# Hedgehog sleeping too much



## Crayon

I doubt it's boredom because he used to be awake all night and run around. His foot is healing now and I've given him a new wheel but all Buddy's done is eat, poop, sleep and walk around his cage. 
It's 1:10am. Normally by now he'd be running around in circles or exploring his cage but for the past 2 days he's only done that from about 9:00-10:00 and then fallen asleep only to wake up later on and repeat until his food is done and the sun is up.
It's certainly not hibernation as I've done my best to keep him warm. I've also fed him well and he's eaten well. He's not dehydrated as far as I know and his poop isn't green. I'm considering giving him some baytrill as he might be in pain and by the looks of it he isn't trapped anywhere like last time.


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## Annie&Tibbers

I'm glad his foot is healing! I was wondering how you two were doing.

Do you have a thermometer? Can you check his cage temperature?

What's your light and dark setup? Are there any light sources in the room (including computer screens) that could be disturbing him at night? You might need to have a light on a timer (really cheap now in post-christmas sales!) or put a cover over his cage at night to ensure real darkness.

Does his belly feel cool? When he walks, does he seem wobbly?

Do keep in mind that hedgehogs sleep a lot. Babies can sleep 23 hours a day, while adults might easily sleep 20 hours when they're totally healthy.

Have you been taking him out of his cage each night, checking him over for any wrapped threads, injuries, and general well-being? It's also important for your bonding -- handling (even if he just wants to curl up on you and sleep) is a key part of building a friendship with your friend.

If you take him out of his cage at night in a dim room, does he go exploring, or try to find a dark place to go back to sleep?


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## Crayon

Well I don't have a thermometer but my room is very small and I doubt the cage is any warmer or cooler than my bed which is less than a foot away. Right now it's the same temperature as it's always been.

Normally I turn the lights out by 9 and the lights are on by 7:00. He's always asleep by about 6:00-6:30. My screen is always on the lowest brightness possible to save energy. I can barely see what's right in front of it. 

When he walks he is not wobbly but he does often push things around with his head. He's done this as long as I've had him. At first it was his litter tray and food bowl but now he's pushing his wheel around, which I imagine is pretty heavy for him. I will try attach it to the cage. Is this okay or is this harming him?

I have been checking on him. There is now no loose threads and no hair that could be wrapped around his foot.

As always, when there is a loud noise or sudden movement, he will stop moving. He won't raise his spines or curl up, he'll stop moving and then he'll walk to his fleece and curl up as if he's about to fall asleep before going back to whatever he's doing. Is it possible he might not be asleep but startled, His eyes are shut so I'm pretty sure he's asleep.

He could just be sleepy. I'll try not to be paranoid.


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## Annie&Tibbers

Try covering up his cage with a blanket or towel in the evening and see if he gets more active in the evenings. Try to drape it so he still gets ventilation (like block the side the light-source of a monitor is on, but leave the back open), and uncover when you go to bed. Some hedgehogs are more light-sensitive than others.


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## Crayon

I don't know if this is related to his sleep thing or if this is even irregular behaviour but Buddy had been lying on his side, jumping up and then lying on his other side again. It'd definitely not wobbly hedgehog syndrome because it is very clearly something he does by will. What he does after pooping or eating is he'll run around in circles. He's done this for as long as I've had him but now he runs for less than a minute before jumping and lying around and what looks like twitching a lot. Is this regular hedgehog behaviour. I should mention that he is about 5 months and not quilling. Could this be in anyway related to his oversleeping or am I just paranoid and is it all fine?


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## Rebk81

Hi, I have a 11 weeks old female hedghog and since 3 day ago she only want to sleep. She used to be very active at night, but now she only want to sleep and find dark places. When I get her out of her cage at night she explores for 5-10 min and then climb over my shoulder and try to hide on my hair or under my clothes and fall sleep.

Also I feel she is eating and drinking less than usual.

I'm a new owner and really scares me that maybe its something wrong with her.


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## TheSmellyHedgie

Baby hedgehogs do sleep a lot some can sleep up to 23 hours a day. They will grow out of it, my concern is the food intake. What is the temperature set to? If your hedgehog is attempting hibernation you need to slowly warm them up, they also become a lot more lazy and don't eat and move as much. Check how warm her belly is, if its cool to the touch I would warm up her and the room where she lives in (It should be 23-28 degrees Celsius)


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## Annie&Tibbers

Welcome to the forum, Rebk81! In general, it's best to start your own thread (by navigating to the appropriate topic-section of the forum, then clicking the "new thread" button in the upper left) so that responses don't get all jumbled between the original poster's topic and your new addition.

Do check her temperature and lighting setup (they need 12-14 hours light, 10-12 hours dark) to make sure this isn't hibernation-related. Aside from that, she might be quilling or going through a growth-spurt. You can measure her food and water (kibble-count or use a scale) to have a better idea if she's eating less, more, or the same as usual.

If you haven't seen it before, this is a lovely careguide for hedgehogs.


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## nuttyhedgie

My 4 year old hedgehog is showing similar signs as yours, but he hasn't been eating well... he does move around but he's quite wobbly in his steps and after a short walk or turn he falls right to sleep. For right now we're trying to keep him warm by covering his cage with a blanket and hand feeding him.

My mother think he's just trying to hibernate, but I think something is wrong... I'm seriously worried about him...


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## Lilysmommy

Nutty, it'd be a good idea to start your own thread to describe what's going on with your hedgehog and to ask for advice, and keep updated. This thread is over a year old.

What temperature is his cage? Do you have a thermometer in it? If not, you need to. I know you're trying to keep the cage warm by covering it, but he also needs 12-14 hours of light during the day, not just from daylight. So covering the cage could be making it worse. 

Can you feel his belly? Is it cool? If so, it is probably a hibernation attempt and you guys need to warm him up on a heating pad set on low, or against you. If he doesn't warm up within an hour, he needs to go to a vet. Hibernating is not safe for pet hedgehogs without very careful preparation, monitoring, etc. They can die very easily if they don't get warmed back up & working properly again. Make this very clear to your mom if she doesn't think it's serious - hibernation IS very serious for African pygmy hedgehogs and he needs to be warmed or taken to the vet.

If he's warm, but still acting like this, then he also needs to go to a vet. It could be a variety of things and the vet will need to see and diagnose him. Make sure they rule out things like an ear infection, etc. before they try to diagnose Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome. There's no test for WHS, and no treatment. It's a degenerative nerve disease and can only be diagnosed after the hedgehog dies. If it's something else, it could be treated, so it's best to rule out other possibilities before deciding it's WHS.


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## Habiba's_mumma

This is now quite an old post but it came up when I was searching and thinking what was wrong with my little hedgehog Habiba. She is naturally quite a sleepy hog and for a while I was worried and had to wake her as I was worried she could be getting dehydrated. 

What I've now discovered is bribery with fresh food, whether it's wet cat food, scrambled eggs, fruit and veg or even just freshly put down dried food... The smell will often get her interest and wake her. Obviously this only works after dark though and in a very dimly lit room. Also she seems to naturally want to be awake longer when she has more room to play. I have a zoo zone 2 which she came with but I also have a 1.4 metre doggy swimming pool which I often let her stay in for days at a time. It was initially just meant as her play area as it takes up a lot of space in my flat but she seems so much happier and more active there. 

So I guess the 2 things I find encourage my Habiba to spend more time awake are fresh smells to wake her up, and sometimes a bit of a gentle disturbance to get her awake enough to smell them, and having more space to roam and play in. 

I'm not sure yet if it's the novelty of a newer space but it really does make the world of difference to her activity levels.


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## nikki

Please don't bring up old threads. It is confusing for members and most of the people who have posted on old threads are no longer active members.


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