hedgie safe plants in a container and then you could always let him explore around supervised during a play time. That way he can't ingest anything and you can watch and make sure it isn't getting in his eyes or nose. If you are wanting the dig area you could always get some fleece strips and make a dig box. Lately I've even seen some members getting big rounded rocks (to big to ingest) in a container and hiding things in them so they can explore around, seems like it could be a fun alternative with no dust


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## pickles16 (Nov 7, 2011)

Thanks for the help everyone. Good ideas. I think I will still change my table into a cage for her. But I will make it smaller and do plants outside around the cage. I really like the idea of the rocks, what sort of things would I hide around the rocks for my darling?

Also thanks for the bedding ideas, I had no idea that I could cause respiration problems. You guys where wonderful thank you again so much


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

Depends what your hedgie likes, You can hide mealworms(any of their forms). Any other treats like sweet potato or something like that. Chicken pieces. Ect.


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## pickles16 (Nov 7, 2011)

Sweet she loves her mealworms. I didn't know about sweet potatoes i'll have to try those. Raw or cooked?

Thanks again


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

Cooked, raw would be to hard. Or you can buy it in baby food form.


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

If you still want to add plants to her cage, you can use silk plants. Unlike plastic plants, silk plants have no chance for eye pokes and they are safe!


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## calisphere (Oct 29, 2011)

Silk plants are great! I have them in my turtle cage and sometimes I put them in with my bearded dragons. I know snakes love them (pain to remove them from the plants though). I'm sure my guinea pig Cupcake would do well with silk plants, but Hippo must chew on everything to figure out if it's food.

Here's a related, but different question. Is wheat grass safe for hedgies? If so, then you could give your hedgie a yard. It's supposed to be really simple to grow. I'm going to be trying my hand at it in my old turtle pool (a kiddie pool) for all of my rotten critters.


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm going to guess no on the wheat grass. Just because they're not really meant to eat grass and such.


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