Choosing a cage for your pet hedgehog is an important

Choosing a cage for your pet hedgehog is an important first step before you even bring it home. There are many types of cages that are acceptable. Let's look at a few.







Aquariums:

Pros: 30 gallon size or larger aquariums make good homes. They are easy to clean and offer good visibility

Cons: Providing good ventilation can be a problem. As well, Aquariums are heavy and can be difficult to move

Sterilite Storage Containers:

Pros: easy to clean and sterilize. They are light weight, yet sturdy; available in a variety of sizes suitable for single and multiple hedgehogs; came in clear and translucent colours; and, they are extremely inexpensive. (about $8 USF for the 96 quart-size at Wal-Mart)

Cons: To provide good ventilation they should have 1/2 - 5/8 inch holes drilled in the somewhat brittle plastic walls.


Rabbit Cages:

Pros: They are usually the correct size for hedgehogs

Cons: Most have wire flooring that a hedgehog's feet will slip through. The holes in the wire walls and ceilings are large enough for a hedgehog to climb, slip and fall. Bruises, broken limbs and even death can result.

Ferret Cages:

Pros: Wire enclosed ferret cages that have plastic trays make suitable hedgehog enclosures. Multi-level units with ramps provide lots of floor space for adequate exercise. They are easy to clean and provide good ventilation. ... they offer large floor plans, solid level ramps, excellent ventilation, and are easy to clean.

Cons: The wire walls may be wide enough for a young hedgehog to slip its head through. Make certain that the wire bars are spaced no more than 1/2 inch apart. The large size of these cages makes them difficult to move and transport easily.

HANDLING

It is never a good idea to pick up a domestic hedgehog with gloves. Although imposing in appearance, the spines are not sharp enough to cause any real injury and, unlike porcupines, the spines do not come out and they are not barbed. It is absolutely essential for your hedgehog to recognize your scent and to recognize it as being harmless. In fact, in order to show your hedgehog at a sanctioned show, you must be able to properly handle him without gloves, since these are not allowed at the show table.

The correct method for picking up a hedgehog is to place your hands, palms up and his head facing away from you, on each side and gently scoop him up from underneath. If you are a bit unsure at first, scoop a little lower and take some of the shavings with him as this will help to protect your hands from his spines. After picking him up, you can drop the shavings as you move him from hand to hand. Then, carefully move him over onto one hand and hold him over the back with the other. Another way is to pick him up with a slotted spoon and place him on your hand. Once accustomed to you, he won’t bother to put his spines up and he will be very easy to pick up.

If he is rolled-up into a ball, he will, in most cases, soon unroll and put his spines down. If he is stubborn, though, getting him to unroll can can sometimes be little bit tricky. The simplest and most effective means to do this is to gently rock him back and forth in your hand. He will soon pop his little head out, but if he doesn't, hold him with his head facing away from you and a little bit higher than the rest of his body. Try to figure where his neck is and, in small circles about the size of a quarter, softly rub his neck. When he peaks out, allow him to lean forward and place his front feet on your other hand. Now, you can slowly move him from hand to hand. If, after trying these methods you are still having difficulties, ask a breeder or the store where you purchased your hedgehog if they could show you the proper technique for unrolling a stubborn pet.

Obesity in Hedgehogs

Obesity, often due to lack of exercise, use of high fat foods, and too many treats, is a common and serious problem among domesticated African Pygmy hedgehogs. A healthy hedgehog looks a little rounded and plump, but hedgehogs with fat waddles at the "arm pits" or who can not roll completely into a ball are at increased risk for health problems like fatty liver disease and heart attacks. A healthy adult can weigh as little as six ounces, or even as much as two pounds, so it is important to consider how the hedgehog looks, rather than relying on a number on the scale to determine whether a hedgehog is obese. Some hedgehogs appear more prone to obesity than others, and they need a little help to maintain a healthy weight.

The next question, of course, is how! According to research presented by Dr. Susan Graffam of the Bronx Nature Conservatory at the Go Hog Wild Hedgehog seminar in 1998, an average hedgehog needs about 30 to 70 calories a day. That really isn't a whole lot of food (about 1 to 4 Tbsp.)! Some hedgehogs will gorge if given the opportunity to eat a lot of a food they really like. There is a published study citing a hedgehog who was free fed mealworms and nearly doubled its weight in a very short period of time. A sad but classic example of this problem is a hedgehog who was known as Big Bob. Dawn Wrobel tells the story of how she went to pick up a rescue hedgehog whose owner said she would kill the hedgehog if someone didn't come get it right away. Dawn quickly rearranged her schedule and arrived to find the most obese hedgehog she had ever seen. When leaving with Big Bob, the previous owner said, "Don't forget to give him his treats." Dawn asked, "Treats, what treats?" The lady said, "Oh, I feed him a chocolate bar every day." Bob got no more chocolate after that day, and went on to lead a much healthier life. Some hedgehogs, like this one, manage to get their svelte figures back just through cutting back on their treats or switching to a lite brand of food.

Some hedgehogs do not seem to lose weight easily, even when food is cut back and a wheel and/or large amounts of space are provided for exercise. Our Tater tends to have this problem. Tater looks healthy at about 20 ounces, but last summer when we thought she was pregnant, she ballooned to 27 ounces. And she was not pregnant, just eating for a whole zoo, it turned out. I cut her food back to 1 Tbsp. Per day, but she still did not lose weight. I cut her back to 1 Tbsp. of lite food per day, and she lost just a mere half ounce. I finally began to count out the number of pieces of food she was getting each day, and scattered them around the cage to force her to move.

She finally started to lose weight! Once the weight started to come off, she began to move more, getting back to running on the wheel and exploring around her cage at night. After three months, she was down to a lovely 19 ounces and we were able to begin to up her food intake. We have heard of other hedgehog owners who encouraged obese hedgehogs to exercise by providing supervised swim sessions, though out of shape hedgehogs can tire easily to caution should be exercised with this approach. When in doubt, consult your veterinarian, and keep in mind that a healthy hedgie is a happy hedgie.

Giving Oral Medications

This document was originally written after I had to give one of my hedgehogs oral antibiotics for a bacterial infection of the skin for an extended period of time.

I have since used many of these methods depending on the hedgehog I am dealing with. When some hedgehogs don't feel well they will willingly allow you to medicate them, others become very defensive and stay curled up in a ball, making medicine time quite an event.

Depending on your hedgehogs attitude and how comfortable you are handling a sick hedgehog, you may find some of these methods easier than others. I highly recommend trying methods 1, 4 & 5 first. If those fail then you will need to move on to a more forceful approach.

Method #1
First offer the medication to the hedgehog from the syringe. Many oral medications are flavored, thus your hedgehog may readily lap the medication from the syringe.

Method #2
Wrap the hedgehog in a towel (not balled up) with its head sticking out of the towel. Then place the syringe in the corner of its mouth. Normally the hedgehog will open up to bite the syringe. You can then squirt the medication into the back part of its mouth and the hedgehog should swallow the medicine.

Method #3
Allow the hedgehog to curl up in a ball by rolling it on its back. Then when the hedgehog starts to uncurl place your thumb under its chin so that they can't ball back up. This may take a little pressure to prevent. Then place the syringe in the corner of the hedgehogs mouth . Once again the hedgehog will probably open its mouth to bite the syringe. You can then give the hedgehog its medication.

Method #4
Mix the medication with a treat. Find a food that the hedgehog really likes. Mix 1 part medication to about 2 or 3 parts of the treat. Don't mix the medication in normal food due to the fact the hedgehog may decide it doesn't want to eat its normal food anymore because of a bad tasting medication.

Method #5
Inject the medication into food items (mealworms, corn, etc). I have found injecting oral antibiotics with a small needle into a mealworm then feeding the hedgehog the mealworm to be really effective. Make sure to offer another un-medicated treat to get rid of the "nasty" taste.

When to Take Your Hedgehog to the Vet

Vet care can be expensive and many hedgehog owners I have talked to are reluctant to take their hedgie to the vet for fear of running up high bills when there really isn't a problem. The list below is by no means exhaustive, but includes some common situations where people often have to decide whether or not to take the hedgie to the vet. The rule of thumb I use is: when in doubt, go! Hedgehogs often don't show signs of illness until they are quite sick, so fast action can often make quite a difference. Here are some situations people frequently ask me about, and the decision process I go through:

1. My hedgie is acting funny. Behavioral changes are often an important clue. If an ordinarily friendly hedgie suddenly becomes a grouch, or a hedgie who is ordinarily quite huffy suddenly becomes passive, this is a sign to me that perhaps something major is going on. I schedule a vet appointment within 24 hours.

2. My hedgie collapsed and is limp: This, obviously, is never a good sign. Get the hedgie to the vet as soon as possible. Make sure to keep him or her comfortable and sufficiently warm, but not overheated.

3. My hedgie hasn't eaten for 24 hours: This isn't necessarily a problem. Sometimes hedgies go on a hunger strike for as much as a day to three, then resume their business normally. If it persists longer than that or if there is notable weight loss, then you will want to schedule a vet visit right away. Also, if the hedgie has not consumer water for 24 hours, you should schedule a vet visit, as water is quite critical.

4. My hedgie has ingested household cleaner or other potentially toxic items: Get to the vet right away. Some substances that are potentially toxic can be counteracted if treated right away, but are fatal if you wait. Better safe than sorry.

5. My hedgie is having seizures: Get to the vet right away. You may want to have the vet check the blood glucose level to rule in our out diabetes.

6. My hedgie is unresponsive and cool to the touch: The first thing I do is try to warm up the hedgie, either by placing it under my shirt or placing it on a heating pad set on low, with a blanket between it and the hedgie. The hedgie may be trying to hibernate. If this doesn't help within an hour, get to the vet right away.

7. My hedgie is walking stiffly: This could be due to a wide variety of things- arthritis, injury, Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome, etc... It's good to get a vet's opinion right away so you know how to treat it.

8. My hedgehog has dry, flaky skin and/or is losing a lot of quills: Most likely, your hedgie has mites or perhaps a fungal infection. A vet can easily diagnose and treat this, and it's usually quite inexpensive. Home remedies are not uniformly effective and can wind up being more expensive, so seeing a vet right away is a much better strategy.

9. My hedgie has ruffled ears: Try putting a little lotion on the ears at least once a day for several days. If it doesn't clear up, you may want to have a vet check to rule out fungal infection rather than just dryness.

10. My hedgie appears to have a broken limb: Take the hedgie to the vet right away. An unset limb may heal incorrectly, causing discomfort later.

11. My hedgie has a runny nose and/or discharge from the eyes: Your hedgie may have an upper respiratory infection. These are quite easily treated by a vet, but may prove fatal if untreated.

12. My hedgie has an ingrown quill that looks infected: If it's gotten infected, it may need to be lanced and cleaned by a vet, and antibiotics may or may not be indicated. Better to get a vet's opinion.

13. My hedgie has an unusual lump or bump: Hedgies are prone to cancer. We have also had some who developed cysts. The sooner a vet can diagnose and treat, the better off your hedgehog will be.

14. My hedgie has green poop: If it is sticky in consistency, get to the vet right away. This can often be a sign of serious internal problems. If it's loose, think about what the hedgie has eaten in the last 24 hours. If they've had some new food, it may just be mild gastrointestinal distress. But if it persists for more than a day or two, then you will definitely want to have a vet check a stool sample. Green stool is a general symptom of a very wide variety of things, some quite benign and some very serious.

veterinarian

Finding your Hedgehog Veterinarian List by Country please visit link below:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado Other Country please email to me or leave your comment

Bathing and Nail Trimming

Hedgehogs do a fairly good job of grooming themselves but sometimes, there are things they need help with. If you wish, you can bath your hedgehog a couple times a year. Here is what you will need.

Assemble the following items at your bathroom sink:

• cat shampoo

• a cup (unless you have a sink with sprayer hose)

• an old toothbrush

• a towel at the sink or bathtub

Run an inch (no more!) of lukewarm water into the bathroom sink. Next, place a drop or two of the cat shampoo into the water. Now, place your hedgehog gently into the water and wet him thoroughly by scooping water from the sink with the cup onto his back. Using the toothbrush, gently and slowly scrub his spines from front to back and in small circles, making sure not to get any of the soapy water in his eyes. Once his back is clean, reach underneath and wash his tummy by gently running your fingers over the fur, but do not flip him over. After he has been thoroughly scrubbed, remove him from the sink, drain the dirty water and once again refill the sink with an inch of lukewarm water. Then, place him back in, thoroughly rinse him off, remove him from the sink and then gently towel him dry. If the room is cool, you can use a hairdryer to dry him off, but do not use it above its lowest setting.

After he has dried off, check his toenails to see if they need trimming. If you are not familiar with how to trim toenails, I strongly recommend that you take your hedgehog to the vet to have him do this for you. Each toenail has a large blood vein running through it and, by cutting too much of the nail off, you can easily cause your pet to bleed. This bleeding can quickly be stopped by using a commercially available blood-stop powder or caustic stick (available from your vet) or by dipping the affected toenail in corn starch. If not treated, the bleeding will eventually stop, but not before the animal has lost a considerable amount of blood. To make matters worse, your hedgehog may protest against having his nails trimmed and will make the task difficult, if not impossible for you to perform on your own. Again, if you are unsure about doing this, have a professional do it for you!

For those already familiar with the task, a pair of ordinary fingernail clippers will do the job. If he protests, which he very well may, you will have to be very patient with him. First, try to firmly but gently grab hold of one foot and maintain that hold until he relaxes a bit. Then, quickly trim the toenails making sure to avoid cutting into the quick. After finishing, give him a bit of a break or a nice treat as a reward and proceed with the next foot. In most cases, you will be unable to do more than one or two of his feet at a setting before he says enough is enough, so it may take two or three days to do all four feet. The toenails need to be checked for over-growth every couple of months. There are some hedgehogs that never need them trimmed, however, so don't automatically assume that they need doing.