# Napoleons Odd behavior...



## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

Alright so for a few days now Napoleon has been coming out in the daytime to eat. Not that worried about it kind of the equivalent to a midnight snack I guess. But today she's out of the nest and it looks like she's sleeping/resting/visiting her home planet (As MissC says) while her face is in her food bowl. She's been out for a good fifteen minutes now, and she'll go back into the nest after a quick drink, then come back out again. I've heard that after awhile moms will 'take a break' from the babies and hang out or even nap outside the nest. Is that what she's doing? Every now and then she'll take a bite of food then lick her lips and go visit the mothership again So it's not like she's hungry. Her water bowl is full too. The babies are pretty big... so i'm thinking that they may be taking up most of the room in the nest? the nest is a hat and its a little short of one square foot (I have a big head) Anyways, I turned her light a bit so its not as bright for when she comes out, but enough light to make it still look like daytime. Any thoughts? I'm not too worried cause she doesn't look sick or anything, just sleeping outside.


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

My guess would be she's just taking a break from the babies. I wouldn't worry about it.


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

That's pretty much what i'm thinking cause I read about it, I just wanted some more opinions to confirm what I thought was happening


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## HedgehogsAnonymous (Dec 30, 2010)

Everytime I've been to my breeders (and I go and hang out often) the mom's are never near the babies lol they need their quiet time too haha


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

It's normal for mom's to take a break from the babies, just check that when they are squeaking she is going back in and feeding them.

Also keep an eye on her food, how many kibble she is eating and if she seems normal in every other way expect the sleeping outside the nest. 

She just might need a well deserved break for some time for herself. Babies are demanding on anyone so I am sure she just wants a little rest to herself.


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

Something I forgot, does she appear to be shaky or wobbly when she walks?


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

Nope, she's not wobbly at all, just comes out for a little while and hangs out. She was pretty fat when I got her and now she soo tiny. Her sides are a little sunken in and it worries me a bit. Her food has 15% fat in it and i've lately bumping up how many mealworms she gets.. she's up to 15 a day and some egg or chicken I've cooked so they're taking A LOT out of my poor Napoleon. If I see any wobblyness should I crush a bit of tums into her food? I think I read that somewhere on the forums.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

If everything else about her is normal, then I'd say she just needs a break from the kids. I have one mom that once the babies are a couple weeks old, she'll sleep outside of the nest, with her back to the nest door blocking it so the babies can't get out. I figure that's her way of getting some alone time...lol


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

She's just taking a break and having some me time. All moms need that on occasion. :lol:


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