# housing ideas



## Meagan (Jun 27, 2012)

Hi Everyone! I have had Max for about 3 weeks now and i believe that he is about 12 weeks old. I bought him from a pet store close to where I live and the lady told me to keep him in an aquarium(this aquarium I now know is WAY too small) and that hedgehogs need to be kept at 80-85 degrees(from all the other posts I think this is WAY too hot) and she had me use reptile bedding or alfalfa pellets as a bedding in his cage. 
First off, what type of cage is best to house a hedgie in? I am a college student and so buying a 30 gallon aquarium is not going to work. I am looking for reasonably priced and not outrageously huge in size. I have heard wire cages but wouldn't those be hard to keep warm? The lady at the pet store told me that I needed a heating pad under half of the cage to keep him warm and so I have that on my little aquarium, but I can see that being a hazard on a plastic bottom of a wire cage. Another idea I have seen is to use plastic storage container type things, but once again how do you keep those warm?? 
Secondly, I have changed his bedding to a fleece bedding because i had tried the pellets and i tried a recycled paper type bedding, but both were dusty(which I felt was dangerous for his little lungs) and I kept finding little pieces stuck in his genitals which really scares me. A problem I have with this though is that he is not litter trained. I had a ferret corner litter box with ferret litter in it and he refuses to do anything but dig in it. I placed any of his droppings in there and sat him in the box anytime he started to go, but he still just goes everywhere in his cage. He does not have a set corner that he likes. Any ideas that I can use to help that? I have heard someone say that they made a little house over their litter box because hedgehogs like small spaces and so their hedgie figured it out that way. Any advice? 
Thirdly, what type of treats are good for rewarding hedgies? I have him on a hedgehog kibble and I am slowly introducing a few new foods to him. Right now I am introducing baby food green beans and he loves them. I have mealworms, but I have read that they are really high in fat. Also I have him a wheel, but he refuses to use it. he hides underneath it and doesn't want anything to do with it. 

Sorry for all of the questions. I feel like a new hedgehog mom that was told EVERYTHING wrong before I got the little guy home and I need to fix them. Thanks to anyone with advice!


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

Baby hedgehogs are poop machines so he don't be surprised that he's not litter trained yet. My hedgehog was at least 6 months old before he used his litter pan consistently. A good place to put the litter pan is under the wheel because he will likely poop and pee on the wheel once he starts using it. The privacy under the wheel is also attractive for doing bathroom business.

As for him using the wheel, mine only does it at night in secret. So I'm not sure if yours will use it while you're there. What kind of wheel is it?

Mealworms are good treats. Try different fruits and veggies to see if he likes any of them. Poggles likes chinese pears, mango, banana, peach and black plums. He ignores whatever doesn't appeal to him or annoints with it. 

Good luck with your new hedgie!


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## Meagan (Jun 27, 2012)

I have a wheel from petsmart. It doesn't have any holes or anything that he can get a toe hung in, but i am afraid it might be too small. He fits in it but he just doesn't seem comfortable. I just don't see how a twelve inch wheel would fit in a cage. What type of cage do you use for Poggles?


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

This is my cage for Neytiri. Very roomy, and easily able to fit a 12" wheel in it


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

I have the Living World cage in the guinea pig size. It fits all of Poggle's stuff, but I should probably have gotten the rabbit size one so that I could fit more toys and tubes in there for him to explore. I would definitely get a bigger wheel for him. He's going to grow and he won't fit your current one anymore if he's already a tight fit now. I have the Carolina Storm Wheel and it's huge. Poggles loves it though. He could become a huge fatso and he'd still have tons of room!


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## Meagan (Jun 27, 2012)

Ok I got a Guinea pig size cage and it looks considerably bigger so a bigger wheel will fit, but what temperature do
You advise to keep hedgies at and how do you keep it at that temp?


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

Poggles room is warm enough that I haven't needed a heater so far. It has a thermometer though to monitor. He stays warm with double layered fleece flooring, double layered fleece pouches (three layered in Winter), and his dome has a fleece and corduroy tree dome cover.  He used to be next door to my sister's turtle and that had a lamp on all the time to keep it warm. On hot days, he sleeps under his wheel on the cool newspaper pellets.


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## Meagan (Jun 27, 2012)

Ok thank you for all of your help=)


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I would suggest reading this thread http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579 on heating setups.

Also, it'll be beneficial to read LG's book as well :http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files/hedgehogbook/index.html


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