# few tips for brand new parenthood!



## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

a big Hi to everyone....I'm a brand new member on this fantastic website.
I must confess that the main reason why I decided to sign up is because I/we need a few tips about our little and lovely 2 months-and-2-weeks old hedgie.
she's a female renamed after Unariccia (Italian  
when we adopted her, we right away noticed she had mites (white little dots roaming on her back and head), fortunately we found a clinic for animals where they sugegsted us for some anti parasite drops to apply on her back once a month. now her skin looks mtes-free but she still has some dundruff and keeps scraping.
do you think making her a bath once a week is advisable? usually we put her in the sink with lukewarm shallow water and we mildly scratch her by means of a toothbrush. last time we also added a few drops of baby oil into the water to try to sooth her her dundruff.
could you please advise me if we r doing well? :roll: 
and another big issue for us is handling! my boyfriend is rather scared to hurt her since she seems not to really appreciate when we take her in our hands, instead I'm more for the shock treatment, so at least once a day, expecially in the evning when she's playing in the playpen, I happen to take her in my hands and even if she fights her **** out to run away my soft grip, I notice that after a while, softly whispering and swaying her, she gets relaxed and remains still not pooping anymore (miracle!!!).
then when I put her back to her cage and after a while we try to interact with her again, then she strats huffing at us as always!
which is then the best tactic to use? is it fine to handle her every day although it looks like not being really enjoyed it yet?  
tnx a lot!!! and soon I'll also post some snapshots of our cutie!! 
ciao ciao.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Welcome to hedgehog central.

Baths can dry their skin. I would reduce the number of baths you give her. I only bathe mine when they need it. There are months where my hedgehogs don’t get a bath at all. 

Instead of baby oil, try using flaxseed or vitamin E oil. Use it only when needed. 

I recommend handling hedgehogs daily for at least 30 minutes. Even if they do not like it, I handle them. They need the interaction to become social and given time they will learn to trust you and enjoy the interaction better. So, your method is the one I would recommend. If you have a fleece blanket, or a bag for her to sleep inside, use it during her out of cage time. Let her sleep in it while she is on your lap.

It is fine to handle her every day even if she is being defensive. Try to not stress her too much by forcing her to do things, but allow her to explore around on you.

You must post some images!


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

tnx a lot Kalandra  
I thought that the bathing rate was a bit too often but if we r doing it it's only coz we r trying a way out for her dundruff.
if a bath in lukewarm water + few drops of oil is not really advisable, what would u recommend to me instead? I read on other posts that we might even pour some oil directly on her, but how could we well spread it?
tnx again....now that I'm home I'll post some pics of our beloved Unariccia!! :roll:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Welcome to HHC  

You can put some flax seed oil on her food each night. Ingesting the oil can be just as beneficial for her skin as putting it directly on her back. Buying a humidifier and running it in the room she is in can help with the dry skin too.  

I agree that you should post pictures!


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

[attachment=0:122vag98]...tre Stella!.jpg[/attachment:122vag98][attachment=1:122vag98]run Unariccia...run!.jpg[/attachment:122vag98][attachment=2:122vag98]I might become a ballerina.jpg[/attachment:122vag98]ok...we'll try to find it somewhere (first I need a translation in dutch, though... :lol: )

see some pictures of her as attachments of this post


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I just drop a couple of drops in different places on their back. It will spread out on its own. After a few days if you notice that some areas are still dry, add a drop to that area.

She is beautiful. I have not seen a wheel like that one before. Do you find it hard to clean?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I can't really tell from the picture, but it looks like there might be some small gaps between some of the wood plank/log things. I've also never seen one like that before. Something to consider is that at 10 weeks she's probably not done growing, and if she gets much bigger I don't think that wheel will be a good size for her. (It's really cool looking though!)


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

fantastic idea about the few drops on her back....we'll certainly go for that!
concerning the wheel, I confess we have been naive coz we like a lot everything is made of wood but indeed it's very hard to clean every time so we'll go for a second one made of plastic.
and bigger!!! we'll be using the wooden one only when she's fooling around in the playpen  
ciao ciao


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## ashh51191 (Dec 23, 2011)

Larry T's Carolina Storm Wheels are awesome and the best wheels out there for hedgies from what I hear, he's on this site I haven't personally bought one yet but since I have multiple hedgies I have to save up to afford them. The comfort wheel is what I use and are the best commercially bought wheels out there  very cute hedgie you have yourself there!


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

The Carolina Storm Wheel and Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel are great, but shipping to Amsterdam would be $68 total or $73 USD, depending on the wheel.

If you were talking about the translation for Flaxseed Oil, I _think_ it's Lijnzaadolie. I spent a year aboard in Amsterdam  Miss it!


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

You mentioned that your girl had mites at one time. Since mites can hide in wood I would switch to plastic sooner than later. She is so cute! Love the pics!


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

yes, indeed in dutch it's Lijnzaadolie  
we have already found where we can purchase it, tnx a lot!
about the carolina storm wheel, I'm afraid here they don't exist  we r trying to purchase a similar one for hamsters with 30cm diameter on a dutch website that is comparable to ebay.
otherwise if we buy it from the link that appears here on this site, it's gonna cost 68dollars because of the shipping!


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Yay! I remembered  !

30cm = 11.8 inches. Just make sure that the wheel is solid and there is no cross bars, like in this picture [attachment=0:3te9bqr8]BlueWheel_2.jpg[/attachment:3te9bqr8] The hedgie can hit his/her head on the bars


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

Thank you all for the hints & tips, we do appreciate! 

We are currently investigating about the *new plastic wheel*. We're waiting for answers about costs and shipments for one that is very famous here called "silent spinner" which seems to be the only one that meets the requirements of size and safety; the rest is for little rodents, hedgehogs here are very uncommon for some unknown reason since they are present in the wild as much as other animals.
In any ways, we have just applied humidifiers and tried the suggested foot-bath, she's appreciating so far  we'll keep you posted.
We're also gradually switching to safer and cleaner plastic tools: at first we wondered why people filled cages and playpens with those ugly synthetic things...then we have learned it the hard way having every morning the wooden wheel (the one that you saw in the pics) completely covered with poop and noticing that hedgies like to burrow and hide so sharp wooden edges and high ledges are definitely not the best even if they help to keep their nails short! 

Two more questions from us:

1) books and websites are not consistent about *bedding material*: some say a fleece cloth is better and stays warmer, others that pellets and non-treated wood shavings are finer for them to burrow, play and for us to remove stool...what is your experience about it? At the beginning we used only beech wood chips (also suggested by the petstore owner) but when she started having mites we thought that maybe wood would also leave her skin drier so we applied fleece and left the wood chips only in the litter tray. Now that chips seem to be not responsible for skin dryness we would like to go back to that solution so that she can burrow and rummage again...what's your view about it?

2) books and websites are not very clear about *moist food* as well: no granes, no fish and no fats, ok, but which is actually leaner between puppy and adult food? And normally all moist food cans have sauce in it: doesn't that make it too fat?

Thanks again for the attention and have a great sunday! 

Lussy & Chris...& Unariccia


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## zombiewoman (Sep 22, 2011)

Beautiful young girl. Hope to see more photos.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

There are many books and websites that are very old and contain harmful information. I prefer fleece liners. I have used various types of wood and paper bedding, and the fleece bedding is just the best. Mites, splinters, dust are all issues with wood and paper bedding.

For her dry skin, what is the humidity in your home? If the humidity is low, it can contribute to dry skin. 

I don't feed too many of the moist cat foods. For those that I do, I just look for high quality ingredients. Meat, vegetables, etc. Some gravy is ok, but you do need to watch the fat content. Instead of moist cat foods, I cut up pieces of fruit, vegetables, cooked turkey, chicken, salmon, etc. Cook the vegetables and meat, do not add any seasoning and dice the food so that it is small enough for her to eat and it will be fine for her.


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

Lussy said:


> Thank you all for the hints & tips, we do appreciate!
> 
> We are currently investigating about the *new plastic wheel*. We're waiting for answers about costs and shipments for one that is very famous here called "silent spinner" which seems to be the only one that meets the requirements of size and safety; the rest is for little rodents, hedgehogs here are very uncommon for some unknown reason since they are present in the wild as much as other animals.
> 
> Lussy & Chris...& Unariccia


I would not buy a Silent Spinner- they are not safe for hedgies. The seam in the middle can catch little hedgie toes and nails. Also, because of the middle seam poo and urine and get caught in it making it extremely hard to clean. The shape of the wheel itself is a little bit concave, making a trap for urine and poo. Below is the link posted with a review of the Silent Spinner- be warned, one of the pictures is pretty disturbing. 

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=14937


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

WHAT??? SERIOUSLY?????
OMG! we were really going purchase a silent spinner since it seems we don't have any other options down here in the netherlands!!!
well....if your personal experiences are so negative, then i think we have to fork out 70 dollars for the carolina wheel to be shipped to Europe!!! :? 
tnx a lot for the precious advise!!!
ciao ciao


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Are you, or do you know anyone that can make a wheel for you? There is a youtube video of how to make a wheel like the carolina one.


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## Nicole753 (Dec 16, 2011)

Just another option that worked for me - I followed these instructions to make my own bucket wheel. I don't believe these instructions show how to make a stand, but I attach my wheel directly to the side of my cage.It says to put duct tape along the inside - I do not. It's easier (and less wasteful) to clean it everyday.

http://chinmania.tripod.com/chin_wheels.html

P.S. She is adorable!


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

The video is amazing. I think I'll give it a try, I do love to make things on my own!
Thanks again folks, we were about to make a mistake...
:roll:


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## Lussy (Feb 3, 2012)

I spent two days trying to find the best fitting cake keeper, here they don't use such things or at least they don't come in such sizes.
First I tried a paint bucket as ChinMania website suggests but the plastic was too thin to bear its own weight and our hedgie's. Very disappointing.  
Then I finally found a cake box in which unfortunately the depth is rather small (10 cm) compared to the diameter (35 cm). Anyone who is familiar with Dutch / Belgian traditional "Vlaai" cake should understand the reason of these uncomfortable proportions....but that's the best I could do.
So I finally built it but apparently she doesn't like it...not yet, at least :roll: 
I attached it to the side of the cage but the video didn't mention the effect of the cage's bars giving away under the weight of the plastic bucket (and our hedgie's) making the whole thing crooked inward and slippery for her tiny paws. So I understood what the "hanger" was useful for in the ChinMania website. That was not clear before.  
Now I have placed a sort of prop that keeps the shaft slightly up when it is at rest and properly horizontal when used. I plan to use a customized iron-thread hanger in case the prop fails or it's not enough. Later on I'll think about a stand...but first I need a sign of appreciation from Unariccia  

I'll post pictures asap so that you can give us your views and suggestions.

Cheers

Christian (& Lussy & Unariccia)


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