Need some info on hedgehogs.

[dogcatharmony]

My sister let my nephew buy a hedgehog with his birthday money. Of course the only research done was the night he came home on the internet. The place they purchased him didn't have a clue what to do with them either. My sister said they were just 5 of them in a box with some blankets.

I went and brought them a gift certificate today to go and get the little fellow what he needs. Of course I took a crash course in learning about hedgehogs the past few nights, reading and reading and reading.

My sis was really sad today, she said that she wished that she wouldn't have #1 got it from a pet store. And #2 Let her boy jump to the decision so quickly. But they have him now, so she is doing more research on them.

Are their any hedgie owners here? Can you tell me any value info that I can pass on to my nephew? Right now the little guy is living in his igloo and putting his head spikes up at anything that comes near his cage. He makes an ugly face and does alot of licking. They have fleece blankets to line the cage, and a hedgie-bed (a little bag thingy)

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[aslan]

hey dch,, been a long time since i've had a hedgie but lets see if i can help..how old is the little one,, around 6weeks is a great age to get it so it's easier to socialize. Most will get accustomed to being handled but they don't really crave affection like other animals do..Rule number one,,DO NOT use cedar shavings in the cage, cage should be around 2-3 square feet..i'm going to recommend getting a book on hedgehogs for quick referance but this is a good site to get some basic important

http://www.exoticpets.about.com/cs/h...edgehogs_2.htm.

[quincymycat]

Hey DCH, wish I could offer some suggestions, but the only hedgehogs I know about are the chocolate ones from Purdy's.
I honestly did not know they could be purchased as pets.
Good luck to you and your nephew.

[dogcatharmony]

Thankyou Aslan.

My sis said this one is 2 months old. I saw him today and he is a twohandful fella.

My sister said all the reading she has done now, she realizes that getting a baby from someone who actually knows what they are doing would have been a better thing. She really can't say if these guys had been handled at all.

She has a 4x2 rabbit cage he is living in right now. She doesn't know what to do about him pooping everywhere, she keeps having to change his fleecy blankets because he pees and poos anywhere. She said he does love his meal worms, sucks them up like spagetti and chews.

I bummed her out a little, I asked if she checked our area for vets to see if anyone of them does hedgehogs. She said no...:sad:

But I do have to say that I can see that she knows she made a mistake, heck, I have made my own. And I do believe that if the little man has his own pet it will teach him lots of responsiblity. And he loves talking to me about my pets, a good time to pass along what I know and on other stuff we can learn together.

Thankyou for the link, I will take a look at it myself and pass it along to her.

[aslan]

dch, yeah they are little mealworm junkies, she can use them to socialize him to her..make him come to her hand to get one or two.,,you can get a litterbox that fits in the corner of the cage and hooks on the bars. Two months is a pretty good age to get him used to being handled.She could google for a breeder near her and ask info from them.

[Melinda]

I use to rescue hedgie's, they are so prone to upper respritory diseases, they really are not a pet for a child. Please make sure you either give very young meal worms or cut them in half, some will drop them into boiling water to kill them first. They can be litter trained and it really isn't hard to do, do not use clumping or scented, the good old fashion clay one is best, they prefer to do their duty in there than on shavings. they need lots of exercise outside of their cages and mazes can be set up for them, they love digging and rooting so you can set their cage like that and hide their food under "logs", buried into sand. A good quality cat food (kibble) is great for them along with the commercial food.

[dogcatharmony]

So you can put sand in their cage?? Right now all she has down is a blanket, said she didn't know what was proper bedding. She was told fleece, and not to use any shavings. What would be a proper bottom for him to live in? Thanks Melinda.

I cross my fingers and hope, but I think if things don't work out with the hedgie, he probably would be offered to come here first. So might as well educate myself too.

[Melinda]

no no, use shavings, you can put a dish of sand/ground for him to dig in, another for him to use as a litter dish, they like bananas and hard boiled eggs, a large tube or paper bags is a great toy for them, fallen logs also. they also like a blanket. not washcloth stuff, but flannel is great, you'll see they will bury into it

[dogcatharmony]

oh......okay. thanks Melinda.

I just talked with my nephew, he bought a litterbox and the lady told him how to train him to use it. She said to cut a peice of fleece out that he already used for the bathroom and put it in the litterbox to start with. And he bought a critter ball for excersice. If things work out I will be getting him a proper hedgie wheel.

So Melinda when you say to use shavings, what kind?? The lady told her NO shaving because it causes mites.......???