# Soon to be hedgie owner



## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

I am so happy to have such a fact filled resource for hedgehog information. We have waited and researched for a long time about adding a hedgehog to our family. We pick up our hedgie Friday evening. We are very excited, especially my 9 year old and myself. We have his/her cage all setup and thanks to all the advice given on this forum we feel we have created a very nice home for him/her with fleece liners in camouflage, a temperature gauge to monitor the right temp, ceramic bowls for his water and food, a large silent spinner, a plastic ball for outside the cage excercise, a great hiding space and one of my son's knit cap for extra coziness. My son wants me to make a snuggly for him so they can bond. We have about 15 girl and 15 boy names picked out but won't narrow it down until we picked one on Friday. The breeder is in San Antonio "Helen's Little Critters" and she has several to pick from. 

My questions:

1. For the litter box area under the wheel and in the corner we bought Care Fresh which seems very comparable to Yesterday's News, but is more readily found in Austin. Has anyone had experience with it? 
2. What do you use to clean the wheel after their nightly run with pooh sure to happen? I wasn't sure if just water was best or is there a soap that won't be harmful? 

Thank you in advance.


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

Congratulations!

1. Many people use carefresh in their litter boxes. The only qualm I have is that it is dusty. 

2. I personally blast dirty wheels with super hot water, and then wash with soap, rinse and replace wheels. 
A solution of vinegar and water is also very useful to clean poopy wheels. The vinegar disinfects, and is safe for hedgies. 

You might want to re-consider an exercise ball. A toe or nail could get caught in the vents, and when the hedgehog runs they urinate and defecate, and then the fumes are trapped inside the ball and the hedgehog is forced to breath them in.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Ah, Gnarly took the words out of my mouth. :lol: 

So yes, Carefresh is a bit dusty but works well. Some people just use a folded paper towel so no bedding is scattered.

Wheels: Ditto Gnarly


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## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

Thank you very much for the advice about the dust content and the danger of the exercise ball. We will definitely reconsider our litter choice and eliminate the ball. 

This is why I already love this board.


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## soprano (Sep 10, 2008)

weddinglady said:


> 1. For the litter box area under the wheel and in the corner we bought Care Fresh which seems very comparable to Yesterday's News, but is more readily found in Austin. Has anyone had experience with it?


If you still want to try it, I saw Yesterday's News at one of the local big-box pet stores here in Austin the other day. I thought that it was a tad expensive, but send me a PM if you want the location. (They also had live mealworms, which have been a bit hard to find!)


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## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

Thank you for all your advice. I have found Yesterday's news, it's just not as readily available as the Care Fresh. I may go the paper towel route, it sounds really tidy. 

A lot of the stores near me have the meal worms, but I think we are going to try the freeze dried first. I am hoping our new buddy will like them and we won't have to deal with the juicy ones. 

We found a little fleece lined tent today. 

We are counting down until Friday.


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

I use paper towel in my cages, and it is very simple. There are no pieces to fall on the floor, all you have to do is fold up the section of paper towel and throw it in the trash. 

I've never been able to have much luck with the freeze dried mealworms. But, I have had luck with the canned ones, which are also already dead.


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## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

We are leaving in a few hours to pick up our heggie. I spoke to the breeder last night and she said we will have 8 babies to choose from that are 6 weeks old. 

We are very excited and curious what color we will end up with. 

I will keep you posted.


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

How exciting.

But six weeks old seems a little young to me. At six weeks they should jut be leaving momma, and the should be monitored by the breeder to make sure they are eating and doing well on their own. IMO


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## numothehedgehog (Aug 30, 2008)

Congrats.
Yah six weeks seems pretty early.
I hope the breeder knows whatthey are doing!!
Oh yah and ditch the silent spinner, try a bucket wheel


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## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

After a long 5 hour round trip we are back home with the newest addition to our family. I agree that I was hesitant about their ages, but once were at the breeder's home and saw how big several of them were I wasn't worried. Some were younger and not available but several were older with cute round rumps, eating cat food and exploring everywhere. There a few more social than others, in fact 3 or 4 wouldn't un roll and kept huffing at each other. Fortuntately there were about 4 to choose from, 2 that really stood out in sweet personalities as well as being older. 

One was a male pinto and the other a female snowflake. I told my 9 year old he could make the final choice between the two of them. The female kept coming up to him, sniffing his fingers, licking him and just seemed to like him right away. So, it wasn't a hard choice at all. 

She did really well on the drive home and is settling into her cage now. My son held her a bit and she was very sweet with him. She is already eating and drinking while exploring her surroundings. 

Once I take a photo (didn't want to shock her too soon) and figure out how to load it, I will post a photo. No definite name yet, we should have one tomorrow sometime. She's really beautiful. 

The adventure begins...


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

congratulations!


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## Coco (Oct 2, 2008)

I am realy surprise cause nobody speaks about the knit cap ,,,the *knit anythings* are dangerous for hedgehogs cause they can catch their little toes can stay in the wool and your hedgehog will need some medical advice if he have problems with that ,,, we are not suppose to use ,towels, knit or every tissus where the little baby can catch their toes in it ,,,

just an advice to save big hurt to your little one ,,,,;-))))))))))
and I think you have a beautiful way to choose your hedgie lollllllllll


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## weddinglady (Oct 10, 2008)

We had a great first night. She ate most of her food, used the wheel which surprised me and drank her water quite a bit. She is still sleeping under my son's t-shirt and fleece strips in the corner. My son is dying for her to wake up, but he understands she is like a baby and will wake up when she's ready...oh and by the way, her name is Sweet Pea. 

Thank you for all the advice.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm glad to hear she's doing well!


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