Wheel Problem

When your wheel gets dirty, poop wise, do you put it in a dishwasher or do you clean it by hand

I clean it by hand. My hedgies use bucket wheels that make use of roller blade wheels. The metal part would get all rusted if I used a dishwasher. Also, I'd be a bit concerned that the high temps usually associated with dishwashers would warp the plastic bucket or make it brittle over time. Though, at this point, I'd be tempted to see what would happen to a Comfort Wheel in there... Again - wouldn't recommend it; have never done it... but I do wonder!

Depending on how dirty, I can sometimes get by leaving it in the cage and wiping it down with some baby wipes. More often (and this would be every single day with Satin, Tex, and Marlee), I have to pull it out of the cage and clean it with a little scrubber in either the bathtub or the laundry room sink.

Is it hard to clean would you say?

A smooth surface bucket wheel will be easier to clean than one with ridges like the Comfort Wheel. I've used both (or, rather, I've had hedgies who have used both) and neither is all that bad to clean. Scrubbing can be a bit tough some days if you absolutely have to make the wheel clean immediately and hedgie has pooped a lot and much of it has dried on there. If you have a few minutes, it gets easier since you'll just wipe out the easy-to-get stuff, then make sure the remaining poo is damp (can use a spray bottle or sponge/scrap fabric to get it all wet), then come back 10 minutes later and wipe it out and/or use a small scrub brush as needed.

Okay... I'm at the point where I'm allowed to get a hedgehog. But im thinking about all the responsibilities.... Okay, new question! If your hedgie is on your shoulder or stomach, do its nails stick in your shirt like cat nails? Weird question but...

No, they don't stick in your shirt like cat nails... not unless something has gone awry like not trimming them.

No but you might get poked by some of the side quills that cover the belly when the hedgie curls up. Sunoo has a bad habit of climbing in to the blanket with me or in to my hair and then going backward and jamming those quills in to me.

Okay, that's a relief because its not that it bothers me its just that I don't want my hedgie nails to get caught on anything... So one more plus for hedgehogs!

One more concern, I heard when you first handle a hedgehog your hands get red with some bumps, is this true? If so could you explain it?

Yes, that happens sometimes. Especially if you haven't handled a hedgie before, if it's a baby/younger hedgie, and you haven't washed your hands first.

Under normal circumstances, what happens is you scoop up hedgie and hundreds of little quills are pressing against your skin. They'll make tiny little holes. Nowhere deep enough for there to be any bleeding... but enough to disrupt an outer layer of skin. They younger the hedgie is, the sharper the quills are -- they seem to dull with time; it's not like older hedgies grow more blunt quills.

That, by itself, can cause a bit of irritation. Then, if you have a messy hedgie (so there's stuff on the quills - food, saliva from anointing, urine...), or you have stuff on your hands (if you haven't washed your hands before picking up hedgie), that stuff will be pressed into the tiny holes your skin - which can cause additional irritation.

Generally, as hedgie grows older (and the super-pointy tips dull a bit - they'll never go blunt, just be a touch less pointy) and you have more experience handling hedgie (your hands will toughen up AND you'll be better able to work with hedgie to get them in a less prickly position during pick-up time), the irritation lessens.

If it happens, easiest way to deal is just to wash your hands before and after.

Of course, for some people, they are actually allergic to hedgie. That's a whole different story...

Just to clarify though - nails do get caught on things (towels, lose threads etc.) so you would need to keep an eye out for that as well.

charlie said:

Just to clarify though - nails do get caught on things (towels, lose threads etc.) so you would need to keep an eye out for that as well.

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Oh! Yes! Good point. While you don't have to worry about a hedgie ripping up your shirt with their nails during snuggletime, you do have to worry about their nails getting stuck on other things. For example, it's highly recommended to use fleece for their cage liners since fleece doesn't have any threads. Loose threads pose serious risks to hedgies... they can wrap around toes and feet and cause massive damage. The looped threads in things like towels can snag toe nails... causing nails to rip, hedgie to be injured, etc...

That's not too good... But one more thing I've been wondering, do hedgies ever escape their cages? If so then what will happen? (Sorry for the late response, my computer died)

Bailey59 said:

That's not too good... But one more thing I've been wondering, do hedgies ever escape their cages? If so then what will happen? (Sorry for the late response, my computer died)

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Depends on the hedgehog and the cage.

Mine are in a Marchioro Tommy 120 and a 102. Their vacation cottages are Martin's CC2414's. They have not and would not be able to escape from those on their own. Of course, if you left a door open, then it's possible. They're solid plastic bottom and wire-top cages; the wire tops are held in place at several points of attachment. I like these kinds of cages for that reason.

An open topped cage; however, can be an invitation for hedgie to leave. I've seen posted that making a solid wall of 8 to 12 inches (depending on the hedgehog) makes it escape-proof. I'm not convinced.

I had my Satin in a solid plastic tub for a bath - the sides went straight up 9.25 inches. She was able to stretch, get her front feet up on the lip, and pull herself right out. Obviously, since it was for a bath, I was right there and no harm caused. But figure, 9.25 inches... with slippery wet sides and hedgie...

Texie was a little gymnast. He developed some small booboos on his foot from running extra hard a few nights in a row, so I had to pull his wheel. The kid got bored without a wheel and climbed the sides of his cage and hung from the bars on the top. Seeing that, I changed him over to a solid-sided Sterilite bin while he healed. I saw poop foot prints that went up 12 inches. Fortunately, the bin was 14.5. Much lower, and I'm sure he would have left to pursue his own adventures.

If they do escape... oh boy. The main problem is that they are not adapted to live in our environment. They need to be kept in a certain temperature range -- the way houses warm and cool is likely too much. They'll attempt hibernation, and since they're a hybrid, they cannot successfully do it. Instead, they die if you don't catch them early enough and re-warm them. So, in addition to starvation, dehydration, illness, and injury that you would expect might happen with any "lost" animal, there's hibernation and death.