# New Hedgie! Sorta dumb question...



## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

Hi everyone!

my name is clarissa..and well Well i just got my new hedgie baby today, his name is PJ and he's 8 weeks old. I have to say i was a little surprised...he is so active right now! Just running around in his wheel! he drank a little and ate a mealworm or too...but he's just been at his wheel. He's very social and hasnt really balled up yet...now for the dumb question..

is this normal??!! lol


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Congrats on your hoglet and welcome to HHC!  
Hedgies just like people come in all kinda shapes,sizes,attitudes and personalities so i'd say yeah he's normal.



Edit to fix spelling.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Definitely normal  Welcome to HHC.

Like LarryT said, each hog is so different from one and another, definitely more personality than many other animals. I think as they get older they tend to settle into the more later hours. He sounds like he's going to be a great hog, especially since he's out, eating, drinking and playing on the first day, some can be really timid about a home change, he sounds most excited.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Welcome! We would love to see pictures!


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## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

thanks all!

ok, here we go...i think i'm being the typical new mom, but...PJ stopped playing and it just laying down...is he sleeping or...something else?  his cage is a comfy 74 right now..i just went and bought a little space heater...right now i have him in a sterlite container....im gonna get him a better home in the next couple of days...but for now that's it...how do i position the heater seeing that the container is too high. do i put it right over the container? or...?

Help! lol


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I would put it next to the container, maybe even blowing not on it but right to the side of it, make sure there's no draft air going into the container itself, that's the main thing.

Is he laying or splatting (splatting they kind of look like superman flying, laying on stomach with limbs sticking out). He's probably napping. Babies sleep a lot, so if he's been up for awhile, he's probably tuckered out. Even adults, at least mine guys, wake up at 10:30pm, they'll wheel, eat and drink for an hour or two, then sleep for an hour or two, then get up around 2:30, 3am and wheel for 3 or 4 hours, then its sleep until the next night. They are quite the lazy creature, though they wheel for miles.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Welcome to HHC & Congrats on your hedgie! 

Did you name him after me? :lol: Awesome name, by the way!


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## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

LOL it IS a great name!

so with the space heater...it's ok to put it next to the plastic tub? it wont melt it or make it too hot?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

PJsMom said:


> LOL it IS a great name!
> 
> so with the space heater...it's ok to put it next to the plastic tub? it wont melt it or make it too hot?


I don't think you should put it right next to the cage, but maybe a foot or two away.
Just remember a space heater will heat your entire room, so not just the hedgie cage

Congrats on your new hedgie btw


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

It shouldn't melt it if its not sitting extremely close and aimed at it. I mean general idea of using a space heater is keeping the entire room warm, for personal warmth hedgehog wise you get a CHE setup, keeps their cage/container warm while letting the room be cooler. Do you have a digital thermometer for inside the cage?


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## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

yup i sure do. i just want to make sure he's ok...my apt is usually around 71-73ish..i put the space heater a little next to his container

im working on getting a C&C cage asap! unfortunately our local walmart doesnt carry them so we had to order it online


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

PJsMom said:


> yup i sure do. i just want to make sure he's ok...my apt is usually around 71-73ish..i put the space heater a little next to his container
> 
> im working on getting a C&C cage asap! unfortunately our local walmart doesnt carry them so we had to order it online


You can build your own C&C cage, but I guess it's a little too late now~


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## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

lol just a little, but it's ok...we got it on sale! 4 cubes..so i think that'll make a nice cage for now


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## Evelyne (Jul 8, 2010)

Since nobody mentioned this..
If your hedgie is only 8 weeks old it shouldn't have a wheel right now. 
You should wait untill he is 12 weeks old


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

There is no problem with offering a wheel at 8 weeks. It's perfectly fine to have one that young.


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## Evelyne (Jul 8, 2010)

I don't want to go offtopic here so I will send you a pm Lizardgirl


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

My xavier's mother died while giving birth  and he is a small hog partly because of it(260 grams at over a year old). Anyhow I just wanted to say that since he was so tiny he did not get a wheel for several months untill he got his weight up.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Babies can have a wheel as soon as they leave mom at 6 or 7 weeks. Unless there is a health or weight issue such as with Larry's Xavier, there is no reason at all not to give them a wheel at that age.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

All my babies get wheels right after being weaned, I just wait about a week to make sure they're eating good then they get one. By the time they go to their new homes they've had a wheel for a week or more.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Puffers315 said:


> Even adults, at least mine guys, wake up at 10:30pm, they'll wheel, eat and drink for an hour or two, then sleep for an hour or two, then get up around 2:30, 3am and wheel for 3 or 4 hours, then its sleep until the next night. They are quite the lazy creature, though they wheel for miles.


Snarf kills me: we put him in his pen everynight to play. He will start checking out a toy 6 - 8 inches away, take a step towards it, then lay down and have a nap. It's like he's thinking "I want to smell that thing but it's soooooo far. Never mind." This from a dude who wheels whose 5 mile nights are 'rest days'.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

Sounds normal to me because mine was like that too. Super friendly and didn't huff or anything, but then she started quilling and became little miss grumpypants. She's better now though but still huffs a bit when you wake her...


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