# 2 month old (sorry for all the questions)



## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

I am new to the hedgehog world, Ive asked so many questions on here and still have more...

My girl will be 2 months old on September 2nd. I've bjad her for two days now and for the most part she is doing well with adjusting to me. I take her out once or twice during the day for 5-10 minutes and at night in a dim area for about 30 minutes. 

1) Is this enough bonding time or to much?
2) should I leave her food dish in her cage or set a feeding time? Is purina kitten chow a good food choice? (This is what her breeder feed and I didnt want to change her diet)
3) she stays in her hut sleeping most of the time, is this normal? Although this morning her wheel was dirty and she had a bad case of "poopy feet". 

Im sure I have more questions but can't think as of right now. Im stressing my self out making sure she is okay, warm enough, and eating right.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

1) It's not too bad, but I would do even more. You don't have to stick to just thirty minutes in the evening. If you can have her out for 1-2 hours, that'd be even better, as long as she seems to do alright with it. That time can include anything from foot baths for poopy feet, cuddles & sleeping on you while you read, watch tv, etc., and exploration time in a hedgie-proofed room. If you're going to wake her up during the day, personally I'd make use of the time and just take her out to sleep on you for 20-30 minutes if she's willing to do so. Otherwise I'd leave her be during the day other than a "good morning" check first thing in the morning.

2) Most people free-feed as most hedgehogs won't overeat. They should still have fresh food every night though. What a lot of people do is measure/weigh/count out a set amount of food at night, then see what's left in the morning to keep track of how much hedgie is eating (amount of food eaten is a very useful early warning sign for illness). Then you can leave that food there for the day in case she wakes up for a snack, then change it at night.

I would definitely change the food. Most Purina products are pretty horrible and the "chows" are the worst. There's a list of popular brands that have much better ingredients here - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html Make sure you introduce a new food slowly, over 2-4 weeks, to avoid upsetting her digestive system.

3) Yup, perfectly normal.  Babies sleep a LOT. As long as you're seeing evidence of running, poop, and food/water gone, I wouldn't worry.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Awesome thanks. I heard her running on her wheel right before I laid down for the night so that made me feel better. I need to fix her a play area she tries to run under the recliner and couches and she is fast, haha.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Another question about heating. 
Our house stays between 72*-81* during the day (summertime) but drops to 68* at nigth. I have the vent closed off with a quilt laying over the vent as well in her room.

I have one side of her cage sat on a human heating pad on the lowest setting. She seems to stay warm (her belly is always nice and warm and she "splats" sometimes.)

Should I be using some more heating? If so what kind would work?

Im attaching a picture of her cage.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Here is her cage.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yes, I would be using a different heating set up. I'm not a huge fan of using heating pads for hedgehogs, and they're not usually recommended. You want the whole cage, air & all, to be heated, and the temperature fluctuation needs to be much less. I would personally recommend getting a ceramic heat emitter set up. You would probably need a slightly different set up for her lid though, in order to accommodate it. If you have a home improvement store near you, sometimes you can get wire shelving cut to a desired length. You could do that & lay it over the lid of her bin now. Then you can put a CHE directly on the wire shelving (you can wire it to the shelving if you're concerned about it getting knocked off). You'd probably only need a 75-watt bulb, given the small, enclosed space.

One more note about her cage though - you need ventilation holes. Plastic bins are only better than glass aquariums because you can drill holes for better ventilation. They should be about half to 3/4 up the walls, drilled all the way around the bin. There's examples in the Cage Examples thread if you want to look. People either use drills, or one person mentioned that a hot glue gun (no glue in it, just use the metal tip) would be good for melting holes in the bin. If you use a drill, heat the plastic with a hair dryer first to keep it from cracking.

For a CHE set up, there's three parts - a CHE bulb, the lamp (has to be rated for use with CHEs, if you get one from the pet store, it should be, but check on the box just in case), and a thermostat. The thermostat is required - it turns the lamp on & off as needed to keep a steady temperature. You can order things on Amazon or other websites, or find them at some pet stores. Petsmart has the bulbs & lamps, but (as far as I know), not thermostats. Petco has thermostats though. 

You can also get a space heater, which heats the whole room. They tend to use more energy though, and not everyone wants a 75* room!

That's great that she's stayed warm so far, but I'd definitely see about getting the heat situation fixed up now. As fall sets in, this is when many people who haven't had any issues start having hibernation attempts. I didn't have any heating for Lily for her first winter and my room had similar temperatures - 68* to about 74*. I think some babies are more forgiving about temperature, but I still can't believe we got away with no issues until I found this forum. After that, around one year old, Lily started becoming very temperature-sensitive & I had to watch her heating & cage temp carefully.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Thanks for the advice and answers they've really helped a lot. Ive done research for months before I got her but once I got her it's like I've forgotten everything. 

She was really playful last night. I got a kiddie pool for her play area and she was playing with an empty batg tissue roll, running on her wheel, & she even climbed uo me sat on my shoukser and snuggled against my neck. Then I tried giving her a a small piece of cucumber and she LOVED it. After all that she crawled into her nap sack and went to sleep. Haha


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Don't worry, it's a common side-effect. New Hedgie Parent Panic. :lol: Sounds like it was a great night!


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Lilysmommy said:


> Don't worry, it's a common side-effect. New Hedgie Parent Panic. :lol: Sounds like it was a great night!


~snicker~ I was all ready for my newly bought little boy back in February. I was! Except for the part where he wasn't a boy and everything that came with it. :roll:

And yes, I love evenings like that too.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Do they suppose to lay un curled? This morning Shilo was laying under her nap sack on her side slightly curled but I went to pick her up she balled up and hissed at me once I got her up she was warm on her belly and feet.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Hedgehogs tend to sleep however they are comfortable. Side, splatted out, curled up. Just depends.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

*shew* okay I was kind of worried because she has always slept curled up in her hut/box. Thanks.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Went to the pet store today and got a che heat setup. On my way hime after two more quick errands to set ut up for my sweet Shilo.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

She climbed upon my shoulder again and snuggled her head between my neck and the couch.

I think she has melted my heart.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

She didn't like stage 2 Gerber sweet potatoes and she lost a quill so I am assuming she is starting to loose her baby quills?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She could be! It's also normal for hedgehogs to lose a couple quills a day when not quilling as well, but it could be the beginning of quilling. You'll just have to wait & see if you start finding quills everywhere...like in the bottom of your foot. :roll:

Save the rest of the sweet potatoes if you haven't already thrown them out. You can freeze them in an ice cube tray and try again later. Sometimes they'll try new things after several offerings, or if you offer it to them in their cage at night, when they're not being watched.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

I'll freeze it, good idea. Im looking into building her a bigger cage too.


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Ivtried sweet potatoes again last night and she loved them this time. Tried chopped boiled egg 2 nights ago and she didnt want no part of them.

Also she has a water bottle ive inly seen her drink once so itbhad my worried. I put a small bowl with a little water in it and she drunk it all down really fast so I put the bowl inbher cage and she has been drinking it.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I tried a water bottle at first too. When I noticed she wasn't drinking I switched to a bowl and have never looked back. All my guys love their bowl and they are way easier to clean too. :grin:


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

Usually Shilo gets anxious and wants to be left alone and guts grumpy only after an hour or play/bonding time which is understandable I guess since I've only had her a week today but tonight she let me hold her and play with her for nearly three hours before she started getting anxious. 

Oh and she is 2 momths old officially today.


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