Surprise Babies

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
P

PeaceB2U

Guest
I've kept hedgehogs for years, but they have always been older hedgies (1+ yr.) that I've taken into my home. I've never had any experience with babies and hedgehog mothers. I was quite shocked yesterday morning to discover that the new hedgehog I had taken into my home the first week in February was pregnant and had a litter of babies. I quickly took out the exercise wheel and have tried to leave mother and the new little ones alone. I also started checking out this forum for any information I could gather.

However I have some questions for those who have dealt with babies.

1) I'm concerned about the mother with all of the horror stories I've been reading about hedgehogs who give birth. I thought it best to not take her away from her babies or stress her out more with a vet visit. She did get up last night and eat and has not given me any reason to think anything is wrong. So should I pick her up to examine her or be looking for anything in particular?


2) At what point do you place the exercise wheel back into the cage for the mother?


3) Early this morning I actually thought I might be seeing the mother reject her new little ones. She carried them away from her nest and just left them laying in different places in the cage. However, later she had taken the little ones all back in again. Is this typical behavior from a new mother?


4) Anything special I should add to mother's diet while she is feeding her little ones?
 
When moms are stressed they will drag the babies around and leave them here and there. The best thing is to leave her totally alone except for giving her fresh food and clean water morning and evening. Talk to her before you do this so she knows you are there. Don't try peeking at the babies as that can stress mom.

If you have any concerns about her eating, count her kibble. Mom's typically don't eat much the day before delivery and a couple days after but otherwise, you need to make sure she eats. Sometimes it is obvious, other times, counting kibble is necessary. Don't handle her at all.

The wheel stays out until babies are weaning. I don't give mom a wheel until the babies have left.

Many breeders add Royal Canin Baby cat to moms mix. It gives the extra fat needed for milk production plus it is an easy kibble for babies to wean onto. Start her out with a very small amount and increase it gradually so as not to upset her tummy.

I also give my girls a sprinkle of a crushed up Tums twice a week the week before due date and the week after and then once a week until the babies have weaned. My girls love the orange and pink Tums. Crush it and give a pinch on mom's food.

No vet visits unless you feel there is something drastically wrong. Mom may have spotting of blood for a day or two. Past that is a concern. Mom may not eat much for a day or two after but past that she should start eating well. I keep food and water bowls quite close to the door of the nest box as some moms are reluctant to go too far in the first week or two.

Some girls are just not mother material in which case there is nothing you can do about it. Others, are fine as long as they are not stressed. Others you could do anything to and they would be ok. Point is, don't do anything to risk the babies. Mom's usually know what to do.

What do you have for a nest box?
 
The cage already had a small fleece blanket and sleeping bag inside so I left those alone. I just use liners for bedding. The mother bunched the blanket up in a corner. I also added some paper towels torn in strips just to see if she would use them and she did.

I moved the food bowl and water bowl closer and the mother is still continuing to eat. Do you leave your water bowl in with the babies? I was wondering if there was any chance of them crawling in and drowning.
 
I use water bowls that are about 1" deep and 4ish" across with 1/2" of water. I've yet to have a baby go near one. Mom's usually keep the babies in the nest until they are a few weeks old and by then they would not drown.

Liners are not good to use. I'd start adding a handful of shavings or carefresh every night. The liners are going to be yucky really fast but there isn't much you can do as to remove them would stress mom. Don't try removing the liner.

Paper towels are ok, but toilet paper is better. Some of the paper towels are quite fibrous but toilet paper disintegrates easily and there is no worry about ingesting it.
 
I'm so stressed out over these babies! I don't know how you breeders stand it.

The mother had the babies in plain view on Saturday evening so that I could actually see them nursing when I went past the cage. So at least that day I knew things were OK. Sometime early Sunday morning momma moved herself and the babies inside her fleece hedgie bag. So not only can I no longer see anything other than an occasional movement of the bag , but I'm not hearing anything other than a little huff from momma when I change food. That's really starting to bother me. It's the whole not knowing if they are OK or not that's driving me nuts.
 
Oh! I just heard a few little squeaks coming from the cage. :)
 
I'm having the same feelings myself. I had my first hedgie 2 weeks ago and she had had babies less than a week later,a complete surprise. I was so worried, still am a little but mom seems to know what she's doing. I check on them at least once a day to check their still alive and well. I've noticed over the last 2 days mom has been sleeping separatly from them, I've heard this is normal. Good luck, keep me updated, Nikki
 
Tonight when I was feeding the mother I got a quick little peek at the hoglets. There are four of them and they are all still alive at this point. Tomorrow they will be one week old.
 
Photos

I'd love to be able to post a photo, but momma has the babies hidden inside a fleece sleeping bag. I certainly don't want to upset her just to get a photo. Other than just changing food and water and a little bit of spot cleaning, I don't bother them.

I'm hoping that once they open their eyes they will start to explore outside of the bag and maybe I'll get a chance to snap a photo then.
 
Well, what do you know. Momma Annie came out to eat leaving her hedgie bag wide open with babies right at the edge. Certainly not the best photo, but here is my first photo of the new hoglets.
 

Attachments

  • hoglets_1.jpg
    hoglets_1.jpg
    48.3 KB · Views: 128
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top