# Housing two females together?



## ourico (May 20, 2011)

1) Is it ever a good idea? I know some people do it, but hedgehogs are solitary, so they can't enjoy it, right?

2) I have a boy right now, and I'd like to get 1 or 2 girls *NOT, NOT, NOT* for breeding though. Just as pets. Should I even try to have the females share a cage (double everything)?

3) Could I take the two girls out to play at the same time?

4) Could I take two or three boys out to play at the same time?

5) And how bad would it be to buy from a pet store (I'd make sure they were the genders I wanted)? There are like no decent breeders in Ontario that I haven't tried... :| I contacted Heavenly Hedgehogs (Manitoba), but the litter died and she won't be having anymore for months. I contacted Heritage Pets and they don't have any babies for months. And I contacted Hedgehog Grove but they stopped emailing me randomly. So I'm starting to lean for my last resort...


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

1) It does work sometimes, but it mostly depends on the individual hedgies. Just like people, some get along and some don't. Some enjoy having a friend and will get attached to each other as cagemates, but there's always a chance that they could dislike each other or there could be a fight.

2) You could, but just go slowly and make sure that there's plenty of space so they can get away from each other. You'd need to keep a close eye on both of their weights to make sure they're both eating (since you wouldn't be able to tell from the amount of kibble that's gone if one's getting more than the other). I would think the best case scenario would be getting sisters from the same litter, since they'd already know each other and have lived in a cage together. Even then, keeping an eye on them is still necessary though. Personally, I wouldn't want to risk it, just because there's always a chance something could go wrong, and I'd rather be able to keep a closer eye on the food intake of each one.

3) Yup! Even if they don't do well in the cage together, having them out together would be okay. Just make sure there's still no spats, of course.

4) Again, I think this is a situation where it just depends. Some males will fight and some will ignore each other or play nicely. If you do have them out together, I'd never leave them alone for a moment and keep a close eye to make sure everyone stays comfortable.

5) I _think_ Hedgehog Grove is on vacation...But I can't remember for sure. If you do get a hedgehog from a pet store, though, you'd need to do a quarantine for 30 days to make sure they don't pass anything on to your boy. If you get a female, there's always a chance she could be pregnant, so that's a risk you may not want to deal with. Personally, I think it's worth the wait to get a healthy baby from a breeder.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Might find this sticky useful:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=43


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