# should I be worried?as



## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

my hedgehog, Bonzo is about 10 or 11 weeks old. I know that the babies [he's still a baby right?] sleep A LOT, buttt, i feel like he sleeps more than A LOT. He only is up if i wake him up and then he always wants to just snuggle on me and go back to sleep. i can hear him awake in his cage at night, or more like the earrllyyy hours of the morning. when i wake him up he is active for a while then just wants to go to sleep. i do feel like its my fault though because i usually stay up kinda late watching tv and i think he only likes to come out when its pitch black. is this more than a lot of sleep or is this normal? and if this is normal, how old will he be when he stops sleeping as much as a baby hedgehog does?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I don't think you should be worried. Some hedgies are sleepers, and some are explorers. My hedgie is over 4 months old now, and when I have him out, he is fully happy just to snuggle with me and sleep. He doesn't care much for wandering or exploring. He does walk around if I keep moving away from him and there's nothing soft and fuzzy around him :lol: And he'll chase his mealies. other than that, he just sleeps snuggled with me while I study or watch tv or at my computer.


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## Aleshea (Feb 13, 2009)

It's normal my bella loves to play and run around but hanna just loves to sleep on my chest or in my lap it just depends on the hedgie and it looks like you have a cuddler!


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## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

okay that sounds just like my hedgie. it's just that i dont have a wheel yet because i have this cage that is too small for it to fit. i bought the cage thinking it would be fine. i have a big cage on layaway and am picking it up in two weeks when i have the money, and then i'm going to get a wheel at the same time. so i'm trying to have him climb around to get some exercise. is this okay for now until i get a new cage in two weeks?


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## Aleshea (Feb 13, 2009)

You should be fine for two weeks but I would not wait any longer you could put the wheel in a play pen for her if she is not too shy!


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Nicole said:


> okay that sounds just like my hedgie. it's just that i dont have a wheel yet because i have this cage that is too small for it to fit. i bought the cage thinking it would be fine. i have a big cage on layaway and am picking it up in two weeks when i have the money, and then i'm going to get a wheel at the same time. so i'm trying to have him climb around to get some exercise. is this okay for now until i get a new cage in two weeks?


Be careful. I have heard horror stories of bored hedgies hurting themselves because they dont have a wheel. Most hedgies run 5-10 miles a night on their wheels. I dont see how that could be duplicated with a couple of hours of playtime out of the cage each night...not trying to get on your case, but these can be expensive little creatures. Price is the main reason most of us go with the sterlite containers or c&c cages. If you cant aford a cage and accesories, how are you going to afford vet bills if he gets sick? just something to think about.


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## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

i can afford the cage i just don't want to wipe out my bank account.. haha. but i understand what you're saying. its just that i usually have to practically make him run around because he just wants to sleep. i put toys in his cage so hopefully he wont get that bored. i also take him out more than once a day, so hopefully that can hold him over. ill try the wheel in the playpen idea.


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Nicole said:


> i can afford the cage i just don't want to wipe out my bank account.. haha. but i understand what you're saying. its just that i usually have to practically make him run around because he just wants to sleep. i put toys in his cage so hopefully he wont get that bored. i also take him out more than once a day, so hopefully that can hold him over. ill try the wheel in the playpen idea.


that is because he is nocturnal and probably shy about this playtime....most hedgies wont do much of anything at all when out during the day. that is why a wheel in the cage is so important.


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## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

i know; but this brings me back to my original post. its 1am here and he's sleeping right now. i'm beginning to get worried.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It's 2 am where I live and Lily (who's nine months) is still sleeping, too. Of course, that may be due to the fact that I have a light on, lol, but regardless, hedgies do have their own schedules for when they like to come out and eat and such. Like others have said, babies do sleep a lot, and there's no set age for when they switch from sleeping most of the time to becoming more active. And again, as others have said, some may just like sleeping no matter how old they get. Lily gets up to eat, drink, and she does run on her wheel a fair bit, but she doesn't do much else as far as playing. When I get her out to cuddle, she just sleeps on me if I let her.
Once you get a wheel for him, he may discover that he loves wheeling and come out more often to run on it. But for now, I wouldn't be too worried about how much he sleeps as long as he's still eating, drinking, and pooping/peeing.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Mine doesn't come out until I turn off all the lights and it's pitch dark. It doesn't matter what time it is, he'll refuse to come out on his own until the lights are off. Whether it's 12am or 3am, if the lights are on, he will not come out. I just finished our cuddle session at about 2am and I turned off the lights in the room, and I can hear him on his wheel now. It usually takes him 5-10 min for him to come out after the lights are out.

Edit for spelling....forgive me...it's 4:30am XD


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Your little one is a baby. Mine when they were babies had very short periods of lots of activity and then back to sleep for a while. 

Are you watching your hedgehog? Are the lights on? Many hedgehogs will not come out if the lights are on and some won't come out if you are active. 

How is your little one eating and drinking? If you leave him alone is there evidence he was out doing stuff at night?


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## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

Kalandra said:


> Your little one is a baby. Mine when they were babies had very short periods of lots of activity and then back to sleep for a while.
> 
> Are you watching your hedgehog? Are the lights on? Many hedgehogs will not come out if the lights are on and some won't come out if you are active.
> 
> How is your little one eating and drinking? If you leave him alone is there evidence he was out doing stuff at night?


-yeah everything is normal, once i go to bed i can hear him eating and drinking and messing around in his cage. sometimes when i clean out his cage i put back all the cloth pieces and hedgie sack thing in the wrong place and then the next morning i see that he has moved it to where he likes it, haha its cute. and his toys that i give him are always in a new spot.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Sounds like your little one just doesn't want to be watched while in his cage. I've had a couple who were fine if they were out of their cage to run around and explore with me there, but once in their cage they would go into their sleeping bags and wait for me to fall asleep. As soon as the lights go out and if you lay still, it isn't long before you hear a little hedgehog come out of their sleeping bag and start snuffling around their cage. Move and you could hear them stop to listen.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

My hedgie has two sterlite bins connected by a PVC pipe for a cage. It's always funny because I'll walk into the room and turn the light on, he'll be exploring the area around the wheel, and he has the exact route down pat to get from the wheel into that PVC pipe in no time. He's fine and very explorative outside the cage, but inside he wants his privacy. I think it's because he doesn't know what's coming into the room, and I could be a giant bird for all he knows. When the lights go out and I leave the room or lie down on the bed, he's right back out--and if I come in the room again, right back in the pipe. :lol: 
That's probably what's going on with your little guy. I've had Quentin for 7 months now and he still does it all the time. That or totally freezes on his wheel like "If I don't move, you can't see me." It's just his way of getting privacy.


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