Heat Lamps+ more

If there usually aren't other types of fruit/veggies in the house, I'd just get some jars of baby food. They'll keep longer than, say, a watermelon of which hedgie might take a few grams and you'd toss the rest if no one else eats it.

As for lettuce - it's never really been talked about as a big thing for hedgies. Figure that your standard iceberg lettuce has near zero nutritional value. So don't give that to hedgie. Then you could move up to something like Boston bibb, or romaine, or onto other leafy greens like chard or kale... which would be better nutritionally. But, again, not a big thing in the hedgie world. I suppose if you cut/tore it into little pieces... maybe. Might be worth a try, but I wouldn't necessarily count on it working too well.

Take a look at: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287
and: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13961
for more ideas.

So no iceberg lettuce... Thank you for letting me know!

1. Besides chocolate and grapes/raisins, what's deadly for hedgehogs?

2. How often do you have to trim their nails? I heard somewhere that you could put some kind of brick on in their cage for them to wear down... Is that safe?

3. This may be and odd question... But do hedgies like music? Like the way it calms some dogs?

autumn5930 said:

Besides chocolate and grapes/raisins, what's deadly for hedgehogs?

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I'd stay away from nuts, seeds, and anything that could get lodged in the roof of their mouths. Obviously, not immediately deadly (unless they choke); however, they'll resort to self-injury to get it out

autumn5930 said:

How often do you have to trim their nails?

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Depends on both the hedgehog and which nail you're talking about. Overall, I'd say about once a week -- with variations. I've had some hedgies where it seems like I've almost never had to trim the equivalent of their pinky toes, while needing to trim the equivalent of their big toes every few days -- especially the back foot. The other thing to consider is that it's pretty rare to have a hedgie just sit there while you get all the nails. So you might have the clippers out 3 or 4 times a week and it looks like this: day one = 3 nails; day two = almost got one, but hedgie said "no way"; day three = got almost all of the remaining nails; day 4 = finished!

autumn5930 said:

I heard somewhere that you could put some kind of brick on in their cage for them to wear down... Is that safe?

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I've read that too. And the counter-arguments. In looking at their feet and the way their nails grow, it doesn't appear it would be helpful. They have soft pudgy pink feet and their nails, initially, grow out kind of like how our toenails to; ie, straight out. You can picture how well it would work if you were to go about walking around on bricks so you didn't have to trim your own toenails. Not so well, eh?

Eventually, if you let their nails grow, they'll start curling around and head down to the ground. By the time they've curled around and reached the ground, it wouldn't be too comfortable to walk. If they've really grown waaay too far, they curl around and invade hedgie's own little foot Better to just trim them with clippers.

The worst thing I've seen is where someone tries lining their wheel with sandpaper. Do not do this. It will not help trim the nails. It will result in ripping hedgie's feet to shreds.

autumn5930 said:

This may be and odd question... But do hedgies like music? Like the way it calms some dogs?

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Some yes, some no. It can be like white noise in the background that helps reduce the impact of loud or sudden noises. I'd say to try it during snuggletime and see what your hedgie's response is. I have repeatedly observed that anything loud, jarring, or making a "sssshhhhhh" noise pretty much always results in a scared hedgie who turns into a ball of quills.

Thank you so much! Someone put sand paper in their wheel? Wow, that's harsh!

(2.) 1. Is okay to clip their names during the monthly baths? I know you do it between, but can you do it then too?

2. You do give full baths once every month right? And foot baths every so often?

3. Where do you suggest a breeder near here.... I know they are on hedgehog central but the ones with a website haven't change it in awhile....And that kind of concerns me... What's your opinion?

autumn5930 said:

Is okay to clip their names during the monthly baths? I know you do it between, but can you do it then too?

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Yes, if they're fussy, you can clip nails during bathtime. I'd probably do it during a footbath. Hedgies (unless you find you have a rather unique hedgie) generally do not like water. So I'd try and minimize the stressors. Full bath is more stressful than a footbath. And nail clipping is stressful too. So I'd put footbath + nail clipping together... they'd probably add up to a full bath.

autumn5930 said:

You do give full baths once every month right? And foot baths every so often?

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I only give full baths when hedgie is messy. For some, that might be once a month. Others might go several months before needing a full bath.

You'll likely give footbaths much more often. It could even be daily. When hedgie has poopboots (ie, poop stuck onto feet after spending a night running through their own messies on their wheel), then you give a footbath.

autumn5930 said:

Where do you suggest a breeder near here.... I know they are on hedgehog central but the ones with a website haven't change it in awhile....And that kind of concerns me... What's your opinion?

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Hmmm... NJ... I think I'd be looking at some of the breeders over on Hedgehog World. They're based in the New England region which wouldn't be too far a trip. Like: http://www.hamorhollow.com/ for instance.

Thanks! That site helped a lot! I will be looking on there in the future! When I'm ready that is....

1. Is a hedgehog on the carpet safe? Like will their feet get stuck?

2. When a hedgie anoints, do you have to give them some type of bath, just a towel or their backs, or just let them be when they are done?

autumn5930 said:

Is a hedgehog on the carpet safe? Like will their feet get stuck?

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Unless you have fairly unusual carpet... I'm thinking of something like if your house is trapped in the 70's complete with shag carpeting... hedgie should be fine walking around on your carpet. Before you set hedgie back in his/her home, you can do a quick foot check to ensure that s/he didn't pick up any threads, hairs, etc... that could wrap around a toe.

autumn5930 said:

When a hedgie anoints, do you have to give them some type of bath, just a towel or their backs, or just let them be when they are done?

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Depends on what hedgie anoints with. I had one who would anoint with squash, peas, carrots... she'd put it on her head, her back, her sides, her underside... After she was done there was absolutely nowhere you could touch her without becoming an absolute messy disaster yourself! I'd tried just wiping off with a washcloth, but it didn't work... she'd really get it in between her quills. If I left it, it would just stay there, get hard, and her quills would be all glued together. So, for her, she needed a full bath. Just no way around it.
On occasion she (and the others) would lick something and start anointing with just spit. So it was clear... and a relatively small amount. For those times, I just wipe off with a little fleece or whatever's handy. Or, if it's really minor, just let it go. Marlee, for instance, likes to snuggle in my sleeve. She'll start licking my arm and then anoint. I just let that happen. There's not really any mess left over after snuggle time is over.

So do you mean on a regular rug or the 70s rug?

1. Do hedgehogs have their own schedule? Like get up, eat, run on wheel, take nap, drink, play with human, run on wheel, sleep, then repeat?

2. Do I ask to many questions?

autumn5930 said:

So do you mean on a regular rug or the 70s rug?

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Hedgie on a regular carpet should be just fine. I'd run over the area with a vacuum cleaner first - you don't want hedgie to find some random bit of whoknowswhat on the floor and start eating it. You might also just want to put a blankie down so that you know it's clean/hedgie-safe. It'll also help protect against potty messies that may occur.

autumn5930 said:

Do hedgehogs have their own schedule? Like get up, eat, run on wheel, take nap, drink, play with human, run on wheel, sleep, then repeat?

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Yes, they develop their own schedule around yours. When it's dark and quiet, they'll figure out what they want to do and when. And, yep, it looks a lot like you've described; ie, get up, eat, run on wheel, take nap, run around cage, drink, run on wheel, eat, run on wheel, run around cage, drink, sleep, then repeat. And each one will vary a bit on the order and the timing over the course of the night.

You'll also want to develop your own hedgie-friendly schedule in terms of when snuggle/playtimes are so that hedgie understands and expects that you'll be fussing with the cage around this time and picking him/her up around that time and returning him/her back to the cage around this other time every day.

Could I add something.... I don't know if you said this, but I was wondering how long you can leave your hedgehog alone without any socialization, but oh course I would still feed it but without the playtime..... By the way I was wondering because I am getting a hedgehog in a few months!

Bailey59 said:

Could I add something.... I don't know if you said this, but I was wondering how long you can leave your hedgehog alone without any socialization, but oh course I would still feed it but without the playtime..... By the way I was wondering because I am getting a hedgehog in a few months!

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To some extent, it depends on the hedgehog, and what you have in mind about how a hedgehog "should" act when you are with that hedgehog.

In addition to changing food and water and doing some cleaning every day (eg, poopy wheel, poopy feet), you should be picking up your hedgie every day. It's the best way to help ensure hedgie is healthy and to pick up on small issues before they become big ones. For example, a thread or hair wrapped around a toe (can happen overnight) can lead to massive infection and loss of toes/feet etc... You'll need to pick hedgie up and have hedgie be at least somewhat cooperative with your inspection.

I think, probably, many people who've had a hedgehog have been sick/otherwise unable to do much more than the basics of "food, water, spot cleaning, quick pick-up & check" for a day here or there... or even a few days in a row. And that's not going to be a major issue for hedgie if you're otherwise consistent with playtime and such. But it may be an issue if it's like that all the time... you could end up with a hedgie who doesn't really want/tolerate human interaction much. And that's okay usually, but will become an issue during nail-clipping time. And if hedgie needs meds.

Tell us a bit more about how you're envisioning playtime with hedgie (eg, how often)...

Sorry... have been on for awhile. I'd envisioned it basically everyday. Running a few laps, laying on stomach, etc. But I was thinking about if a day you don't have enough time around your schedule. But for me that would be once in a blue moon! I just wanted to see your opinion.

Sounds like if it's once in a blue moon that you can't do full snuggle time, you and hedgie will be just fine.

Haha, thanks!

Okay, new question! If your hedgie is on your shoulder or stomach, do its nails stick in your shirt like cat nails?

I've been looking around for food brands and I saw that Smhufflepuff said that Blue Indoor Cat and Wellness Healthy Weight is good. I'm thinking about using those. Those are still good right?