3CsMommy
My babies Rock!
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:
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: