# New Hedgehog Owner w/ lots of questions



## Hekzlol (Jan 1, 2012)

Me and my fiancee recently bought a hedgehog from a friend of ours, when we got him he was supposedly around 5 weeks old.

The first night we got him we left him alone, but after that we've brought him out at least once a day to socialize with us for about a half hour to an hour (He's fallen asleep in our laps a couple times.) But most of the time when he's in his cage, even during the night when it's dark in his room he does nothing but sleep; we're talking like 20 hours a day...
is this normal?

When we bring him out to play he sometimes poops out a tiny bit of almost diarrhea like poop, but only when we bring him out and only a small small amount; his other bowel movements are a normal consistency, what might cause this?

He's gotten slowly more and more accepting of us handling him and touching him, but sometimes he still 'poofs' up (I don't know the technical term for it lol)
but sometimes he's just incredibly grumpy, I assume this is normal?

Anything else important that I might not need to worry about right this minute but that I should know none-the-less?


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

It's all normal. He's still stressed out. I would leave him be in his cage for a bit.
Also, babies sleep up to 23 hours a day. 
Make sure you read the forums and stickies, especially in the food section. 
What kind of heating set up do you have?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Poofs up is a funny term :lol: Generally they make kind of a sneezing/strange exhaling noise called huffing. When their quills go up and they huff, the little jumping thing they do is called popping.

5 weeks is extremely young... Is your friend a breeder? 

You'll want to look up quilling (quill loss that happens with all hedgies when they're about 6, 9 and 12 weeks old) so you know what to expect.

There's no reason to keep him in his cage, especially if he is starting to get used to you. Socialization should start as early as possible and should be consistent.  The diarrhea when he's out might be stress related.

Definitely read all the stickied posts you see! And don't be afraid to ask questions here!


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

5 weeks is too young for a baby hedgehog to go to a new home. 6-7 weeks is more normal. So, on top of the baby dealing with the usual stress factors of transitioning to a new home, there's that to consider. To help him get used to you, you could handle him more often; it doesn't have to be an active kind, but even just having him snoozing in your lap for a few hours while you watch TV or whatever will help him bond. Some breeders are better about socializing their babies, and other breeders, not so much. It's possible that he wasn't socialized/handled very much before you got him, which would mean it'll take considerably longer for him to become comfortable with you. If he's around 6 weeks now, he's most likely going through quilling, which will also make a baby more grumpy than usual.

No offense, but the 5 week thing suggests that the friend you got him from isn't a very well informed hedgehog owner/breeder. Whatever information they gave you when you got him, it'd be a good idea to double-check.

Fortunately, this forum has all the information you could possibly need (and then some). A few important things to look into are the temperature, wheel, and food. They should be a minimum of 4 sq. ft. and the walls should not be climbable. They need a 12" wheel (bucket wheel is best; it can't be a wire wheel or a silent spinner). The cage has to be in the 70s; 74-78 degrees is ideal. The food should be a good quality dry cat food, high in protein and low in fat, and it's a good idea to supplement it with crickets/mealworms, unseasoned cooked chicken, and fruits/vegetables.

There are all sorts of little specifics you'll need to know, too, because hedgehogs have a lot of very particular needs. (For instance, they shouldn't have sleeping bags with loose threads on the inside, because if a thread (or even a human hair) gets caught around a foot, it can do severe damage, to the point of amputation being required.) You should definitely read through the different sections of the forum thoroughly, and pay attention especially to the stickies in the different sections. There's a sticky about the specifics of heating a cage, and one about dry cat foods, among others.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Welcome to the forum!  This book will help with a lot of stuff it's a free download, the author is our very own LizardGirl  
http://www.hedgehogbook.webs.com/


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## Hekzlol (Jan 1, 2012)

Haha, well judging by the posts and things I've read I've come to the conclusion he's older than 5 weeks, I'm gonna make a guess around more or less 7 weeks old.
We're gonna try and find a vet to take him to for a check up, and to see exactly how old he is and just to make sure there's nothing to worry about.

We took him out for a while tonight while watching tv, and just let him crawl around, he ended up cuddling under a shirt on my lap... and eventually pooped and pee'd on me lol. We put him in the bath after to clean him up, and he came out of the bath incredibly friendly, and willing to crawl all over us without huffing or popping at all. Is it okay to give them baths regularly, or bad to give them baths too often? We figure if he likes it, why not. 

We put him back in his house to do his own thing, looking forward to spending time with him tomorrow though.

I've bookmarked a bunch of stickies and various links from the forums, gonna look through them in depth tomorrow.


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

Hello! Welcome to the forums!  

For baths, they really should only be given if they are needed. Too many baths can lead to dried out skin- which makes for a very flaky itchy hedgie. What kind of wash are you using for your hedgie? It seems like there are two major products that people use around here: Aveeno Unscented Wash or (my preference) Aveeno Oatmeal Baby Wash. The oatmeal wash is a powder, and I feel like it's easier to measure. 

I hedgie may need little foot baths, though. Since they run so much on their wheels and poop on the go- well, poop boots happen. :lol: So, for dirty feetsies, just fill up the tub to the point where there belly isn't getting wet and let them walk around. I find that during foot baths are the best time to clip nails too.  

A little concern, after the bath; did you immediately put your little one back in the cage? They should really be snuggled for at least an hour to make sure they are completely dry. If a hedgie is put back in their cage damp they run the risk of developing an upper respiratory infection- which is easy for little babies. 

Unless you notice alarming behavior, I would wait a couple of weeks before you visit the vet. This way you know what is normal behavior for your hedgie and you can relay information with confidence. Good luck with your new addition! Like everyone says, review the information on the forums. They are super helpful!


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## Hekzlol (Jan 1, 2012)

Well, we're not using a wash currently. Just water, we'll pick up something eventually.
Just water shouldn't dry out his skin should it?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It can if you give them baths too often - like licking your lips a lot in the winter. Water evaporates and draws moisture out with it. If you don't want to get any body wash or anything to bathe him with yet, just get a can of old-style, non-instant oatmeal. You can put a small handful in a sock and squish it around in the water a bit until the water's cloudy. The oils and such help moisturize their skin so it doesn't get so dry from the water. You can also get flaxseed oil capsules and poke a hole in one and squeeze the oil into the rinse water. That'll help moisturize his skin as well.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

As strange as it sounds, just plain water is very drying for skin, it draws away the natural oils.


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## Hekzlol (Jan 1, 2012)

Nope, doesn't sound strange at all... in fact I'm silly to have not remembered that in the first place. Thanks for the help though, =]


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