# Help with new 6 week old hedgie!



## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

Hello! Yesterday I brought home my baby Poppy! She is so sweet and even fell asleep on me yesterday! (She also pooped on me at the breeder's.Lol.)When I first brought her home I put her in a cozy sack on my lap for about 20 min. Then put her in her cage where she dove for her fleece stuffed igloo! The only issue is she has been sleeping nonstop! I mean I know babies sleep a lot but WOW! We brought her home yesterday at 10:30 am. She slept from then til 5 when I woke her up to go in her playpen because all my friends wanted to see her. I put her back in her cage and she went back to the igloo! I went to bed at 11:30 at she was still sleeping. This morning I found no clues of her going to the bathroom, at all, no clues of her eating or drinking, and no clues of her using her wheel. I checked the cage temp at it was low at 70 degrees so I turned it up and it is at 74 now. I put a mealworm right in front of her face and she happily gobbled it up! (Her first mealie!) Now she is sleeping in a cozy sack on my lap. Should I be worried that she hasn't gone to bathroom, eaten, or used a wheel since I brought her home? Thanks for reading my long post!


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## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

Update:
Poppy slept in a cozy sack in my lap for an hour this morning. Then I put her in her playpen for about 45 minutes and she was very active! I am so relieved! She pooped twice, peed in her digbox, liner dived, ate two mealworms, ate one piece of kibble, and ran through her tunnel several times! Sounds like normal hedgie behavior to me! When I put her back in her cage she even hopped on her wheel for while! That was her first time ever even seeing a wheel so I shocked at how fast she learned! She then explored her cage for a while and went to sleep in her igloo. She still hasn't eaten much or drinken anything but so far so good. Fingers crossed!


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## Mix (Nov 5, 2016)

She is 6 weeks old and has had a long few days considering she has a new home and owner/friend. She will sleep quite a bit, I give Thistle 12 hours of light (as in i keep the light on) from 8am to 8pm every night to sleep. She plays, eats, and uses the bathroom at night, and once she's done she goes to bed a little earlier than 8am. They sleep a lot. It is good she is so social with you, Thistle I have had for a month and she is showing very little signs of social activity with me.


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## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

Thanks for your response! I am glad to hear she is acting like a normal baby, possibly even better considering how well she is doing socializing! I will let her sleep until tonight when I will take her out for more bonding. Poppy gets 12 hours of light. The light is on from 5 am to 5 pm. I am so new at owning a hedgehog I panick at the littlest things! I just want what is best for her.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

5 pm is on the early side, it's like someone would wake you at 4 am every day just to play with you.


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## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

Ok, thank you for your concern for my Poppy. What if I switched it to 5 am- 6 pm? I have to get up at 5 everyday so I like being able to play with her before work. I also like having the light go off earlier so I don't have to stay up late just to see her.


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## Mix (Nov 5, 2016)

Many people will tell you that you shouldn't change your hedgie's sleep schedule to fit yours, however it is winter and she is quite young, so it gets dark sooner and she most likely doesnt have a strict schedule yet. I think 6am to 6pm will be fine for her, if she starts behaving differently go back to what you were doing or try a little later. It's all about trial and error  

I relate when you say you worry about everything. I still remember the first time Thistle fell from my lap. She fell into a pile of clothes and I cried for an hour and a half thinking I had killed her even though she was running around on the floor sniffing my feet.


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## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

Today I took her out at her usual time, 5 pm. But, I put her in her cozy sack on my lap. We were still bonding but she got to sleep more. Does this seem ok? Do you have any tips for bonding with a hedgie so young?


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## Mix (Nov 5, 2016)

That is perfect. A lot of time I leave thistle in her favorite shirt or cozy sack in my lap. It helps a lot, but unfortunately she's just not a social hedgie.


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## quinn_and_hedgewig (Dec 19, 2016)

I just got my 8 week old Heddy on Saturday and he's been sleeping a ton too. I'm not too worried about it because he's little and he is eating normally and pooping normally. I can also tell he's been active at night because he's moving a few of his toys around and eating. Slowly getting more acclimated to my smells and to being held. 

Hadn't thought about leaving a light on though. The room that he's in has some windows so natural light can come in. Do other people leave lights on during the day?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

They need to have 12-14 hours of light a day. In the winter the days aren't long enough to rely on daylight and in the summer a few cloudy days in a row can trigger a hibernation attempt so it's best to leave a light on in the room or a lamp on near the cage.


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## Poppy_the_hedgie (Nov 14, 2016)

quinn_and_hedgewig: 
To answer your question, I leave a desk lamp on a timer sitting by the cage. I leave the light on for 12 hours. 5am-5pm. But when I take her out at 5pm I let her sleep more in her cozy sack, my sweatshirt pocket, or just a pile of fleece scraps. She loves it! I have also noticed that she is becoming accustomed to this routine as she is less grumpy when I wake her up and she is beginning to come out on her own at the same time. Usually, about 12-3ish when the house it silent because everyone has gone to sleep. She is also more active when I take her out to play because she is used to me taking her out at that time. She will not eat in front of me but will on her own terms at night. She will wheel and go to the bathroom in my presence. She is also comfortable sleeping on me and being handled. Making progress!


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## Hedgiemamma11 (Dec 20, 2016)

I have the same worry. My little guy is 6 weeks and since I brought him home, he sleeps. I haven't noticed any water drinking or eating. I have two sources of water. A ceramic bowl and a hamster bottle. I offer him meal worms but he is not interested. He's pooped like three little poops and no pee at all. The breeder didn't give him any water when she showed him so he wouldn't pee during the showing. I took him to the vet and got a clean bill of health except for some mites. Is this normal behavior and at what point should I really start to worry.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

How long have you had him home? Is he getting the same food as what the breeder gave him? What kind of food is it?

Weigh or count out his food so you can see if he's eating just a little or not at all. If he goes more than a day or two without eating, you need to syringe feed him.

What is his cage set up like? Do you have a heating set up? Lighting? What temperature is the enclosure?


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## Hedgiemamma11 (Dec 20, 2016)

I have a C&C Set up. He finally ate and drank last night along with a few mealworms. I have to keep reminding myself that he's a baby and probably won't eat like my adult hedgie did. I use puppy pads which he likes to burrow under. I have a fleece blanket and a heat lamp. I plan to make him a snuggie pouch this weekend. He's pooped a couple of times, but I haven't noticed any pee yet. The breeder gave me a little of the food he was eating which was called Hedgehog Complete. I prefer Mazuri Insectivore diet which he did eat last night. I'm feeling better, but probably being overly concerned.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Hedgehog food is garbage, the bag it comes in has more nutrients than the food itself. The best is a high quality cat food, there is a sticky under nutrition that has the most recent update in food available.


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## Hedgiemamma11 (Dec 20, 2016)

I'm afraid I have to disagree. My guy that had just passed was given cat food his whole life and he developed bladder stones. The Mazuri's 3lb bag will last me at least 6 months and it's not that expensive.


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## Hedgiemamma11 (Dec 20, 2016)

I'm a happy hedgiemamma. My daughter came home to a nice pee puddle on the puppy pad and I cleaned up some poop. Guess he feels right at home. Now if he'll just run in the wheel.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

And I disagree with you. The ingredients are actually crap. Not to mention having a couple ingredients linked to health issues, if you're concerned about food causing health problems. What brand of cat food was your old hedgehog given? Do you actually know that the food caused bladder stones?

If you're going to look at it cost-wise, it's still not worth it - you can get better quality cat foods that are around $12-15 for a 5 or 6-lb bag.

Please do some reading about pet food ingredients. I really think it would be worth it for you to switch your new baby to something that is more nutritious. There is a lot of information on the forum. This sticky covers the basics, including ingredients to avoid & why - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html And Mazuri's insectivore food hits every one of the "avoid" ingredients except for food dyes.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Hedgehog food is garbage and can cause malnutrition in some hedgehogs. Bladder stones are not caused by feeding cat food or it would be happening a lot since 95% or more of hedgehog owners feed cat food and this is the first case of bladder stones that I have heard of. I have raised over 50 hedgehogs in the past without on case of bladder stones.


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