# Just got my first Hedgie!! Have a couple Q's



## MenosDaBear (Aug 29, 2011)

Hey guys, I have wanted a hedgehog for a solid 10-15 years now, and have been aggressively looking to purchase for probably about 2. A few days ago I finally got my chance to bring a little guy home with me! Now I did a lot of research before the purchase, and I knew that purchasing at a pet store was not the best option. But the closest breeder to me was about 2-3 hours away and required 3-4 visits before you were able to take your pet home. This, along with the base price running about $300, I was reluctant to go to them. So if you haven't guessed already, I got my little guy (Prickley Pete) at a local pet store. Now, with that said, it is a very reputable pet store and from what I could see they take very good care of their animals and are aware of each species' needs. I am guessing he is fairly young, he seems to lose a couple small quills when I play with him, and they have the small sphere at the end, which I have read means it is just his natural shedding of quills and nothing like mites. 
I purchased a fairly large cage, a nice wheel and a few other accessories along with Pete. Here is where my questions come.

I bought him this little hut as a hide out http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Woodlan ... 173&sr=8-2 He seems to love it and spends a lot of time in it. My concern is, and it didn't even cross my mind until I got home, that the hut is made of pine. I've read that pine bedding is a big no-no for hedgehogs because of respiratory issues. Is this solid pine ok for him to have in his cage?? He seems to sneeze every once in a while, but it doesn't seem like it is too excessive.

Next question is on bedding. I was suggested this bedding by one of the employees http://www.cell-sorb-plus.com/bedding.htm It doesn't seem too dusty and he doesn't seem to dislike it. I on the other hand am not too thrilled with it, and was wondering what you might suggest. My girlfriend uses care fresh for her hamsters, and I like that bedding much more, I just wanted to double check and make sure it was safe for hedgehogs. I've seen people using fleece as a bedding, but I would like to get him litter box trained before I give that a try.

Now I know this is the housing/accessories section, but I do have one more question that is non related. I have had him for 3 days now, and I realize they are nocturnal animals, but he seems to stay curled up in his hut for most of the time. From what I read hedgehogs usually wake up around 5-6pm, but I've stayed up until 12-1am and he's still curled up in his hut. Is this natural? Is it simply because of the stress he has gone through over the last couple of days? I tried to give him almost an entire day in his enclosure before trying to play with him.

With that being said, if I reach in and wake him up, he is more than willing to let me pick him up and handle him. I have an old shirt in his cage to get used to my smell. I hold him and let him crawl around on me and he seems happy as a clam. I've even gotten to the point where I can freely pet him without him quilling up. He always seems more interested in smelling everything around rather than to be bothered with whatever I am doing to him lol. He is eating the food, along with superworms I got him, and seems to be drinking normally. I am in new england, but I have made sure that the temperature in the room is at the very least 75F, and bought a small space heater to supplement some heat to keep him toasty.

After all these years, I am absolutely ecstatic to finally have my hedgehog and I want to make sure he has the best quality of life I can offer him. I am going to attempt to post a few pictures, but this is my first post so bear with me. I appreciate any feedback or ideas you guys have!! Thanks!!!


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2011)

MenosDaBear said:


> Hey guys, I have wanted a hedgehog for a solid 10-15 years now, and have been aggressively looking to purchase for probably about 2. A few days ago I finally got my chance to bring a little guy home with me! Now I did a lot of research before the purchase, and I knew that purchasing at a pet store was not the best option. But the closest breeder to me was about 2-3 hours away and required 3-4 visits before you were able to take your pet home. This, along with the base price running about $300, I was reluctant to go to them. So if you haven't guessed already, I got my little guy (Prickley Pete) at a local pet store. Now, with that said, it is a very reputable pet store and from what I could see they take very good care of their animals and are aware of each species' needs. I am guessing he is fairly young, he seems to lose a couple small quills when I play with him, and they have the small sphere at the end, which I have read means it is just his natural shedding of quills and nothing like mites.
> I purchased a fairly large cage, a nice wheel and a few other accessories along with Pete. Here is where my questions come.
> 
> I bought him this little hut as a hide out http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Woodlan ... 173&sr=8-2 He seems to love it and spends a lot of time in it. My concern is, and it didn't even cross my mind until I got home, that the hut is made of pine. I've read that pine bedding is a big no-no for hedgehogs because of respiratory issues. Is this solid pine ok for him to have in his cage?? He seems to sneeze every once in a while, but it doesn't seem like it is too excessive.
> ...


Welcome to HHC and the wonderful ownership of hedgies.

To answer the bedding and house question in one anything wood can harbor mites and wood houses are hard to clean and end up getting icky so I would go with a plastic igloo. Fleece is a great option and on the note of litter training what kind of wheel does he have? Most, but not all will just eliminate 90% on/near the wheel so having a litter box under neither usually resolves any issue.

Remember the wheel needs to be a solid surface wheel.

There is no time when a hedgie gets up they are all unique and different you can set up a routine and wake your hedgie up around the same time each evening and some will eventually get to waking up at that time and some will just keep on sleeping. Some are very much less active then others but this could be from a lot of things.

Oh and the ball being on the end of the quill does not mean your hedgie is healthy it could still be mites, bacterial or parasitical or even fungal to the reason for quill loss.

Another reason is also he is getting used to a complete new environment and adapting to it, you mentioned the temp not going below 75 but does it flux a lot? some hedgies work well only in a consistent certain temp and others can handle a varied temp with no issue.

on another note what is he eating?

BTW Superworms need their heads chopped off as they can bite a hedgehog even after ingestion.

Mealworms or Crickets are very popular 

Also this is just a majority opinion that water bowls are safer and better for hedgies as they drink in a more natural position and can get as much water as they want much quicker then having to fight a water bottle for drops a lot of people put a water bowl right under the bottle and the hedgie adapts and chooses the bowl.

There have bee a few reports when hedgies have chipped teeth and even once where a hedgie lost a piece of their tongue to water bottles.

Carefresh can get stuck in their quills I think and can be quiet annoying for a hedgie


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Welcome to HHC and Pete is absolutely adorable!

For starters, I definitely suggest browsing through all the main forums and reading the stickies (the locked threads at the top of each forum). They contain a ton of useful information and are very helpful when you're looking for the main info. 

Moving on to the other things, I would definitely get rid of the hut you have...The problem is less that it's of pine and more just that it's wood, which can harbor mites. It's best to avoid any wood items or bedding with hedgehogs. Plastic igloos are probably the most popular hides, and a lot of people also use fleece hats, sleeping bags, and other plastic/cloth hides.

The ball being on the end of the quills doesn't mean that it's not mites, so if he starts getting very itchy, I'd suggest going to the vet for some Revolution. A wellness check up visit might be a good idea anyway, just to make sure you like your vet (you want him/her to have previous experience with handling hedgies and to seem comfortable handling him even if he's grumpy), and so your vet can meet your hedgie. If he's young though, it definitely could just be quilling.

For bedding, I do recommend fleece, as you said. Many people on here use it and it really has so many benefits to any other bedding. Carefresh is dusty and can dry out hedgehogs' skin even more, so while it's better than wood bedding, it still has that drawback. You could use it until you have him litterbox trained though. Keep in mind, however, that some hedgies just won't be litter-trained. It all depends on their personality. They'll also potty on their wheels (with some neat-freak exceptions), so a lot of people have found that it works best to put a litter box underneath their wheel to catch "run-off".

If he's still young, sleeping that much is completely normal. Babies will often sleep much of the night too, waking up just to eat and maybe run a bit. As he gets older, he may start being more active. That's great that he's so friendly and willing to explore though! He sounds like a great little guy.  

I'd suggest making sure you have a thermometer for his cage specifically, since the temperature can be much different in his area of the room, especially if he's on the floor or something. 75 is a good temp, just keep an eye on him. Every hedgehog has their own temperature preferences. Be careful with the superworms too, there have been stories of them still being able to bite the hedgehog even after being eaten. A lot of people suggest cutting the heads off before feeding them, just to be safe. Mealworms are what's generally preferred, to eliminate any concerns or beheading, and crickets are another great insect treat!

Welcome again and sorry for the novel I wrote! :lol:


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Welcome to HHC!  Prickley Pete is so cute  more pics please!


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Welcome and congratulations! Pete looks a lot like our girl, Pearl. As others have said, it is generally recommended to keep wood products out of the cage because of the risk of harboring mites and also they are harder to clean. You could even use a shoe box or something of that sort until you are able to get an Igloo. 

We like the fleece liners for the cage bottom and also some pieces of cut fleece inside the igloo for Pearl to snuggle with. She seems to like to burrow inside the fabric. We have used fleece from the beginning and really their potty is such a tiny amount we didn't have much trouble. We have a litter pan under Pearl's wheel (Carolina Storm Wheel--check them out if you haven't) and the litter in it is Yesterday's News. Most of the time the waste is on the wheel or in the litter box. Keep in mind, babies potty ALOT more than adults. We just felt it was helpful to start out with the litter box and the fleece from the beginning--if we found droppings on the fleece, we would move them to the litter box and she caught on to the idea. 

I'd suggest a good digital thermometer so you can see exactly what the cage temperature is because even different parts of the room can vary a bit. And you have a light for him, right?

I remember one of my first posts here when we got Pearl was because I was concerned she was sleeping so much. I was reassured by people here that baby hedgies sleep a ton. Pearl seemed to just get up to eat, play a little with us, then back to sleep. But as she got older she got more active at night, so if he seems warm and otherwise ok, I wouldn't worry about the sleeping yet since he is young. Good luck!!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Welcome to HHC! Pete is adorable....btw, it's required that you post hedgie pictures. (jk, but not really.  )


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## MenosDaBear (Aug 29, 2011)

Ok, so like us they can adapt to a sleep schedule and aren't exclusively fully nocturnal. I'll be sure to play with him at a consistant time every day to try and make that his schedule. The hut will be replaced tomorrow when I can make it to the pet store. I am going to try and make my own fleece huts/play things too.

The thermometer is mounted right on the side of his case, so its a pretty good representation of what he's feeling. I had no idea about the super worms, thanks for the heads up, ill guillotine those mo-fos before they get eaten. The pet store didn't have meal worms at the time so thats why I got super worms. He seemed to like chomping on them though!

The temperature has been fairly steady, probably 74-80 over the last couple days. It has dipped at night slightly because I just got the space heater today and haven't used it yet. The whole day it was around 80, it is reading about 79 right now, I have the space heater on low because its about 59 here right now outside. 

I am feeding him the super worms 1 or 2 every other day or so, and he has a bowl of "Pretty Pets: Premium Hedgehog Food". I got it at the "All Pets Club" chain. He seems to like it, I hear him chomping on it. I tried to teach him how to drink from the bottle, just because it would require less maintenance. But he seems to prefer the dish, so I've been using that. I switched out crappy plastic bowls I bought, with heavy ceramic bowls so he cant tip them over. 

Thanks everyone for your tips! Keep them coming!! I'm looking to make sure this hedgehog has the best quality of life it can!


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2011)

MenosDaBear said:


> Ok, so like us they can adapt to a sleep schedule and aren't exclusively fully nocturnal. I'll be sure to play with him at a consistant time every day to try and make that his schedule. The hut will be replaced tomorrow when I can make it to the pet store. I am going to try and make my own fleece huts/play things too.
> 
> The thermometer is mounted right on the side of his case, so its a pretty good representation of what he's feeling. I had no idea about the super worms, thanks for the heads up, ill guillotine those mo-fos before they get eaten. The pet store didn't have meal worms at the time so thats why I got super worms. He seemed to like chomping on them though!
> 
> ...


Just to let you know commercial hedgehog foods normally don't provide much actual nourishment and pretty pets is one of the worse there is next to nothing a hedgehog needs in it and it can lead to malnutrition while at this point we still don't have a perfect diet for hedgehogs most are comfortable wit ha high quality cat food you can find the list pinned in our diet section and I promise you when you introduce a good meat cat food to your hedgehog he will forget about pretty pets and mostly never touch it again. Since he's been raised on it though slowly introduce the new food if possible you should notice a reduction in poop to some extent since most pretty pets is pooped right back out.

you can feed a few more insects if you wand just make sure he isn't obese is all


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

MenosDaBear said:


> I am feeding him the super worms 1 or 2 every other day or so, and he has a bowl of "Pretty Pets: Premium Hedgehog Food". I got it at the "All Pets Club" chain. He seems to like it, I hear him chomping on it. I tried to teach him how to drink from the bottle, just because it would require less maintenance. But he seems to prefer the dish, so I've been using that. I switched out crappy plastic bowls I bought, with heavy ceramic bowls so he cant tip them over.


Seems like you're doing pretty well, but the food you have him on is not very good, and bottles are not recommended by most members here.

These are the ingredients for Pretty Pets:
Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Meal, Ground Oats, Beet Pulp Fiber, Potato Protein, Wheat Isolate, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Streptococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract Product, Choline Chloride, Casein, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ferric Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, BHT (as a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, and Cobalt Sulfate.

The first three ingredients are no good for them. Corn is hard for them to digest and don't have much nutritional value (it is a filler) and you should be looking for whole meats, if possible, so poultry meal isn't the best you can get.

Most people here feed high quality, holistic dry cat food. You want to look for 30% protein, less than 15% fat, and as much fiber as you can get. Try to look for ones where the first few ingredients are whole meats.

Water bottles most people don't use because hedgehogs do not naturally look up the way rodents do when they're drinking, so it puts a strain on their necks/backs, and they can easily chip teeth or get their tongue stuck on the ball. Most people here use ceramic bowls for water.

and... WELCOME TO HHC! YOUR LITTLE ONE IS ADORABLE :3


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## MenosDaBear (Aug 29, 2011)

Ok, I've been crazy with work lately so haven't had time to reply. Thanks for all the info guys. I have the wheel situation covered. He has a nice big solid plastic wheel. I got myself a nice thermometer and have been keeping him around 75 degrees. I had no idea about the lighting situation, thanks. I went out and bought a light and timer for when the days start getting shorter. I also replaced his wooden hut with a pastic igloo to help prevent mites.
My main question at this point is about food. I've now read in a few places that what he is eating is not good for him. I didnt have the acceptable food list with me when I was at the store, I only remembered to stay in the 30s for protein and keep the fat low. So I picked up purina one Smart Blend Indoor Advantage. It lists its crude protein at 38% and fat at 8.5%. Their website ( http://www.purinaone.com/Products/Produ ... 87E7FB416F )lists the ingredients as

_"Turkey, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, whole grain corn, fish meal, dried yeast, powdered cellulose, soy protein isolate, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soybean hulls, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, caramel color, salt, calcium carbonate, dried spinach, potassium chloride, choline chloride, taurine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite."_

Could someone give me an opinion on this food? I was only able to go to the grocery store and not the pet store so my options were limited. I will make the trip and go pick up more food if that is what he needs. I havent started him on this food yet, only because I've only had him from a week and I had read that you should wait a couple weeks to change food. Any help is appreciated!


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## SquiggyTheHedgie (Jul 26, 2011)

MenosDaBear said:


> "Turkey, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal


You generally want to avoid any foods with by-product meals in the first ingredients, since by products are usually just leftover bits from the bird and has no real nutritional value. If you go over to the nutrition threads, theres a huge list of good cat foods to select from, most of which will suit any budget.


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