# No wheel till 12 weeks?



## Guest (Mar 20, 2012)

I just came across some people saying hedgies arnt supposed to have wheels until they are 12 weeks old?

is this true and if so why ?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

In the UK they believe the hedgehogs bones and stuff need time to mature.


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2012)

so is this true? to me that doesnt make sense because in general using/ having muscles is better for bone growth?


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

I think in the UK, it's a preventative thing. A babies bones are going to be soft and pliable (much like a human babies) and without a wheel their is a lowered chance of breaks and/ or deformities. That being said, I agree with the stronger muscles= stronger bones mantra. Unless your hedgie has an inappropriate wheel, they should fine- IMO. An added thing, too, I would imagine a bored hedgie (no wheel) would be more prone to climbing and falling (if their cage allowed it).

Brillo had his wheel from the day I brought him him (8 weeks) and has yet to injure himself.


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## Curlygurl1190 (Mar 14, 2012)

I can see both sides of the issue. I've got a 12 week old that won't even use her wheel! I don't know if the wheel is too big for her to climb on to, or what the deal is. Thinking of getting her a CSW if she doesn't start using her current one soon.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

What's funny is .. softer/more pliable bones are actually less likely to break, because they're more flexible and it takes more for them to reach 'breaking point'. So the logic doesn't make any sense.


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2012)

yeah if you have a good wheel then i dont see the problem. I was curious because ive never heard it before.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I always give my hoglets a wheel soon as they are done weaning from their mother.  

This is posted on a Sticky on the UK pygmy forum;

Wheels
"This is an ESSENTIAL item for your hedgie – they are very active and can run up to 5 miles per night. It is however recommended by some that hoglets are not given wheels until approx 12 weeks old to ensure that their bones and ligaments are strong enough to cope with the physical strain. This is not entirely set in stone as hedgies do differ and a robust hoglet could benefit for a wheel a week or so earlier similarly a smaller hoglet or one that may have had issues at some point may benefit from having a slightly longer period or limited wheel access."

Things are different the world over.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

They're not necessarily going to use the wheels much when they're young, but yeah. Until someone can point to wheels before 12 weeks doing damage, I don't buy it.


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## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

This is one of those 'conflicting suggestion' situations where all an owner can do is make their best guess. I don't like that at all, of course (especially after reading about some 'possible' Neosporin tragedies), but at some point 'best guess' is the best course. When research is unclear, that is all that is left.

I picked up Sophie on her six week birthday. She ran 2 1/2 hours the first night and is averaging a little under 2 hours every night. With all of that energy to burn off, I suspect that not providing the wheel could cause greater harm. (The Carolina wheel isn't 'trued' (there's a wobble), but turns so so smoothly.) In a day, she's getting about 20 hours of very peaceful rest and recovery so not real worried about her.


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## kipluck (Jan 18, 2009)

My little girl came to me from one breeder, by way of ANOTHER breeder, who was having other ones shipped as well. That second, local breeder recommended I wait a few weeks before giving Tess a wheel because she was "so active" that "she would run herself too thin" and I wouldn't be able to keep enough weight on her.

So, I haven't put it in her cage.... BUT... I did put it in her playpen. Here she is at 2 months old and 1 day old burning rubber:







It took her 30 seconds before she knew she LOVED it and was running fast! So for now I guess it is in the playpen, but maybe I will put it in her bin early if that is the prevailing opinion of knowledgeable hedgie folks?


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## hedgieluv (Oct 29, 2011)

I was given the same advice about the wheel. The idea from my breeder was that she wouldn't use her litter pan if she had the wheel to poop on. Here's the deal, though. Persephone escaped 4 times at the breeders and was found in another hedgie cage twice. I put the CSW in her house as soon as she came home and she has never escaped at our house. Thank goodness...the large Doberman would probably find her before I did. To the breeders credit, she does poo on the wheel all the time. And she uses the litter pan under the wheel...yay!

Ms. P is small. She is 245 grams and is a week over 6 months. I don't know if it has anything to do with her wheel, she was only 103 grams when I brought her home at 6 weeks. She is healthy and happy and loves to snuggle in her hedgie bag. She's my first hedgie, so I am not a hedgie wheeling expert, but I am sure she would be less happy without her wheel. Good luck!


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## Kendra (Apr 1, 2012)

I brought home Luna last week, and she's only just over 6 weeks old, but she loves her wheel. The first night she didn't touch it, but every night since she has been running on it for hours. While she's more of a snuggler than anything else, I can't see why the wheel would hurt her. She did faceplant off it the first time she tried to jump off but that was only because she didn't realize that even though she stopped running, the wheel hadn't stopped moving when she tried to jump off. She's gotten the hang of it now though.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Kashi has had a wheel since Day 1 at my house (He came to me at 7 weeks old). First night I didn't put a wheel in his cage, which ended up with him escaping from his cage, so I put it in for him so that he had something to do.

I don't think it's a problem at all to make the wheels available for hedgies. I am pretty sure hedgehogs would stop running when they feel "strained"... so I don't really understand. But regardless, I'm sure there's a reason why they recommend something like that over in the UK. I just don't think it's founded on anything because I have almost never heard of hedgehogs over in North America (who have had wheels all their lives, even before 14 weeks) who have ever had any growth/bone/joint problems.


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## aftqueen (Feb 6, 2012)

I put the wheel back when the babies were 5 weeks because Momma was getting pretty grumpy. shes been much calmer since it went back in. The babies are about 5 and a half weeks old and are able to get into it. they run together side by side.
I can think of no reason to deny them the exercise, in the wild they would be foraging regularly (though likely not 5 miles a night!) by that age.


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