# Pros and cons of adding to the family?



## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Well, long story short, I have been contemplating getting a second hedgehog for a while now. Annabelle is such a joy! (No one told me that hedgie were so addictive,lol.) Until last night, I had no idea of when this might be... it was just an idea I had. But then last night I was innocently browsing Craigslist for lost cat listings (a little kitten had followed me home from class ) and the first thing that came up was a post for a hegehog in need, right in my area.

Anyway, to those of you with multiple hedgies... pros, cons? Would it be possible to introduce Annabelle to the new addition, or should they be kept completely separate? (I don't plan on housing them together by any means, but joint playtimes sound fun.) I'm assuming a quarentine period would be necessary?


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Yes quarentaine is necessary, only after that you could try to introduce Anabelle to your nre hedgie *if it's a girl too of course*. Of course it's twice the cleaning (cage and wheels) but it's not so bad. As for food, I just don't waste anymore (it use to expiry before I end the bag) and my vet does rebate when I bring my gang. That said, you have to have the finance for another one.


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## jopenguin (Jun 29, 2009)

That's how I found Calvin (I'm not allowed to be on Craigslist anymore  Mine are both boys, so they have to be kept separate. So, one con is buy and having room for a second cage. And a second wheel. There's an extra wheel to clean in the mornings, but you're already there anyway. 

Fun parts:
your roommate (mom) has her own hedgie to cuddle with and doesn't steal yours
totally different personalities to chuckle over

Oh, double the vet bills. I took Calvin in right away to make sure he was healthy.

I board them when I'm on vacation so that's double, plus transporting two cages to the boarder

I love having two and don't regret adopting Calvin. Ender might (Calvin's noisier in his wheel). 

Jodi


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Yes you will have to do a quarantine. You wouldn't want to risk getting the one you currently have sick because the CL hedgehog had something. This means that you will have to spend twice the amount of time you normally would doing hedgehog stuff. It also means you need to have space to separate the hedgehogs, preferably in a different room. Quarantine can be quite tedious and annoying, but it is an absolute must, or else you risk getting your current hedgehog sick.

After quarantine, your time commitment will reduce some, but you will still need to spend time with both, and will have additional cages to clean, wheels, etc. Also your risk for veterinary bills increases with each hedgehog you add. 

Another thing to consider... when you take in a CL hedgehog you also run the risk of getting a very unsocialized, unhealthy, or even a biting hedgehog. Do you have the time to deal with such things... or for that matter are you prepared to try to resocialize a hissing, clicking, popping quill ball? I don't recall what your experience with Annabelle has been like, but if you haven't dealt with an unsocial hedgehog, I'll be honest with you, these are not exactly fun additions to have in your family. They require a lot of patience, and hope that they will come around and be easier to deal with. Some never do come around. But they can also be some of the friendliest later, and can give you a great feeling of accomplishment when they do improve.

I'm not trying to discourage you... just ensure you really are prepared for the time and just what you may be up against.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> Do you have the time to deal with such things... or for that matter are you prepared to try to resocialize a hissing, clicking, popping quill ball?


This. Having personally experienced this, I can tell you that it isn't a lot of fun getting constantly prickled by an irritable hedgepig, not to mention that with some, you risk getting bitten every time you put your hand anywhere near them. Quillamina was like this when I first rescued her, and it's taken me an entire year to make her 'come out of her shell,' as it were. If you're prepared to deal with all this and willing to commit to resocializing (or just plain socializing, sometimes people don't bother to spend any time at all with the hedgehogs that they're giving away) then by all means, go for it. It feels amazing when you reach a milestone with a rescued hedgie, as I'm sure many of the posters here can tell you.

If you need any tips on rehabilitating a neglected or antisocial hedgehog (should you find that this one, if you bring him/her home, falls into this category) I'd be more than happy to share what I learned from my experiences with Quillamina.

Good luck, give Annabelle a kiss for me. <3


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks so much for the replies, guys! I have been thinking hard about this for the past couple of days. I have an extra cash fund set up, and have extra supplies, so I'm not too worried about that. I also have a separate room where I can conduct the quarantine safely. From what I've seen of the hedgie, she looks healthy and alert, but there's only so much you can tell from pictures. How long should the quarantine last? Two weeks?


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

Free2Dream said:


> How long should the quarantine last? Two weeks?


I think 30 days is standard.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

And you need to do more than just quarantine. I recently adopted a new boy and unfortunately wasn't able to keep him in a separate room, but still kept him totally separated. Despite hand washing and disinfecting anything communal (like the scale) my 2 girls still wound up with a mysterious illness (which I am stilll dealing with *sigh*) and yet my new little boy is as fit as a fiddle. We're still not even sure if it's the new hedgie's fault but I just wanted to point out that even with the hedgie is a separate quarentine room you will still have to take further precautions like handwashing and even clothe changing between hedgies. 

It may sound like a total pain in the butt but trust me dealing with sick hedgies is wayyy worse! 

Good luck with your new hedgie if you end up getting one


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Handwashing and cloth changing should be part of your quarantine routine. You never touch or hold your current hedgehogs after touching the new one. Otherwise you are cross contaminating. 

I care for the current hedgehogs first, and then the newbie. After that clothes are changed, and hands and arms are washed.

Quarantine should last 4-6 weeks. If you run into an illness along the way, the time starts over after the problem has been cured. For instance, if you have a hedgehog you have taken in and at 3 weeks it develops a URI. You treat the URI and the vet considers it gone after 2 weeks, you start the 4 weeks over at that point.

Sounds to me like you are leaning towards getting the hedgehog. Whenever I take in a hedgehog that their previous owner no longer has time for/wants/etc. I prepare myself for one that may need veterinary care and is unfriendly. Then when I get a healthy and/or friendly hedgehog, I consider it a bonus.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Something that some people forget about regarding quarantine, is to not touch the new animal to your face without washing afterwards. Sounds strange but I know I kiss all my pets on the forehead, and sometimes their bellies (mostly rats though :lol: hedgie-roll-up on nose isn't quite as comfortable). If you do kiss the new guy or girl definitely remember to scrub your face too.

Haha, I may just be weird, but I know at least *some* people like to do that.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

LizardGirl said:


> Something that some people forget about regarding quarantine, is to not touch the new animal to your face without washing afterwards. Sounds strange but I know I kiss all my pets on the forehead, and sometimes their bellies (mostly rats though :lol: hedgie-roll-up on nose isn't quite as comfortable). If you do kiss the new guy or girl definitely remember to scrub your face too.
> 
> Haha, I may just be weird, but I know at least *some* people like to do that.


Well, if you're weird, then so am I! :lol: I kiss Lily on the forehead all the time, and on the cheek when I can get away with it. After all, people kiss their children and Lily's been proclaimed by myself and everyone who knows us to be my baby!


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## nationofamanda (Jan 19, 2010)

even if they are both girls you should be prepared to keep them in separate living quarters forever. i had set my two up separately with hopes of eventually moving them to one christmas tree sized bin together, but lulabelle hates peach so it's never going to happen. haha.

twice the laundry isn't that big of a deal but be prepared to go through food a lot faster!


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

nationofamanda said:


> even if they are both girls you should be prepared to keep them in separate living quarters forever. i had set my two up separately with hopes of eventually moving them to one christmas tree sized bin together, but lulabelle hates peach so it's never going to happen. haha.
> 
> twice the laundry isn't that big of a deal but be prepared to go through food a lot faster!


I hade the hopes of joining my 2 girls' cages too eventually, I even got extra large hedgie bags made in case they ended up sharing one bag. Unfortunately hedgies don't seem to share the same desires we have for them to be best friends and live together :lol: Puff and Chloe won't even come out of balls when they're near each other for the most part so I gave up on the whole living together idea a long time ago.

The food thing is very true, but I actually appreciate it. I found when I only had one hedgie my cat food was expiring before it got used up, no matter how small of a bag I bought. Now with 3 hedgies I don't waste any food anymore which is nice!


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful responses. 

I don't intend on ever housing Annabelle and the newbie together... that would require more space than I currently have, and I know that hedgehogs are pretty solitary animals. Eventually, though, I'd like to try to introduce them, just to see what happens. lol

I picked up the (as of yet unnamed) new hedgehog yesterday afternoon. The people couldn't get rid of her fast enough. They were keeping her in a ferret cage with no hiding place and unguarded ramps and ledges; it's a wonder she didn't tumble off of one by accident and kill herself. I received the cage as part of the deal, but removed the ramps. She was also being kept on a mixture of pelleted bedding/sand... that didn't look very comfy.  

I am keeping her in a separate room for 30 days, as suggested. I will try to upload pictures soon! She's a completely different color from Annabelle (who's chocolate pinto) and has an upturned nose and a snaggle tooth. She's not very pretty, but she's already stolen my heart. <3


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Congrats on your new girl! 
Sounds like she's gonna have a million times better home with you!


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

SnufflePuff said:


> Congrats on your new girl!
> Sounds like she's gonna have a million times better home with you!


x2 Congrats! :mrgreen:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

tie-dye hedgie said:


> SnufflePuff said:
> 
> 
> > Congrats on your new girl!
> ...


x3! So glad you took her in.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Good for you! It sounds like that poor little thing had it even worse than my Quilly did, she'll be much better off with you. Please hurry with the pictures, I'm sure everyone is dying to see your new baby. <3 Good luck, and remember, never give up, no matter how 'prickly' - please excuse the pun - she happens to be.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Congratulations on the new hedgie! One suggestion though, before you introduce her to your other hedgie, make sure she is really a girl. It happens alot that people say they have a boy or girl hedgie and its actually the opposite. I have a rescue right now that the people that surrendered her to me swore was a boy. She was so unsocialized the the only way I could sex her was to put her in a clear glass dish, with a blanket over her and wait for her to unball.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Congrats. Now to get through that troublesome quarantine, which is never fun. What's her personality like?


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Oh, she's wonderful! She's completely different than Annabelle. Annie is very quiet and cuddly, and she's also timid. Lily, though, LOVES to explore. She's pretty much fearless, even though she scares herself when she balls up and huffs, and that makes her huff more! She's not much of a cuddler, but she loves to play with toys. It's fun having a hedgie who likes to play because Annabelle is so calm. 

Actually, it's funny you should mention the possibility of her not being a boy, because I was actually wondering the same thing! I haven't gotten a good look at her nether-region yet, but she comes around a bit more every day so I hope to soon. I guess I'd have to change her name if she really is a male. Poor Lily.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

An easy way to check sex if she won't uncurl enough is to set her in a clear container and look underneath.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Free2Dream said:


> Actually, it's funny you should mention the possibility of her not being a boy, because I was actually wondering the same thing! I haven't gotten a good look at her nether-region yet, but she comes around a bit more every day so I hope to soon. I guess I'd have to change her name if she really is a male. Poor Lily.


Yeah, my Tangelo was named Lily and was sexed as a female, I had a bit of a surprise when I loooked over there!


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