# Ouchie turns 4 :-)



## horge (Sep 24, 2010)

She spent the afternoon in our laps while we watched a bunch of 
movies and stuff at home.

She seemed to relax best to _Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy_, _About Time_ 
and what seems to be her all-time #1 favorite... episodes of PBS' _
This Old House_.



Some images from the past four years:


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

Happy birthday!


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Happy birthday!!


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## Charlie's mommy (May 16, 2014)

Her name is too cute and I love all her accessories, very fashionable little lady  it's funny she reacts to the movies, howie does that too and gets mad when the Jeffersons is on. :roll: happy birthday ouchie! xo


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Happy Birthday Ouchie! 

LOL, she likes "This Old House". 

What did you get Her Royal Highness this year for her day?


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## horge (Sep 24, 2010)

Thanks for the thoughts, folks!
Poor howie, hehe. We don't get "the Jeffersons" over on this side of the Pacific 
We gave Ouchie a special snack of TetraBits granular fish food, and upgraded the 
extraction fan serving her bin.


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

Happy Birthday, Ouchie! Love the name.

Just curious...what have you been feeding her? I think there are things we can learn from elderly hedgehogs  Not sure what, exactly, but....things. 

Do you know anything about her parents, how long they lived? Is she a cuddler or an explorer? Has she had any health problems? Does she like treats?

Sorry for all the questions, but obviously you are doing things right and enquiring minds want to know.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Happy 4th birthday Ouchie! 
For note, you share a birthday with my sister. 
4 years is an awesome age and I hope all my babes live at least that long


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## horge (Sep 24, 2010)

CoffeeKat said:


> Happy Birthday, Ouchie! Love the name.
> 
> Just curious...what have you been feeding her? I think there are things we can learn from elderly hedgehogs  Not sure what, exactly, but....things.


The things I do/have differently from what I've seen here on HHC are:

- I use Chipsi bedding, spot clean daily and overhaul twice weekly.
The whole plastic bin gets washed thoroughly and sun-dried weekly.
The bin has an active vent, pulling air to the outdoors. This is only
easy here because I live in the tropics --it would be tough in locales 
where winter cold is an issue), but the turnover of air keeps the 
environment in her bin and in our house smelling fresh.

- Ouchie thrives on fairly low-protein diet. She's been on Purina
Friskies for kittens (chicken & fish) since 2011. She used to be mad
for garden millipedes and small crickets, but she lost interest in
those even before she turned 1.

- Since late 2010, she's gotten a bath every weekend. Warm water 
sudsed up with Safeguard classic beige and several drops of Body 
Shop "Tea Tree Oil Wash". Rinses with warm water, then it's paper 
towels and a low-heat blow drier to get her as dry as possible as 
quickly as possible. It's warm and humid in the Philippines, so I 
don't face the challenge of moisturizing hedgie skin, what I have 
to deal with is fungal issues -- skin and spines left damp can start 
to smell like moldy wood. I feel the sun's UV helps keep a hedgie's 
skin and spines problem-free, so she gets a few minutes' exposure 
at least every couple of days.

- Lots of handling/cuddling and very frequent outdoor time, even
just a few minutes every other day, so she gets a very varied
environment --new scents and stuff. I believe a bored hedgehog
is a depressed hedgehog, and more vulnerable to disease/aging.
Even though hedgehogs are solitary, I think they can get lonely,
too, and I think gentle human handling staves that off.



> Do you know anything about her parents, how long they lived? Is she a cuddler or an explorer? Has she had any health problems? Does she like treats?


- Her parents are an Algerian choco and an Algerian grey. Ouchie
takes after her maternal grandfather in coloring, but she's a lot
slimmer --maybe that's because of dietary differences. Sadly, I 
lost touch with the 'breeder' when the bbforum we met on went 
kaput.

- Her ears show mite-scarring. She's had the trouble since I first 
had her. She had a gait problem in her first year, because I did
not trim her rear-paws' claws more regularly. Only one instance
of a digestive problem, after I let her taste a grape wayyy back 
(HHC's Nancy cured me of my ignorance re toxicity).

- Twice in the past (can't recall exactly when) she lost her appetite.
No green stool or anything, she just ate less. I offered her every
treat, dry or wet food recommended online, but no joy. What got 
her eating again was granular fish food (TetraBits) sprinkled onto
her regular Friskies.

- Once, I thought she had WHS, but it turned out her left rear paw 
exhibited swelling. I smeared it with Triderm, a topical ointment
for humans, and it got better very quickly, although her initial
reaction was to bite her own (now unfamiliar-smelling) paw.

- Ouchie used to run like crazy until 2012. Now she just walks fast, 
but still covers a LOT of ground when we let her out of her bin 
When she's tired of walking, she will get on my foot and paw at 
my leg or actually try to climb up. That's the signal for a nap in
in my lap while I surf the net or watch TV.



> Sorry for all the questions, but obviously you are doing things right and enquiring minds want to know.


I don't know enough to say what I'm doing is right, lol.
What I'm doing wrong is NOT preparing myself for the inevitable.
I don't know how I and my wife are going to handle losing ouchie.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Thank you for the info. The completely different environment probably has a big impact on her lifespan. 
The inevitable is inevitable. It is what it is. I'm so happy for you and ouchie and your family that you have been together so long. I hope it goes at least another 4 years. 

.


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, and giving us all some tasty food for thought. I especially liked your observation that even a solitary creature can get lonely sometimes, as I have often wondered this myself. It's also good to be reminded from time to time that hedgehog longevity isn't totally dependent on diet, and that other factors come into play. May you and your family have several more years with Ouchie


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Thank you for the wonderful pictures! Happy Birthday beautiful little girl!! I love her pink bow and her "Thank you peasant." !!!!!!!!


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