New Hedgie Mommy :)

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N

Netterz

Hedgie Lover
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
10
Location
Charleston, SC
Hello everyone! I'm from Charleston, SC :) I just got my first hedgehog yesterday. She's 4.5 weeks old and is a total sweetheart! I've researched quite a bit on this website as well as books on raising hedgies but there's so much I have yet to learn. The only thing I'm having trouble nailing down is the color. I've heard champagne and salt/pepper but she doesn't fit those descriptions. Her bands on her quills are grayish rather than black, her nose is a dark liver color and her face is dark but not black. So if anyone can help me out there lol that'd be great :hedgie4:
 
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby! Any pictures?? I bet she is tiny still!! Color cannot be determined until 9 weeks of age so you have a bit of time still :)
 
Hi and welcome to the forum! I can't help you determine color, but would still love to see a pic of your new baby!
 
:wave: Hello & welcome to CnH.
Congrats on becoming a hedgy slave. ;)
 
Welcome to Cnh!

She is still young so you will most likely not be able to tell her final color until after she starts her quilling. Are you sure she is 4.5 weeks? Seems too young to leave momma let along go to a new home. Where did you get her? Also! We need pics!
 
Welcome. Your new baby does seem pretty young to be away from mom.

Congrats! and pictures are always welcomed. ;)
 
LovinHedgies said:
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby! Any pictures?? I bet she is tiny still!! Color cannot be determined until 9 weeks of age so you have a bit of time still
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Ohh! Glad to know! I spent hours looking at that color guide haha

Melissa said:
Welcome to Cnh!
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Melissa said:

She is still young so you will most likely not be able to tell her final color until after she starts her quilling. Are you sure she is 4.5 weeks? Seems too young to leave momma let along go to a new home. Where did you get her? Also! We need pics!
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A girl advertised on CraigsList that her Hedgehog had hoglets...she was born on November 30th so she's just over 4 weeks old. At the time I emailed her asking for her, I didn't know much pertaining to hedgies that young. She said they go at 6 weeks and that's all I worried about, continued researching, set up the cage, etc. Well she contacted me last week and said she was good to go because the mother had started leaving them be and the babies were being fed a wet cat food mixture. When I picked her up, the girl said she was in the process of quilling, but so far I haven't seen any of her quills drop. So pretty much all day I've been researching about quilling lol



This is little baby Prickles (I know...so original lol)

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Oh boy, she should still be with mom. Watch for Nancy on here. She is our resident hedgehog breeder and may be able to help you. I highly recommend monitoring her weight to ensure she is still gaining/growing.

Her color may change still. Adult color cannot be determined before 9 weeks.

Welcome to the forum, we are happy to see you here.
 
Kalandra said:
Oh boy, she should still be with mom. Watch for Nancy on here. She is our resident hedgehog breeder and may be able to help you. I highly recommend monitoring her weight to ensure she is still gaining/growing.

Her color may change still. Adult color cannot be determined before 9 weeks.

Welcome to the forum, we are happy to see you here.
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Ok! I can do some research on raising them. As far as weighing them, what do you recommend using? Just a digital kitchen scale ok? I'm picking one up either way just need to know what type...
 
I second the monitoring of the weight - get an accurate food scale from Target or Walmart :) My male hoglets are finally leaving at 6.5 weeks after being separated from mama for a week and proving that they can gain weight without her lol. (I was kinda hoping the age you posted her at was a typo :( ) Its important to ensure that she is still gaining weight, especially as you switch her to dry cat food. Is she interested in dry food or only eating wet stuff? What kind of cat food mixture is it?
 
I've been here off and on all day and this thread never showed up until now.

An accurate scale is a good idea so you can make sure she is gaining weight.

The kitten milk is fine to use and you can leave her some in the cage with her as well as giving it to her off the spoon. Iam's isn't the best cat food but will be okay for now. If you can, get some Royal Canin Baby Cat 34. That is what most breeders use for moms and to wean babies onto. It is a small hedgehog friendly size and easy for them to start eating.

Don't worry about her not using a bottle. Bottles are not hedgehog friendly and they can chip their teeth on it. They drink far more from bowls.

If it were me, I'd use a bin as a cage and instead of shavings, cloth would be better to monitor her urine and poop. Flannel baby receiving blankets work great as temporary liners. A clear bin with high sides will be better for now as she is pretty small and could possibly get through the bars of the rabbit cage. If you have other pets, just put the bin inside the rabbit cage to keep the other pets away.

Make sure she stays warm enough.

It sound like you have things under control. Although she is too young to be away from mom, she should be fine since you have her eating. Keep her on the kitten milk for a few weeks even if she does start eating the kibble. Kitten milk can cause some yucky poops but watery diarrhea is a concern as they can dehydrate quickly.

She is a doll.
 
The Iams I used only because that's what she was being used before...do they have the Royal Canin at Petsmart or Petco or do I need to get it somewhere specific like online?

I did get a fleece blanket as well as a digital kitchen scale. She weighs exactly 2 oz. There's a solid side wall at 7 inches high, still risky? If so, I can get one of those monsterous sized bins from walmart, I just want to have tons of room for her to run around.

Also, one other thing, is it normal for them to sleep more when they're young? She runs around at night but during the day I will NEVER see her, but I feed her twice a day so I have to purposely wake her up and then once she eats she runs back in and goes to sleep.
 
I have found Royal Canin at both Petsmart and Petco :) Hedgehogs are naturally noctural so for the most part you won't see your little lady during the day. I usually do my play time and clean cages around 1030-11pm. My 6 week old hoglets are usually awake by the time I go downstairs so I don't have to wake them up to eat, the adult hedgies seem to be a bit more lazy lol. I just keep the food bowl full so that they have it available at all times. Although your little girl may need special attention since she is so young and away from mama.....
 
Does your scale weigh in grams? If so, use the grams setting. The difference between 1 oz and 2 oz is actually a great deal of weight when it comes to our little ones (28g). You'll find that we report hedgehog sizes in grams because it is a much smaller scale and easier to see what is going on.

Baby animals, in general, typically do sleep a lot, they are growing and need the rest.
 
Yes my scale does do grams! I'll have to check when I get home but I want to say it was 28 grams but I could be wrong. She ran in her wheel ALOT last night. I woke her up around 1am to cuddle (lol) and then I put her back in and she started in her wheel and then I woke up at 6am and she was still running away :)
 
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