# Winter Blues?



## lailalotus (Jan 27, 2014)

Hi Everyone. My little Rosie (1.5 years old) has been a complete bum since the end of December. About a month ago she stopped running on the wheel (which has no structural/movement issues) and won't poop in her cage. It seems like she doesn't even get up at night except to eat and drink (still eating/drinking a normal amount). When I take her out of the cage to play, she is energetic, poops and pees as if she's been holding it in for a while (poop is normal color and consistency) and runs around exploring. She has no apparent injuries or movement problems, and we brought her into the vet for an exam and she has a clean bill of health! Her nails are always regularly trimmed so that can't be the issue either. Her cage is a steady 78 degrees thanks to a ceramic heat emitter and she gets 10 hours of natral light every day. 

What the heck is going on? Anyone have any ideas?


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## ajweekley (Aug 8, 2013)

The natural light might be the problem. It's much weaker in the winter. Try her with some brighter light and see if that helps.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Agreed with AJ. She needs 12-14 hours of light year-round, which isn't possible with just natural light in the winter.


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## lailalotus (Jan 27, 2014)

Ok I'll try some extra hours of light and report back. Thanks for the input!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

And welcome to the forum! If you haven't seen it, this is a lovely careguide for hedgehogs.


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## lailalotus (Jan 27, 2014)

It took a few days for her to adjust but I'm happy to report that Rosie used her wheel for quite some time last night!! I woke up to the pitter patter of her little feet and was so excited I had trouble falling asleep again!!! She still didn't poop or pee in the cage but I think that's because she did a lot of that when she had a bath shortly before bed. Thank you for your input!! The light never really occurred to me because we didn't have this problem last winter, but I realized she was in a different room this time last year that saw way more action (and the lights were on for several hours into the night.) Thanks again from one happy hedgie mama


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Yay!!


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