Hedgehog World - A community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders - Re:Brand new bundle of spikes!

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General Care and Handling

Handling and Socialization

Boden

User

Posts: 77

Brand new bundle of spikes! - 2007/09/11 22:07 I just got a baby hedgehog (still to be named...alot of people have been leaning towards Baron Kensington but I like just Baron...but this is completely beside the fact) and I'm slowly working on socializing/excersizing him. I don't have enough room for a wheel that would be big enough for him inside his cage so he comes out at around 8 at night and I let him wander under careful supervision for 40-90 minutes depending on how much the cat is uninterested.

He's fine and dandy once he gets OUT of the cage, I can handle him fine (I can't hold him for long but he allows me to pick him to move him away from the couch, or away from the cat or just to a new place to explore which is fine because prickles aren't fun to cuddle with, but I'm glad he's fine with being picked up and moved and held for short period of time.) However the getting him out of the cage is a constant hassle. First off he always manages to sneak UNDER the lining (no matter how careful I am) then I have to wait a couple seconds for him to unball (I usually end up startling him even though I'm talking to him and touching him through the liner) and then I have to wait for him to wake up and wander a bit (which is fine) then it's like I have to start working on getting him used to handling ALL over again by leaving my hand in the cage, let him sniff it then huff if I move it to quickly. Eventually he'll wander into the pouch I have for him and I can use that to take him out...

Basically my question is this: Is there A. a way to keep him from going under the lining and using his pouch and B. an easier way to get him out rather then having to sit and wait for him to get used to me ALL over again?

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hookedonhogs

User

Posts: 59

Re:Brand new bundle of spikes! - 2007/09/11 23:50 Hi! Congrats on your new hedgie! What are you using for a cage right now? If it's not big enough for a wheel, you might consider a bigger cage. 120 or so quart sterilite bins are available at Wal-mart and like stores for pretty cheap. They make good cages as long as you add a lot of ventilation holes. Should be big enough for wheel, igloo or house, and other accessories. Other, more experienced owners will probably tell you more..

But to answer your questions, you might try rocks or something heavy and non-toxic around the edge to hold the liner down. (and no sharp edges on the rocks, of course) That might take up a lot of room in the cage though. Try putting him in the bag and sitting for a while during the day if you can. He'll be more inclined to sleep, and if he sleeps on you and in his bag he will recognize the bag as a safe place. I pull Hagrid's bags over one end of a PVC pipe. They like the tunnel effect naturally, and the pipe keeps the bag open so it's easier to get into. If you use the bag a lot, he'll come to know it as his safe spot and use it more.

Once he's sleeping in his bag, he'll be much easier to pick up. When he's not in his bag, you could use a piece of fleece to pick him up and set him in your lap with. Hedgies naturally seem to love fleece and want to snuggle with it, so use that to your advantage!!

I hope that helps to start you off! I'm sure others will post with more advice. Good luck, and I love the name Baron! Sophisticated, but manly. Abbey, Lafayette, Indiana.
http://www.myspace.com/thehogspot -Hagrid's Myspace Page!
Mom to 1 hedgie (Hagrid) and 1 mini schnauzer (Rudy)

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hokubahedgie
User

Posts: 110

Re:Brand new bundle of spikes! - 2007/09/12 00:33 also, handling him should get easier with time My magellan has gotten to the point where when i pet him or hold him, he barely balls up and almsot never hisses or pops anymore. If you can be patient and persistent now, you'll probably be rewarded later on =)

getting a wheel is very important! hedgies need more exercise! i'd reccomend the marchioro cages, 50-60$ only, and remember that baby hedgehogs can often really grow in size! my little hedgie has already gotten sooo much bigger lately

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HamorHollow

Admin

Posts: 2173

Re:Brand new bundle of spikes! - 2007/09/12 00:42 I would highly recommend you get him a larger cage that the wheel will fit into. Hedgehogs do a lot of wheeling and playing at night, and he would probably do better with you if he got more exercise time. Since it is almost impossible for him to get all his exercise while you are playing with him, an in cage wheel may do wonders for him.

Also, if the only exercise he gets is when he is with you, it is unlikely that he will want to cuddle (more likely that he will want to run and explore.

Boden wrote:
IBasically my question is this: Is there A. a way to keep him from going under the lining and using his pouch and B. an easier way to get him out rather then having to sit and wait for him to get used to me ALL over again?

A. It is a hedgehog's nature to borrow. Possibly giving him other blankets and such to borrow under may help. A wheel may also help to hold the liner down. I would not recommend adding weights to your current cage since he really needs all the play space he can get.

B. Just pick him up and take him out. He may unball quicker for you once he is out of his cage.

-K Kelly Sosik-Hamor
Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. |
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clutterbuster

User

Posts: 513

Re:Brand new bundle of spikes! - 2007/09/12 04:11 some hedgies just like being under the liners, I've had two that did that even when the heat wasn't on. During the summer when it got really humid I didn't even bother with a fleece liner for P-k, I just threw in a lightweight dish towel so she didn't get overheated in the fleece. Now Max has never tried to go under his liner, I think he likes being on something soft.

P-k going under the fleece means she toilets whereever she pleases and it is a chore each morning to have to soak and scrub out the cage tray. Pippi was an under the fleece hedgie too but I never found poo under there, just on or near the wheel. They are all so different.

Because of the fleece burrowing, I have had to cut the corners of the fleece out so they go around the water and food dishes so they don't go flying and spilling. I don't know if you've encountered this problem yet with Baron.

Congratulations on your brand new bundle of spikes... hmmmm, BUNDLE would be an interesting name for a hedgie, I'll have to put that on my list too.

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