# Housing two hedgehogs together questions



## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

River and Rose lived together at the breeders. When I brought them home I also put them together. They sleep together although they have plenty of options not too. They have separate food bowls and water bowls and two wheels. Two everything. 

I count all of my hedgehogs food when I give it to them and then in the morning to see how much they ate over night. 

To those of you who have hedgehogs housed together, how do you keep track of who eats what and who runs on which wheel? What do you do if you see green poop or blood? 

Any advice for me? Thanks for everything!


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Bumping because another issue popped up. 

If the girls are eating from their respective bowls, both River and Rose are eating very little. About 20 pieces of a kibble. The first night, they ate one or two pieces which was normal. The next night it was about 20, and then last night it was a little over 20. Should I start syringe feeding? I have the canned prescription A/D food, plenty of it and some other prescription food that isn't as fat. I think it's for liver health but it has nothing bad in it for hedgehogs. 

They are eating and I don't want to disrupt that if it's not necessary. 

Poop has been slightly green and not very much because they haven't eaten all that much.


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

Both Phoebe and Adella around housed together. They are mother and daughter, so they've never fought either and also sleep in the same hut, despite the option of being separate. However, my two don't just run on one wheel or eat from one dish. They share and don't really pay attention to which wheel or dish they're using.

Whenever I think they might be a potential health problem and have to separate them for the time being. They just accept each other like they were never apart once they're put together again. Adella once got too hot in my room and stopped eating (or I thought so) so I separated them to get an exact count of how much she was eating. When they were separated I could easily see how much she was pooping and what the color of the poop was. If I notice anything out of the ordinary I just put one in a large bin for the night. It works fine for me.

As for your other question, I can't really answer. I know basic health, but not much since I'm still learning. I could answer the first from experience, but I'm sure someone can answer the second question.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Thank you. I really appreciate the advice. I have shelf I can use that can separate them in their cage if need be so that's taken care of now. :grin: It's good to know that they don't care about eating from different food bowls. Now I just have to make sure they are both eating and I'm not sure how to do that... without separating them. If they don't eat more tonight I might just start to syringe feed in the morning so I feel better. :roll:


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

I always worry about Adella because she constantly wheels all night. She eats high fat food, but doesn't eat much since she's on the wheel all night. When her weight did a major drop I stayed up all night and would turn on the light to see whoever was eating. Mostly Phoebe, since she loves to eat. It made me feel better when I did see Adella eat, though. Hopefully it's just stress from the move with your girls. Good luck!


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## Tongue_Flicker (Jun 11, 2013)

I housed same-sex siblings before with no problems. Bigger individuals tend to become aggressive over time though so watch out for that. Housing hedgies together is normally not recommended or advised but is not impossible.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

They are pretty close to the same size. The bigger girl is actually a complete sweetheart and a few months younger. I have the ability to separate them if the need be but I didn't want them to be separated right away especially after the flight. 

Thanks for the advice.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

*More questions??*

The bigger girls aren't eating as much as my little ones. Both Penny and Winter can put away 100 pieces of kibble a night. They average around 70 never dipping below 60 pieces except once after a long car ride. River and Rose barely eat 20 pieces of kibble about a tablespoon? Is this an okay amount for an adult hedgehog? They are both pretty big girls. River is fatter (she has rolls) I plan on switching her to a lower fat food when she is more settled. Rose is a bigger hog but she could use a little weight loss too. They both wheel. Having never owned adults yet do they eat less when they are older?

Also when I went to check on all the hedgehogs this morning, I picked up River. (Who lined dived last night) and she didn't respond. Belly was warm, she was moveable, not stiff. She scared the crap out of me. After about 30 seconds she halfheartedly balled up and then in another 30 seconds she was her normal cranky self and gave me a little growl. Was she just sleeping?? I put her in my lap just in case and she seemed groggy. But she is awake and moving around now. Temp in the cage was 77.


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## Melanie G. (May 29, 2014)

Regarding how much they are eating, you could start weighing both hedgies weekly to monitor their weight.
Sorry, I've been away for a bit so you may have mentioned this elsewhere, but are they eating food that is new to them? Or are you switching them over to a different food? I'm just wondering if it might be an issue of them not liking a different food.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I ordered the food from their breeder and had it shipped to my house so it's the same one they were on before. I thought about adding a new food to perhaps excite them but I'm afraid that will deter them from eating. 

I will start weighing them and keeping track. They both need to lose weight anyway. I just don't want fatty liver disease to kick in. 

Any thoughts of what was wrong with River this morning? Was she just sleeping?


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

Sometimes if I get Phoebe out quickly, such as pulling back the liner (she's a liner diver) and just scooping her up she just sits there staring at me. Normally she doesn't raise a quill, but she barely seems to notice I'm there until she's fully processed what's happening. It could be that she was just woken quickly.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I hope so. She really scared me.  But she seems better now. 

I've started syringe feeding both of them although I am pretty sure Rose is eating and River isn't. Rose syringes like a champ but River fights it. I'm hoping River will start eating on her own soon. I might separate them soon but I'm afraid of doing more damage.


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## Melanie G. (May 29, 2014)

I don't know anything about housing hedgehogs together or the issues that come with separating them, but is it possible to have them in separate cages during the night when they are active and then putting them back in one cage during the day? That way you could monitor their eating.
I don't know if that would cause more issues, it was just a thought.


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

I would do what Melanie said, but I just know that when I did that for Adella and Phoebe when Adella stopped eating it caused some problems. Maybe for one night, but I wouldn't do it longer. Whenever I separated them Phoebe got depressed. I suppose they are attached to each other because whenever they aren't together Phoebe won't eat, drink, or wheel. So if River is like that and would get nervous without Rose, she might not eat anything which will worry you even more.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Thanks guys. I have seen Rose eat so I'm pretty sure she is the one eating most if not all the food. Of what is eaten. There is still plenty left over. I have been syringe feeding River. She does pretty well. However I moved them into their bigger cage last night and saw River eating! I was so happy. I'm going to continue to supplement her food with syringing until I feel like she is eating fine on her own.


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## hedgiefleece (Jun 7, 2014)

I used to house 2 brothers in a cage,2 sisters in another cage and 2 unrelated females in another cage and they got along really well. At first they had 2 of everything but i started noticing they only used 1 item of each so i removed extra items and only left 1 wheel, 1 bowl, etc. But they do have 2 water bottles  As for keeping on track on whose poop is this. I just look for their regular pooing spot :lol: My hedgies always poo or pee in the same corner in their cage


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

Did they take turns on the wheel? Phoebe and Adella both wheel all night long. However, I also notice they don't care if there is two different of anything else. Just the wheels.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

So I attempted to separate River and Rose last night to see how much each was eating. I put up one the shelves I was planning on using for a lid (couldn't make it work) in the middle of their cage thinking at least they could see each and smell each other etc.

BUT Rose must have climbed or squeezed her way over to River's side since they are now cuddling under their liner on River's side. Which is super cute. I took down the barrier immediately. I would rather syringe feed River for the rest of her life than either girl hurt themselves trying to get to each other.

However, even though they weren't separated all night, I can definitely tell they ate a lot more, both of them. I gave River, Rose and Penny some dubia roaches last night. (Winter is sooo not into bugs unless they are mealworms or wax worms which he doesn't get anymore) Actually River nommed on the head, Rose nommed all the guts out and Penny finished off the exoskeleton. River also ate some Raw Beef Medallion last night AFTER I had syringed fed her and a lot of her kibble is gone.

Success! I'm hoping this continues. I might syringe feed her just a little bit tonight to stimulate her appetite and see how much she eats on her own.






Also above is my video of me syringe feeding River. I used a small syringe for the video to get a better view. She normally eats out of the 12ml, not the 1ml one.


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