# Hedgehogs coupling



## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

Hi, i'm from Italy so sorry for my english.

My male hedgehog refuses to coupling with the female hedgehog, she try to bite the male and blow.. So i would like to know if is possible that the female never coupling with the male or i have to wait and to leave their together. 

Sorry again for my english and thank you for the help

PS

i've an african hedgehog


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## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

Sorry is the female that refues to couple with the male.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Are you trying to breed them? Do you have a mentor to help you with these questions? Do you have pedigrees on both your hedgehogs?


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## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

twobytwopets said:


> Are you trying to breed them? Do you have a mentor to help you with these questions? Do you have pedigrees on both your hedgehogs?


What do you mean with "to breed them"? I give to them food and sometimes i hold in my hands. No i've not a mentor, and not i've not pedigrees but in Italy we often don't have pedigree of the hedgehogs.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

If you aren't trying to breed them, why are they interacting? Or am I missing something?


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## blacktallon (Jun 25, 2015)

I think Marcello might be confused by the wording. Marcello are you trying to get them to have babies?


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## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

blacktallon said:


> I think Marcello might be confused by the wording. Marcello are you trying to get them to have babies?


Yes i do.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Find a mentor. Someone that can answer those questions about breeding. This person is beyond valuable if you are trying to breed them. They will ensure you know what is and isn't normal breeding and parenting behavior. They will also be the person you can go to at 3 am when something WILL go wrong.
Without any type of pedigree how are you deciding that they are both good quality breeding stock? That they are less likely to pass on genetic issues like wobbly hedgehog syndrome or other issues that are genetic in nature?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

twobytwopets said:


> Find a mentor. Someone that can answer those questions about breeding. This person is beyond valuable if you are trying to breed them. They will ensure you know what is and isn't normal breeding and parenting behavior. They will also be the person you can go to at 3 am when something WILL go wrong.
> Without any type of pedigree how are you deciding that they are both good quality breeding stock? That they are less likely to pass on genetic issues like wobbly hedgehog syndrome or other issues that are genetic in nature?


He can't but keep in mind some countries don't use pedigrees (yet) so there simply is no other option if you want to breed hedgehogs than to start with non-pedigreed animals. Of course you can always be the one to start making them 

WHS is, fortunately, extremely rare to nearly non-existent in (mainland) Europe. But using pedigrees is always better because there can be other genetic diseases and it's a good way of tracking down breeders. Marcello, where did you get your hedgehogs from? Is there an experienced owner you can talk to who can help you (preferably in your own country?)


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## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

Draenog said:


> He can't but keep in mind some countries don't use pedigrees (yet) so there simply is no other option if you want to breed hedgehogs than to start with non-pedigreed animals. Of course you can always be the one to start making them
> 
> WHS is, fortunately, extremely rare to nearly non-existent in (mainland) Europe. But using pedigrees is always better because there can be other genetic diseases and it's a good way of tracking down breeders. Marcello, where did you get your hedgehogs from? Is there an experienced owner you can talk to who can help you (preferably in your own country?)


They're from Venezia and Verona and are african hedgehogs, i only know this information. No i can't, i talk with the 2 guy who sell me the hedgehog and one don't know nothing about but they can't drink milk and the other guy tell me that the female hedgehog have to stay with the male for 15 days to coupling.. But they are not coupling yet


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

How are vets about treating hedgehogs in your area?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Unless you're watching them 24 hours a day there is no way to say if they have bred or not. When I was still breeding hedgehogs I never once saw them breed but had lots of babies.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Marcello said:


> They're from Venezia and Verona and are african hedgehogs, i only know this information. No i can't, i talk with the 2 guy who sell me the hedgehog and one don't know nothing about but they can't drink milk and the other guy tell me that the female hedgehog have to stay with the male for 15 days to coupling.. But they are not coupling yet


Is there someone else who can tell you more about hedgehog breeding and has experience?

If you are this inexperienced I would not attempt to breed them again. They might have bred already, but if the female didn't take, please don't try again.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Solitary prey animals. They don't like groups and would rather be alone. They don't have a pack of their kind around to protect them. When an animal is actively mating, they are vulnerable to attack. They most likely won't mate if there is some one watching them.


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## Xindara (Oct 24, 2015)

Are you even sure you have a male and a female? Are you able to make the difference? I got my hedgehog in Greece, where I believe the pet shop situation is probably just as bad as in Italy, and the next day after the purchase, I flipped my little boy over and discovered she was a girl. And a month later I had 4 babies... Pet shops also lie about the age of the animals (mostly because they don't even know). So maybe your female is too old for babies. There can be many reasons... Or maybe they have coupled while you weren't watching and you're gonna get surprise babies next month.
In any case, you should really read carefully all you can about babies, because it's stressful when you have no one to help. Also, what are you gonna do with the babies?
Here it wasn't so easy to find proper families for them (I refused to let people I deem irresponsible take them and I'm keeping two of them in the end... Since you can't house males and females together, having several hedgehogs requires a lot of space and money and energy!). Also take into consideration that they need a special wheel and each cage needs to have one - it is very expensive to import them from the US.
It's ok to have hedgehogs in Southern Europe but only if we can afford them (that is get them a big enough cage, a wheel, proper food, etc). AND I found no proper vet here; have you checked in Italy if there are specialized vets?
Until you're sure you have enough money to have 7 cages and 7 wheels, I would advise to stop trying to couple your hedgehogs.


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## Marcello (Nov 21, 2015)

twobytwopets said:


> How are vets about treating hedgehogs in your area?


Terrible



nikki said:


> Unless you're watching them 24 hours a day there is no way to say if they have bred or not. When I was still breeding hedgehogs I never once saw them breed but had lots of babies.


i'm sure that they don't couple because every time that the male try to couple with her she blows and snaps.



Draenog said:


> Is there someone else who can tell you more about hedgehog breeding and has experience?
> 
> If you are this inexperienced I would not attempt to breed them again. They might have bred already, but if the female didn't take, please don't try again.


no there isn't



Xindara said:


> Are you even sure you have a male and a female? Are you able to make the difference? I got my hedgehog in Greece, where I believe the pet shop situation is probably just as bad as in Italy, and the next day after the purchase, I flipped my little boy over and discovered she was a girl. And a month later I had 4 babies... Pet shops also lie about the age of the animals (mostly because they don't even know). So maybe your female is too old for babies. There can be many reasons... Or maybe they have coupled while you weren't watching and you're gonna get surprise babies next month.
> In any case, you should really read carefully all you can about babies, because it's stressful when you have no one to help. Also, what are you gonna do with the babies?
> Here it wasn't so easy to find proper families for them (I refused to let people I deem irresponsible take them and I'm keeping two of them in the end... Since you can't house males and females together, having several hedgehogs requires a lot of space and money and energy!). Also take into consideration that they need a special wheel and each cage needs to have one - it is very expensive to import them from the US.
> It's ok to have hedgehogs in Southern Europe but only if we can afford them (that is get them a big enough cage, a wheel, proper food, etc). AND I found no proper vet here; have you checked in Italy if there are specialized vets?
> Until you're sure you have enough money to have 7 cages and 7 wheels, I would advise to stop trying to couple your hedgehogs.


yes i'm sure, i also see the photo where my female have babies.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

If there is no experienced vet and no vet who's willing to learn about hedgehogs available to you, you shouldn't have hedgehogs in the first place.

By trying to couple them you are risking their lives and those of their possible babies. You are inexperienced, have no vet at hand, no mentor... you are not in a position to even think of breeding hedgehogs. Please do your research first, find an experienced mentor (preferably someone in your own country) and a vet. Then you can consider breeding your hedgehogs.


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## octopushedge (Apr 26, 2015)

Just to clarify, breeding can be very horrific. You could wake up one morning and find body parts of a baby hedgehog strewn throughout the cage. You could find a baby hedgehog half-dead and you have to be the one to euthanize it. Your mother hedgehog could die giving birth because her hips aren't wide enough. There are a million things that could go wrong and you HAVE to have systems in place to deal with it. It's not just cute little babies.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

I had to get a good nights sleep before being able to reply. 
You want to breed your hedgehogs, but it sounds like there isn't even a vet to handle basic issues let alone breeding issues. 
You don't have a mentor to contact with questions in an emergency. Sometimes in the middle of the night with no experience you aren't sure if it's something that can wait till morning or not. But wait for what? A vet? No you don't have one to take any breeding emergencies. 
What is your plan for delayed birth? A baby that is stuck and needs delivered surgically? When mom rejects or attacks babies or are born with deformities? 
If you don't have good answers for all those issues and you hadn't already, separate your hedgehogs. Pray to whoever you pray to that she is not pregnant. 
Until all those issues are able to be dealt with, don't have them in the same area. Not for bonding, not for eating, not even just to sniff each other. Make sure your cages are 100% escape proof, so there is no chance of them breeding again.


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