# I may have found a hedgie - wonder if he's ok?



## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Well I posted yesterday about how I want to get a hedgehog, and I was able to talk to a nice breeder nearby. But while I was looking for info on them online I found someone nearby that is "rehoming" theirs. She let me come see it - apparently they got it for their daughter who is now ignoring it, after only 2 weeks.

Now I know all about how bad pet shops are - but I feel like if I take this hedgehog from them I am not actually supporting a pet shop, I mean they paid for it, not me, and the shop won't take it back - they also don't want any $ for it they just want it to be cared for. I consider myself a fairly good pet owner as I try to do the best thing for my pets and I spend tons of time not to mention money on them. *Anyway do you think it is unethical to adopt this one from them?* I'd worry if they just give it away to someone it might end up with another kid who can't handle it or something.

Anyway I went to see her because 1. I have never seen a hedgehog before, only read about them and seen pictures 2. I wanted to see if I liked this one.

We think it is a boy - it has a nub on it's belly which I read is it's boy parts. So I'm pretty sure.

It rolled into a ball right away, but then after only a minute unrolled and let me pick it up very easily, and walked around on my lap. It seemed pretty outgoing, not scared of me. I was surprised how sharp those quills are, I guess I had misread that they are not sharp lol. But when it relaxed and let me held it they didn't hurt at all.

It sniffed my arms and hands and wandered all over my lap, and let me carry it in my hand easily.

It's about the size of my hand - they don't know how old it is. If I get it I can weight it, is there any way to guess the age?

He's black and white with two white spots on each side of him, little silver-dollar sized white patches. (Is this the pinto marking?) He has a black nose with little black eyes and a white belly.

*My concern is that when I held him, one of his quills fell out - is that a sign of sickness or do they occasionally shed them? If he were sick would he be able to get my rats or other pet sick?*

I was planning on waiting until a breeder had some but I feel like this guy needs a good home and I have done tons of reading. I can make him a nice sterilite cage, I have good cat food from my cats and I can give him fresh veggies and even some bugs...I really liked how outgoing he was and I kind of want to get him. My vet treats exotics, she loved my rats, and I am going to call her tomorrow and make sure she could treat hedgies.

*What do you guys think? Any advice?*


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

It is perfectly fine for you to adopt this hedgie. It sounds like it has a pretty good personality, so that is a good thing. The only thing you need to keep in mind (not buying from a reputable breeder) is that you don't have any information on the hedgies background, and you will not be given any sort of WHS guarantee. Is that bad? Certainly not! My FIRST hedgie was acquired the exact same way. I felt like I was rescuing this little guy from an unwanted home, since he'd been neglected for a very long time. It took me almost a year to resocialize him. 

I'm a breeder myself, but I fully support adopting a hedgie that needs a loving home. It sounds like this little guy is lucky that YOU found him. BTW, if it has a "belly button", then it is definitely a male. And the white markings are called PINTO. But, you'll need to post pictures for us to tell you his exact color. As far as losing a quill, don't worry about that. Adolescents will shed their quills a couple times. Even an adult is apt to lose a quill, every now and then.

 Go get the little fellow and start LOVING him, immediately. 
Then post pics so we can see what he looks like!

Pixie


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks for the reply - I guess I felt like as long as someone else thought it was a good idea  

Well he's definitely a he then!

After looking at more photos of the colors online I think he's brown or dark grey, because his face was not dark but his quills are. He had some plain white quills besides the spots, and the rest were a dark brown or black with white tips. His eyes and nose are black.

I will probably go get him tomorrow, I have lots of bins already from my craft room storage. I am thinking I will use two side by side. I actually even have a wheel, I got one of those saucer wheels for my rats thinking they would use it - yeah right. I will try him on that, I saw several of you have them. I'm going to get a digital thermometer tomorrow at Walmart so I can stick it in there. 

I'm so excited, from what I have read he has a great personality. He was very noisy making clicks and puffs and he was easily startled but he was so quick to unroll and walk around on my lap that I think it is a very good sign. 

Any advice for the first couple days? I stay up pretty late (it's about 2am here now and I'm still doing some work lol) so I was hoping we could spend some good time together when he'd be awake and in a better mood - but do I need to just leave him alone for a few days so he can settle? Can I give him treats like mealworms or should I hold off on those too?


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

I'd recommend that you go get him and then place him in his new cage when you get home. Try to leave him alone for a couple days, to give him time to get used to his new home and settle down. If he allows you to pet him (inside his cage), that would be okay. But you don't want to stress him out, by taking handling him if he does not want you to (those first couple days). Let him get used to his new home/smells/sounds, and then you can try holding him and see how he reacts to you. If he seems stressed, give him a little more time. When I had my 'rescue', it took almost 2 months before I could pick him up and remove him from his cage. Every day, I would talk to him, stick my hand in (and pray he didn't bite me) while I was stroking his back. Some days, I would just put my hand inside and lay it on the floor of his cage, and let him walk over to me and sniff and smell......then he'd walk away and come back again. I had a tough case with my little guy. But I really don't think you're going to have too much trouble with yours. Bringing him home and giving him a couple days to settle down, are the same requests that I give to my customers that buy a hedgie baby from me. Just take things slow and easy, and ya'll will both be bonding before you know it!

Pixie


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Okay! I set up the cage - I have two of these bins but I don't have the PVC or tools to connect them yet - I am wanting to copy this style cage: http://www.mihog.org/cages/cage1.phtml with the second one for bedroom and bathroom.

((I was going to post pictures here and I got excited and hit submit before I uploaded them - they'll be here shortly, lol))

To put this in perspective it's the jumbo igloo and the 12" saucer - so they take up more room than I expected. I wanted to put in a litter box and a sleeping bag but it will have to wait for the second cage. Do you think I should use a different bedding instead of fleece until I can make a litter box area, or will it matter? I don't want him to get used to pooping everywhere on the fleece if he's going to be able to use the box later.

The digital thermometer has a humidity meter too - is there a specific humidity in the cage I should try to keep it at? We keep the house very low humidity thanks to our awesome new TRANE HVAC.

For now I am keeping the cage next to my desk so I can keep an eye on him when he gets here and make sure the temperature stays okay and the cats don't try to break in. I didn't have a chance to cut the screening into the lid but I might have time today. I have a work call at 12 so I really gotta go get ready. Waiting to hear back from the hedgie's current owner.

Have to think of a name too. As much as I am a huge video game geek - he won't be sonic  I saw a video of a hedgie named uni which means sea urchin which I thought was cute. I like weird names.

OOO I'm so excited - but I am nervous, I hope I do this right for him.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Congratulations. It's wonderful that you are not only getting a hedgie but helping one in need. Win win situation.  

If you are using a dual bin setup, have one with the flying saucer and a litter such as yesterdays news and it will be the litter bin. The other one can be for food/water and bed with liners. Is the igloo the oval one? If so, it is really kind of too large. He would feel better with the 10" x 12" one. I have a few little boys that love the small sized igloos. :lol: 

When you get him, make sure to get some of the food he is currently on and a take an empty bottle to get some of their water if it is different than yours. 

Are the bins you are using clear?


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Hi! It's a regular round igloo I think it is 10x12, it was an extra one I had for the rats they never used it. It is pretty huge compared to the hedgie but the only other one I have on hand is too small. I will stop and get a medium one at the store cause you could fit like 3 hedgies in this with no trouble lol.

Yes the bins are clear. They have nice locking lids and I am going to cut out most of the lid and replace it with 1/2" hardware cloth (This is something I have done before for a temporary rat cage so I don't have any worries about that). The connecting the two of them I am not sure about. Have you done that before? I'm wondering if I can get my neighbor to cut the circles using a jigsaw so they are nice and round, if I cut them with wire cutters they will be too jagged. I am also worried about if I can make it easy to take the two apart so I can fit them in the tub to rinse out. I could always just lug them outside cause the office has a sliding glass door to the backyard.

I'm going to get him in a few hours, I'm so excited!

Do you mean put the litter (yesterday's news) on one side, and on the other use the fleece? That makes sense. Then I don't even need a litter box, that will free up room.

Right now the bin is reading 78, it's been that since I set it up. That is a good temperature, right?

Here is the bin:








(the cat is like what the heck?)

So I have fleece, the saucer wheel, a tp tube, food, water, igloo and a thermometer.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

These may help with how to cut the plastic. http://www.mihog.org/cages/cage_directions.phtml


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Looks good so far. Yes, you should be able to cut the lid with a jigsaw. Depending on the type of plastic it will either cut really easy or it could crack it in spots. Use a very fine blade and cut slow. Sometimes the plastic melts as it's cutting and you will need to trim it off with a utility knife.

If you have any of the cube grids, they make wonderful ventilation for lids and are easier to work with. There are also metal drying racks that are sold at the dollar stores. They are a metal gridwork and also work perfect for lid ventilation with much smaller holes that little black cat paws couldn't reach through. :lol: I have a little black cat that does the same thing, as well as a big white boy, a calico lady, a stinker of a tabby, a maine **** that would collapse the lid and a very well behaved ragdoll. :lol: 

I have never made one with the tunnel to another so can't help there.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

The hair dryer sounds like a good idea, I will try that.

I know these lids are good against cracking if you score the cut first, so I will be careful. I already have the hardware cloth, I like it but I've never tried the cube pieces.

I'm going to get him in a few minutes, I will get some pictures if he's not grumpy from being awake in the middle of the day. 

The cats are generally well behaved, the black one there is Bear and he loves to watch what's going on. Felix is my Siamese/Tabby and he generally avoids small critters. They are both scared of the rats, and I imagine a hedgie would be even scarier! 

I'm wondering if I should make him a bonding pouch, I have seen a few hedgehog specific ones and I have pouches for rats before, I like them. I would wait until he's settled in of course, not right away lol.

I forgot to ask what food they are using but I'll get some of it - I was planning on eventually giving him a mix of Wellness and Felidae with veggies and insects, but I need to double check the fat and protein of those two brands.

Okay I'm off!!!!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I typically use how long to wait to bother them on how the hedgehog is doing. If I get one that is going on a hunger strike, I leave them be to settle and destress. If they are eating, drinking and active I start to handle them sooner. The last two hedgehogs I got I was handling them the very next day. They were babies, gained weight over night and were just fine with interacting with me. We spent that evening doing nothing but reading and allowing them to hide in a snuggle bag. I highly recommend a snuggle bag for socialization. 

And yes, get some food that he is currently eating. Without it you run the risk of adding more stress, green stools, and a possible hunger strike. Its best to slowly change their diets.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

He's here! He crawled around my desk while I moved some stuff around to fit the cage where I wanted it, and he seemed fine. He was a bit grumpier than yesterday but that's ok. I would be too. For a few minutes it looked like he was limping but then he looked fine. (I was careful not to let him get close to the edges so he didn't fall off). He was a bit scared of the camera but then he checked it out.

Movie: (I didn't bother putting music on it or effects, I just wanted to show him to you guys. And yes my walls are green - I just painted that room and no one seems to like it but me  But it's awesome. Mua haha)
http://flickr.com/photos/jesirose/28831 ... 452063267/

He seems to want to *taste everything*. 









He seems to really like to sit on my arm and try to burrow between my elbow and my body - which hurts a bit but is really cute.

He's sleeping in his igloo now.

The only name I have thought of so far is Dr. House, after my favorite show (House MD). Both have greying patches in their hair, are rough around the edges, lol.

His quills look darker in person but his face is very light. His nose is dark though, it looks black to me. But his face is light brown.









He has two matching white spots, one on each side:









Hi!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

What a handsome boy you have! He looks like he will have a fantastic personality once he settles into your home. Its always a great sign to see them out exploring this much when encountering a new place. The fact you can see his face very clearly (due to not having his head quills fully erect) is great.


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## lilhoglet (Aug 28, 2008)

He's very cute! I love the vid... and the green walls! :mrgreen:


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

He is adorable. Congratulations.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Kalandra said:


> What a handsome boy you have! He looks like he will have a fantastic personality once he settles into your home. Its always a great sign to see them out exploring this much when encountering a new place. The fact you can see his face very clearly (due to not having his head quills fully erect) is great.


That was my thought too, he's so outgoing already I think he will not be a scared timid hog at all. He still pops at my hand but I think this because the girl poked him all the time, so he sees a hand and thinks it will poke him with a stick.  Poor guy. And after that he still seems to like people.



lilhoglet said:


> He's very cute! I love the vid... and the green walls! :mrgreen:


LOL you're the only other one who likes the walls!  Thanks!
And yes he is a cutie.

Anyone know how I can guess his age?

I got PVC connectors to put the two bins together, 4" is the right size I think.

One last question - I snuck a peek at him while he is sleeping - he's sort of shaky. Almost like he's shivering - but the cage is 77 degrees and hasn't gone below 76 since I got him. Is he shivvering? Or do they do that when sleeping?

My vet confirmed she has treated hedgies before but I don't want to call her for every question.


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## Reaper (Aug 22, 2008)

They do move about sometimes while dreaming similar to other pets. He is a very cute guy.


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## Vortex (Aug 28, 2008)

*GASP* he is sooooo cute!!! congrats! and oh my gosh! i love your walls!! i have been wanting to paint my walls green for so long! but my parents wont let me yet,  there orange at the moment. lol
anyways i like the name dr.house too  i watch it some times aswell :lol:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Congrats! He is adorable! He looks like a very friendly guy, and your walls are great. :lol: I had my whole downstairs painted green once... I don't think many people liked them either. :roll:


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## lmsoft (Sep 9, 2008)

haha, at least he seems friendlier than House! But seriously, he's an adorable, friendly little guy! I'm so happy for both of you.

ps, I also love the walls!


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

We're currently doing a new construction, and I just painted my kitchen GREEN. Must be a popular color now. Although, I must point out that it is NOT the olive green that was used in the 70's with the 'green & gold' color scheme. :roll: 

Pixie


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Are you sure he was really asleep and not just curled and buzzing slightly so that you won't disturb him? I've had a couple who you couldn't sneak a peak at them while they were sleeping in their cage. I swear they could hear the quietest of foot steps.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Kalandra said:


> Are you sure he was really asleep and not just curled and buzzing slightly so that you won't disturb him? I've had a couple who you couldn't sneak a peak at them while they were sleeping in their cage. I swear they could hear the quietest of foot steps.


That was probably it 

He's been purrring a LOT. Not the hissing and popping but when he's walking around, he sounds just like a kitty! Or right now he's in the igloo, he pulled the liner up and made himself a little sack to sleep in, and I can hear him purring. It is so funny. He let me take him out last night so I let him explore the living room and he started purring while walking along.

He used his wheel overnight - icky. lol.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If he is walking around while doing it, he is most likely growling. 

Some do purr. It's very soft and usually when layed out totally relaxed. It is more of a puttering sound much like a very soft lawn mower. They also tick in contentment.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I always liked the term buzzing instead of growling  I always think of it as a "buzz off, leave me alone" type sound  Totally normal noise for a hedgehog, especially one that is being a bit defensive. 

Don't you just love all the little noises our quilled friends make? They really are not quiet animals, they make lots of noise, its just not loud.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

I'll have to get a video of him doing it, I think it's cute. I'm trying not to pester him though so I'll wait.

I can tell overnight he was running around, and he ate some of his food so I'm glad he's eating. 

Thanks everyone! And I'm glad someone likes the walls lol!


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

Congratulations on your new baby. 
I'm glad to hear he's doing well.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks!

Should I be worried that he hasn't really pooped? His wheel has some poop but not poops - when I brought him home his box had lots of poops but his cage had none when I cleaned it out. He did eat, I found some crumbs and some of the food is gone.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

His name is now
Sir Patrick Pinnsvin of Igel 
aka
Patrick


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