# New Owner



## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

Hello!
my name is Gabe
2 days ago i bought my very first Hedgehog!
His name is Ayumi!
i made his house with a plastic trasnparent box
under it i put old newspapers
i got him one of those refill water thingies but he drinks from under it in a plastic little bowl i got
i also used a plastic lid to put his food, im feeding him mazuri
i used an old shirt of mine so he cuddles with it
and he plasy with toilet paper rolls

he seems young, he looked younger than the other ones at the store

He is really friendly (?) he lets me hold him and he likes walking around on my hands and sniffing

he walks around the box eats drinks plays and then he sleeps

according to my phone the temperature is 27 °C (80.6 °F)

My questions are:

Is his housing alright?

Should i let the food bowl inside the box or whats a good schedule to let him eat?

Is it alright how he sleeps and just turns into a ball so much?

is the temperature alright?

I live in mexico and my english is not so good
i really want to take care of my hedgie


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## autumnfox (Feb 5, 2018)

The temperature is a little bit too hot. It should be between 72-80 degrees F. Try to aim around 76.


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## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

autumnfox said:


> The temperature is a little bit too hot. It should be between 72-80 degrees F. Try to aim around 76.


I will try!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Ayumi is just adorable!!!


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## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

Thanks!!


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## Scuzz (Jun 3, 2017)

He does look young!
I dunno where he was bred, but I live in Thailand and it's a cold day when it gets down all the way to 27. Usually 30-33. Sometimes up to 35. We have 4 hedgies and they don't seem to mind at all. They run all night no problem. Yes, they like to sleep during the day. Sometimes in their coroplast boxes I made them, and sometimes under the old pillow stuffing or newspaper strips that I keep in their box. Yes, all you detractors... 3 of them live together and get along fine. Mom has her own little place and seems to like it that way.
They all have food and water at all times. Crickets are a daily treat that they come running for.


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## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

Scuzz said:


> He does look young!
> I dunno where he was bred, but I live in Thailand and it's a cold day when it gets down all the way to 27. Usually 30-33. Sometimes up to 35. We have 4 hedgies and they don't seem to mind at all. They run all night no problem. Yes, they like to sleep during the day. Sometimes in their coroplast boxes I made them, and sometimes under the old pillow stuffing or newspaper strips that I keep in their box. Yes, all you detractors... 3 of them live together and get along fine. Mom has her own little place and seems to like it that way.
> They all have food and water at all times. Crickets are a daily treat that they come running for.


i dont know where he was breed either.... but here is kind of hot at 27 i already lowed the temperature to 24 to be safe tho.
Thats so cool! i want to get more hedgies too!


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## autumnfox (Feb 5, 2018)

Scuzz,
I would not recommend putting hedgehogs together for a number of reasons. Sometimes it is alright if they are females and were raised together, but it is typically not recommended as they CAN still hurt each other. Hedgehogs living together peacefully for a long time CAN become aggressive suddenly with no warning and then will no longer be peaceful. Males should never EVER be housed together as they will fight to the death. And males+females should only be put together for a short time when trying to have babies, as the male can become aggressive after.

Scuzz, are all of the hedgehogs female?


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Rabit_A27 said:


> i dont know where he was breed either.... but here is kind of hot at 27 i already lowed the temperature to 24 to be safe tho.
> Thats so cool! i want to get more hedgies too!


It's about the same temp here in Tokyo already! My boy does ok with slightly higher temps, his cage is around 26C atm but last summer it got as hot as 30C in his cage, when the outside temp was 36C! I used ice packs wrapped in cloth hand towels to help bring his cage temp down. I placed the ice packs on top of the cage and he would normally go lay under the spot they were placed at, I had to change them about 2-3x times a day. They can handle high temps (35C being the absolute maximum but I wouldn't let it get much higher than 30C to be on the safe side) more than low temps (23.5 is the recommended lowest), which are more dangerous for them. Of course keep an eye out for any splatting (laying on stomach with arms and legs stretched out) as this is a sign they're too hot. Another good thing to buy is a ceramic floor tile (DIY store) or a terracotta pot which are naturally cooler to the touch and they can lay on/in them when they feel too hot. The tile always makes my boy pee though lol ><

Also Gabe, it would be worth buying a digital thermometer to put inside his cage area (they have a probe you can hang inside the cage) as the room temp can differ to the temp in his actual cage. You can buy them in reptile sections and Amazon sells cheap ones, if you have access to their website in Mexico?


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## Scuzz (Jun 3, 2017)

autumnfox said:


> Scuzz,
> Scuzz, are all of the hedgehogs female?


Yes, all are female.
One thing I have noticed is that Mom is a stout Albino, and the 3 kids are totally different sizes. One is (hmmm... how can I put this...) OK, fat. One is 
What I consider overweight, and one is skinny. When I took a good look at them the other day, the "skinny one" I would consider normal in any other situation. I guess it's in the perception. Fat is the new normal?


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## rao12 (May 9, 2018)

Muy bonito


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

There are a couple of things I've noticed with your set up. You said you're using newspaper as bedding? Newspaper isn't a good bedding because it becomes very cold when wet and can cause your hedgehog to become chilled. Some ink is also not good for them and can cause health issues and quill staining.

Mazuri is a horrible food. The ingredients are not good and it's very very hard to chew for them. Most people feed a high quality low fat cat food which is much healthier for hedgehogs than commercial hedgehog food.


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## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

I changed the bedding from newspapers to critter care paper bedding and im considering feeding him cat food but i still don't know which is better im also thinking about introducing him to other foid such as carrots or chicken


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Personally I would switch to cat food. If you look at the ingredients you'll see there are a lot of fillers and not much for nutritious ingredients. Try biting on a piece and see how hard it is. Ask yourself if you would want to eat a food that hard and with all those fillers. Not to mention that it's been shown over and over again that cat food is healthier for them.


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## Rabit_A27 (May 2, 2018)

rao12 said:


> Muy bonito


gracias:-D


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