Hogsitting and anxious Chin mom.

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3CsMommy

3CsMommy

My babies Rock!
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
2,663
Location
Western NY aka: Our Zoo. (We only lack a bird.)
Hi Hedgie half of the forum. I'm a chin mom but pop over occasionally to stare at the cuteness. I've also got a friend with an 8 mo old male hedgie named Spiny Norman who I will be hogsitting from 1/10 until 1/16ish, so I've spent a good amount of time reading around the basics of hedgie care to get prepared for the event. I have a couple of concerns, though.

First is temperature; if Norman gets cold, he'll try to hibernate (which I've read is NOT GOOD), but if Crash gets too hot, he'll risk heat stroke. Afaik, Norman's mom doesn't use an under tank heater, but he's always got a hide/box/something to hunker down in. Will that be enough, or should I try to keep him near the radiator in the living room and keep Crash near a cracked window in the bedroom (opposite ends of the apartment)?

Secondly: are there any zoonotic diseases I'll need to worry about passing between the chin, the hedgie, and the hamster if they share air space around their cages? I plan to keep my animals in a separate room from Spiny and wash my hands as much as possible. Will those be sufficient cross-contamination measures? Are hedgies prone to a particular type of bacterial infection or parasite (giarardia, etc.) that I should be especially cautious about?

Tia for any thoughts. :thumbsup:
 
You are going to have to find some way to keep the ambient temperature of the hedgehog cage warm. The hidey house is just not enough. You made want to look into a space heater if radiator doesnt bring the temperature up enough. You may want to ask if your friend has a space heater of some kind to set up for him.

As for diseases and cross-contamination, I havent heard of anything specific to hedgehogs. Maybe someone else who may know more about that may come along.

Good Luck Hoggiesitting! Make sure you take lots of pictures!
 
As far as space heaters, I can suggest what my hubby uses in the basement for himself. Our basement is finished and pretty open and the chins are down there. He's had this Honeywell space heater for about 8 years now and it's perfect just for him when he's on the couch watching tv. It's programabble, cool to the touch and I know it cost under $50.
 
Well, Norman is here, and I've got the living room as warm as I can keep it (right about 75* with the door shut). So far, he seems to be doing well. I'm not Mommy, so of course I get huffed at when I pick him up to clean his shavings, etc., but he was relaxed enough after a few minutes last night to have a bite of cooked hamburger from my hand. By this morning, he'd eaten the broccoli I'd given him as a treat as well, and rearranged all the stuff I'd moved while cleaning. :)

Apparently his "girlfriend" is a little white ping pong ball that I got stabbed for attempting to move. :) He's such a little goof ball, I can understand why his owner got a little choked when she left him off with me. I've been texting her pictures nightly so she can see for herself that he's doing well.

Thank you all for the advice and putting my mind at ease about him. Between her instructions and your advice, I think this week is going to go very well. Pictures forthcoming, as soon as I can remember to pop the SD card out of my camera and bring it to work!
 
Wow... broccoli. That's adventurous. I'm sure my Satin would end up looking very green after all the anointing... Wait, I did try that once. Only once. It was not good. She ended up needing a bath ;)

Sounds like he's settled in pretty well.

Cute about the ping pong ball. Guess that will teach you to touch his precious ball.
 
I think Norman has only annointed once or twice that his person knows of, so of course I'm not worthy to see it. :D But I gave him the firmer stem pieces just in case he did really get into it so I'd have less to clean up. I also found out that he apparently likes having his sides/tummy scritched. :D

He's getting picked up today and it's definitely been an experience. He seems to like me insofar as I have lots of warm, squishy places to curl up and sleep/drool on, but he consistently huffs and chatters when I pick him up. I did get a couple pictures though!

Here's my favorite:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wLVPr-TtHUiNvlm7nK57Hw?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G0h38Cv0oX51IY1K7j1-jA?feat=directlink
(Okay so I have 2 favorites. His little nose is just so cute!)

Incidentally, can anybody tell me what his color/pattern is? I know there are several mutations in hedgies just like in chins, but I don't know the names of them. If it's hard to tell in the photos, the tips of his quills are white, the bands are dark brown (we'd call it liver in dogs), and his skin is white/pinkish. Tummy fur is white. Nose and eyes are black.

There are a few more pics in that same album, and also pics of my new chins and their cage, if anybody's interested.

Thanks for all the input. :)
 
Aww... what a cutie. I bet he's glad you found his favorite scritching spots ;)

Am thinking he's probably a chocolate. Can't see his face - if there are little colored patches under his eyes, I'd add "algerian" to the color description; else he's "white-bellied."
 
No dark spots on his face, so a white-bellied chocolate he is. :) He was quite glad to see his mom last night, and she was thrilled to see him. :) I'll definitely miss him, but I think looking after that many animals (1 cat, 3 chins, & a hamster of my own plus the 2 fish, hamster, and hedgehog I was watching for friends) is over my pet limit these days!
 
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