# New Hedgie Owner! have a few questions...



## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

just purchased Achilles from a pet store two days ago (I know pet stores are not the best, but when I saw him in there I just wanted to take him home with me! He seemed very healthy, but was with another hedgehog, which didn't seem too good to me). I have him housed in a plastic sterilite container with aspen wood shavings right now. He has a food dish and a water bottle (at the store he had a bottle so I thought I would stay consistent, but now after reading now I'm thinking maybe I should switch to a dish?). I have a 4inch pvc pipe for him, and a small tissue box. He seems to like the tissue box much better. I have seen him drink a few times, but not eat yet. He has been pooping a fair amount though so he must be eating. His poo is brown and not green, so that is good! He is still really scared of me when I take him out of the cage (huffing and the jumping thing), but he is getting better and it has only been a few days. I do have a few questions though:

1. The pet store had him on Pretty Pets hedgehog food, so I bought that so as not to disturb his tummy, but I read on here that this is not good for him. Tomorrow I am planning on going to a petco/petsupermarket type pet store to see if they have Spikes Delight hedgehog food (this is the best already-mixed/commercial hedgehog food right?). If I get this new food should I continue to mix some of his old food with it or something so his tummy doesnt get upset?

2. I bought a "wheel" for him but it is one that is more like a flying saucer thing tilted, not the traditional wheel. The girl at the store said that the hedgehogs seem to like this kind best, but I am not so sure I believe her now. Im not sure if he is using it at night, but during the day when I take him out to play he doesnt seem to know how to use it. Should I buy him a more traditional wheel?

3. I have him in wood shavings now, but I have read on here that most people prefer fleece. I can see how that would be way more easy to spot clean poo and nicer to pick him up without taking some bedding too, but how do you clean the liners? I am in a student-living apartment with three other roomates, so the energy bill is a bit of an issue. Therefore, I can't machine wash hedgehog liners all the time. What do most people do? Handwashing sounds kind of gross and not the cleanest method to me.

4. He sleeps in the tissue box most of the time and sometimes he sounds like he is digging in it. Is this normal? Or is it bad that he is trying to dig in something that is solid? Is it not cozy enough for him? The digging sound sounds like he is angry or something to me, but of course I have only had him for a few days!

5. The pet store people said he was about 6months old. I know this is kind of old to get a hedgehog, but I wanted to save him from there and he looked so adorable! At this age will he still be able to bond with me? He seems to be doing pretty well already, I think. When I take him out at first he huffs and puffs and jumps, but then once I have him out and in my hands he uncurls pretty quickly. He seems to be an explorer.

6. The first day he was home I put a little towl in with him thinking it would be cuddly, but he immediately started anointing. I know annointing is normal, but he kept making such weird faces and biting the towl that I took it away. Was this wrong? Did he like the towl instead?

Ok I think that is all for now! Sorry this was so long! Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

1) Most people here feed holistic cat food over commercial hedgie food, because it is nutritionally better with better ingredients. Instead of mixing in Spikes Delight, why don't you add a dry cat food to his diet? You should do a gradual switching of food, so switch in the new food (I did around 2 kibbles a night, and if I saw that the poo was turning green, I would keep feeding the same ratio until I saw the poop return to the normal color) until it is completely switched over.

2) Flying saucers are fine, and many members use them here, but there is a concern as it is not a natural running position (they have to criss-cross their legs on the flying saucer). If you see poop/pee on the wheel, it means he is using it.

3) Fleece liners you can just hand wash using unscented detergent (for babies like Fleecie [sp?], etc) or you can even stick it in with your own laundry if you'd like.

4) Digging is fine. Many hedgies do this. If you want you can stick fleece strips into the tissue box so that he has more stuff to "dig" into, and then you can make a cozy spot for him to settle and sleep in ^-^

5) At 6 months old, you can definitely still bond with him  Keep in mind that not all hedgies will bond with their owners, but most will as long as you spend enough time with them. If he uncurls quickly, then you probably have a very high chance of him turning friendly  Most hedgies will still pop/hiss when first woken up, so that's fine.

6) The towel just smelled interesting/different to him. It's fine that he anointed with it ^_^ My hedgie will time to time anoint with my bedsheets too :lol:


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Congrats! Achilles is a very cute name (I'm currently writing a paper on the Aneneid, so very topical ;p). I'm glad you're enjoying your new baby. I brought my Mopsa home early last week and we've been having a great time - but I totally relate to your nervousness.

shaelikestaquitos answered most of your questions I think, so I'll just say a few little additions that came to my mind.

- If you're worried about him eating, you can count the kibbles left in his cage so that I can know for certain how much he is eating. That's what I've been doing and it's very reassuring.

- About the wheel, I have a Carolina Storm Wheel and Mopsa runs on it all night, but I only saw her run on it while I was watching a few times, and only for a very short amount of time. I wouldn't probably use how often he uses it in the daytime as an indicator because they're far more likely to want to sleep than run in daylight.

- I think you only need to fully wash the liner about once a week, so you can just do it with your own laundry (I live in student housing also). Also - they're really easy to make so you can have a whole bunch so that even if you do your laundry once every two weeks or whatever, it won't be a problem. I have 6 liners atm and I'm hoping to keep making more so that I never get stuck without one. If you just have the type that are cut fleece with no sewing, it'd be easy and cheap to have lots.

- Just a quick question - do you have a heating system for him? There's a lot of really good heating information here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579

Good luck! He's so lucky to have someone who cares about him so much. 
Congrats again!


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks for the replies! I will look at the cat food list again (I momentarily forgot about it b/c I was so concerned with the bad commercial hedgehog food). I think I will go by the fabric store tomorrow too and look into the fleece and at least try it and see how it works out. I read on here that blizzard fleece is the best kind to get?

I am also going to go get him a thermometer for his cage tomorrow. I live in Florida, so I haven't had to be too concerned with him being too cold yet, but it is starting to get chilly. My roomates and I are kinda whimps about the cold though, so if he is too cold, I am probably too cold too. I will get a heater though.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Everyone's covered most, the other thing is a light cycle to regulate his internal clock. Don't need any special lights, just that there's a light on for about 12 hours during the daytime, otherwise they'll sense the short days and might attempt to hibernate. Most people usually setup a desk lamp or something near the cage on a timer so it turns on and off at the same time everyday.


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

His cage is right next to my desk, so I have been using my desk light. Will it mess up his light cycle if the light is on too long? I get up each morning at 9, and I know the recomended light time is 12 hours, but I am usually awake doing homework or another activity that needs a light until around midnight. Is that too long to have a light on right next to his cage?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

FLMeagan said:


> His cage is right next to my desk, so I have been using my desk light. Will it mess up his light cycle if the light is on too long? I get up each morning at 9, and I know the recomended light time is 12 hours, but I am usually awake doing homework or another activity that needs a light until around midnight. Is that too long to have a light on right next to his cage?


It's 12-14 hours of light, btw.

If you're worried about messing up his light cycle, change the location of the cage, or create a curtain type thing for your cage so that he can still get whichever amount of light on a regular basis.

My hedgie isn't so picky about the light. I have his cage on the other side of the bedroom, and if I have my desk light on, or my reading light on, and everywhere else is dark, he will still come out and eat/wheel... but not all hedgies are like this.

I hope that helps!


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

ok thanks everyone! Ill try observing him and seeing what his light preferences are.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Shae got it before I could type it, hehe  

Some hogs don't care about the light, its just namely a preventive measure owners take against hibernation. I ended up with freaks who won't come out until the lights are off, everyone else has normal ones that come out despite the light. Plus usually between 10 and midnight is when they get active on their own time, so you're safe. Like Shae said, if it bothers him, you can always try a curtain or relocation or even covering the cage with a blackout curtain.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Welcome to HHC & congrats on Achilles! Cute name! Just continue to be patient with him & he should be OK. Let us know how everything works out!


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks everyone! He does still seem shy about the light, but I took him out last night around 11 and he was being very friendly  He allowed me to hold him and even stroke some of quills. He even let my roomate and her boyfriend hold him for a while. It seems like he will become a very socialized hedgehog soon!


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

Ok a few more questions:

1) He used his wheel last night b/c there was poo all over it this morning! My question is, what do you guys use to clean their wheels with? Today I just took his wheel/flying saucer and put it in my bathtub and let it soak with some hot water and hand soap all day and then just now rinsed off and that seemed to get all the poo off. I now feel like i need to clean my bathtub though! Is it ok to let it soak in some diluted bleach or something? Any more sanitary options? (I am kind of a clean freak)

2) He seems like he scratches himself with his hind legs (like a dog) kind of a lot. Is this normal? or does he have extra dry skin that I should be treating? After further inspection, his ears look a little dry too.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I wouldn't use bleach, its a touch too harsh and I'd be afraid the smell would be stuck on the wheel from soaking all day. I think everyone here uses a 50-50 vinegar mix to clean at least their cage and items (50% water / 50% vinegar). Vinegar kills bacteria, mold and germs, so you know the wheel is clean. I use nothing but I got LarryT's Carolina Storm Wheel which doesn't need to be soaked, warm water and a scrubby and its clean.

As for the scratching it is probably dry skin, a problem many hedgehogs have. When you have him out, look at his skin under his quills, you might be able to see per say dandruff type skin flakes or that the skin is dry. You can pickup Flaxseed Oil capsules and squirt them onto his food, I guess it tastes good cause many hogs seem to act like its a treat. It'll help keep their skin moist, and if you do a bath, you can squirt a couple of capsules in the water which will also help keep his skin moist.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I usually clean mine in the bathroom sink. It's much smaller. Or you could use a bucket. I also have a scrub brush that is only used for the hedgie wheels. That way you don't have to soak it for as long. 
But like Puffers said, don't use Bleach. It's too harsh for a sensitive hedgie.


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

ok thanks for the advice! I wish I could wash it in the sink, but my sink is too small to fit the wheel in (student housing :/ ) Ill just have to scrub it and then clean my bathtub. Oh, and how soon is it to give him a bath? I haven't taken him out today yet, but im afraid he may have poopy feet so I may need to give him at least a foot bath, but I dont want to tramatize him. He seems to be getting used to me, but still this is only his third day here. Will he be terrified if I try to bathe him?


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, usually you don't want to stress them out too much especially in a new home, but if he's not pooping green you're probably good to give him a foot bath, green poop = stressed. The thing is though most hedgehogs hate the water to the point some might start twitching just at the sound of a running faucet. So I would say if he does have full on poopy boots, prepare his foot bath, just enough water to get his feet wet, and then bring him into the room. If he balls up when you hold him, I usually just lower them in enough that the water touches their bum, and they usually get the point there's water around, hogs won't ball up in water so he should come out, and let him step into it. Most hogs spend their time trying to escape, but let him walk around and attempt escape long enough that the boots soften and you can get his feet clean.

Don't be surprised if you find some green tinted poop after that, my girl always has green tinted poop after a bath, but its nothing to worry about unless he keeps giving you green poop.


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## FLMeagan (Nov 8, 2010)

ok thanks! I think I will try to hold off as long as I can before I give him a bath. His feet didnt seem poopy yesterday, so hopefully he didnt get them dirty last night.


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## amber.vroman (Nov 2, 2010)

FLMeagan said:


> Thanks for the replies! I will look at the cat food list again (I momentarily forgot about it b/c I was so concerned with the bad commercial hedgehog food). I think I will go by the fabric store tomorrow too and look into the fleece and at least try it and see how it works out. I read on here that blizzard fleece is the best kind to get?
> 
> I am also going to go get him a thermometer for his cage tomorrow. I live in Florida, so I haven't had to be too concerned with him being too cold yet, but it is starting to get chilly. My roomates and I are kinda whimps about the cold though, so if he is too cold, I am probably too cold too. I will get a heater though.


It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job at making sure your new hedgie is happy and comfortable. I just wanted to give you a little advice. I live in Florida too and I made the mistake of thinking that the regular temperature in my apartment was fine for my little BubbleWrap. This was the BIGGEST mistake I have ever made. My poor hedgie now has severe pneumonia from attempting hibernation. Please make sure you have a heating system ready for him and pay close attention to the temperature in his cage. I can't stress enough how important this is.

Congrats on your new hedgie and again it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job so far.


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