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Hedgehog rescue in Kingston, Ontario |
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What to expect from your new baby hedgehog Your new baby will need some time to adjust to her new home and family. Expect that she might be a little nervous and shy. She will need some quiet gentle handling until she is used to you. Spend short amounts of time with her and keep in mind that she is a baby and will get tired easily. If she is scared, have her sit on you in her hedgie bag for the first few days. Let her come out to explore at her leisure. I do this while watching TV. Keep the volume low and talk quietly, sing songs and you can pass little treats or even her own food into her. It also helps the bonding process if you put a freshly worn t-shirt in her cage. Make sure there are no loose threads. She will learn that your smell is a safe smell. Picking up your hedgehog Most new hedgehog owners are understandably nervous when first picking up their new baby. Unfortunately, this nervousness is felt by your hedgehog and she will often take advantage of that if she doesn’t want to be picked up. Also your nervousness can make her nervous which leads to her being huffy and quilly. Slide your hands underneath her with your fingers slighly spread. She should stand on your hands. If she is quilly and you are afraid of picking her up, you can use a small cloth or blankie to pick her out of her cage. This ensures that you won’t drop your baby if she suddenly decides to quill up. Once you have her out of the cage, you can transfer her to your bare hand. Never use gloves. Hedgie needs to smell your scent in order to get used to you and feel safe. If your baby is a bit quilly or huffy, practice handling her while sitting on the bed or the floor. A suddenly quilled hedgehog can make even the most experienced owner jump. When this happens you don’t want to risk dropping your baby so if you are sitting on a bed she won’t get hurt if you accidently drop her. You will soon start to become accustomed to those quills and they won’t seem as sharp. You will also learn how to best pick up your hedgehog and you will be able to anticipate what will make her quill up. You may notice for the first little while that your hedgehog makes your hands itchy and gives you a slight rash. This is quite common and usually stops happening after a week or two. The best thing is to wash your hands immediately after handling your baby and a bit of hand lotion applied afterward will help. This also happens more often if hedgie annoints alot or if you are using a commercial bedding such as shavings or carefresh. A bath will usually help. |
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Poop Your new baby will need a while to get used to his or her new surroundings and family. One of the first things you may notice is your baby will have green poop. Green poop is caused by diet change, stress or illness. In the case of a baby coming to a new home stress and/or diet change is the most likely cause. Keep your baby on the food he is already eating and gradually add in new foods so as not to upset his stomach. This will help prevent some of the stress associated with moving to a new home. Normal hedgie poop is dark brown and about the size and consistency of toothpaste. Green poop associated with stress can either be normal consistency but with a green tint, or it can be a bright neon green jelly like smear. The later is more of a concern. Be sure your baby is eating and drinking and within a few days the poop should return to normal. Also make sure that he is not having diarrhea, as he can become dehydrated quickly. Baby hedgehogs are poop machines so don’t get discouraged by the amount he produces. This will not last. It will also seem that as soon as you pick him up, he will poop and pee on you, often numerous times. Don’t take it personally and rest assured that this will also pass. When you watch him, if he lifts his tail it means he is going to "go" and you can set him in his litter pan. Litter training As soon as your baby comes home you should start litter training. A shallow pan about 1" deep, large enough to fit his wheel and extending about 6" in front of the wheel is the best. Whenever hedgie poops, pick the poop and place it in the litter pan. Some hedgies will clue in immediately what the pan is for, others never will. If your hedgie has a wheel, place the litter pan under the wheel so it will catch any poops he does while running. Recommended litters are Yesterdays News or a couple of pieces of paper towel lying in the litter box. Corncob litter should be avoided as it can get caught in sensitive areas of both sexes and cause infection or injury. Any type of clumping cat litter should also be avoided. When choosing a litter, choose one that is unscented, dust free, non-clumping and avoid small pieces (like corncob). |
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Quilling Quilling is when a hedgehog looses her baby quills and grows in her adult quills. They go through a few sets of quilling but the one that seems to affect them the most is the one between 8 & 12 weeks. You will know your hedgehog is quilling when you start to find little quills all over the place. Often they are found with bare feet. "OUCH" This quilling can be likened to a baby teething. It hurts and can make the hedgehog grumpy. Quilling skin is sore skin and is often dry and flakey at the same time. A nice warm bath is helpful to soothe the sore skin. Aveeno oatmeal bath, or a handful of quaker oats (regular, not instant) in a sock and swished in the bath water will help with the dryness. A drop or two of olive oil in the rinse water will further help. Quilling hedgehogs also tend to scratch themselves quite a lot. Often the quills will fly as they scratch. A hedgehog that is scratching a lot often makes a new owner think the hedgehog has mites. Certainly that sometimes is the case but more often than not it is simply the dry quilling skin is itchy. Think of yourself when your skin is dry and that is how your baby feels…… itchy. Quilling can make your wonderful friendly little one turn into a quilly, huffy grump. Don’t let her intimidate you. She still needs to be handled daily. If she is quilled up and you are afraid to pick her up, use a small cloth to pick her and then then transfer her to your bare hand. Have her sit on you for some quiet time. Treats during this quiet time will work wonders also. Sometimes they do not like to be touched during quilling so take your cue from her. If she doesn't want to be touched or petted, just let her crawl around you. The main thing is to still have her with you. Quilling usually causes no problems but sometimes they can get an ingrown quill. Keep an eye on it to be sure it doesn’t become infected which would require a vets care. Some hedgies quill very rapidly and the whole process is over in a week or two. Others take their time about it and it can last a couple of months. Hedgehogs also loose quills when they are not quilling. Don’t be surprised to find the odd quill in her bedding. Quills are just like human hair and they loose them throughout their lifetime. Stress can also make a hedgehog loose a few more quills than normal. Mites are also a cause of lost quills. If you suspect your hedgehog has mites, a vet visit is in order. NEVER use Tea Tree oil, Tea Tree Shampoo, or anything containing Tea Tree oil on your hedgehog. TEA TREE OIL and shampoo IS TOXIC and will KILL YOUR HEDGEHOG. |
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The following is an excellent article that Laura Hasiuk wrote. Laura is PrettyHate on Chins & Quills forum. This is used with permission from Laura and I want to say, Thanks Laura, for allowing me to post it here.
First of all, most people don't recommend an actual "hedgehog" food for hedgies. The reason is that all of the ingredients that go into hedgie food are more or less crap, and provide very little nutrition for a hedgie. Instead, we recommend a mixture of different high quality cat/dog kibbles. The kibbles should be low in fat (10-20%), and have about 30% protien.
When choosing a food look for something that has a meat as its first ingredient. Stay away from foods that contain- *by-products (poultry by-product for example are beaks, feathers, feet etc), *ethoxyquin, BTA, BHT (all three are used as preservatives, and are linked to cancer), * soybean meal (only humans and pigs can digest this....but if a food does contain it it isnt a HUGE deal) * fillers (corn, wheat etc). Fillers simply temperarily fill up an animal, but pass right through the bowles with out providing your animal with any nutrience to speak of. Therefore your animal eats more, and poops more. Try and go for a food that contains a ________ meal (ie chicken meal, poultry meal, fish meal yadda yadda) vs just pain chicken or fish. The difference between a "meal" and just nomral meat is that the meal is cooked and then weighed vs being weighed and then cooked. As Im sure you know when meat is cooked it loses alot of weight in the form of water and fat either burning off or evaporating. Therefore by cooking the meat and then weighing it (like in a meal) you are getting almost 5 times the amount of meat you would otherwise. 66% of the weight of the original meat is lost when it is cooked. With all that said in many ways dog foods (kibbles) are better for hedgies than cat foods are. The reason is this: cat foods contain higher amounts of Vitamin A (something hedgies dont really need) and less fiber (hedgies need about 15% in their diet). On the other hand, dog foods contain less Vitamin A, and more fiber. The only reaon why most people feed their hedgies cat kibbles instead of dog kibbles is because cat kibbles are usually a more suitable size. I feed my boys a mixture of both cat and dog kibbles. Confused yet? Here are the names of some foods that you can look for to feed your hedgie. Its best to have a mixture of at least 2 different kinds of kibbles to ensure that your hedgie is getting all the nutrition it needs. Also if one of the foods you feed your hedgie is discontinued you wont be forced to switch to a new one cold turkey- you will have the other foods in your mix that are still being made. High Quality kibbles include: *Buffalo Blue *Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul *Wysong *Wellness *Royal Canin Slim 38 (I believe this food is discontinued, but the Royal Canin Lite 37 is more or less the same, only difference is the protien I believe) *Royal Canin Mini Special 30 (dog kibble-high in fat, use in moderation) *Nutram (Canadian brand) *Natural Balance *Eagle Pack *Preformatrin Ultra *Innova I feed various version of those foods. Most people go for the "lite" or diet versions of those foods, however a combination of both the lite, diet, or senior foods, and just the normal adult. Dont go with kitten, it has too much fat. As long as your hedgie is a good weight there is nothing wrong with some adult food in the mix. If your hedgie starts getting chubby then it may be a good idea to lessen the amount of adult food in the mix, or cut it out alltogether. As far as the meal worms and butter worms go- those are fine to feed your hedgie. IN MODERATION! Both are high in calories- so go easy with them You can also feed them silk worms, crickets, super worms etc. These should be an ADDITION to the diet of kibbles you are feeding your hog- NOT the main part of their diet. Most people free feed their hedgies- meaning that they always have kibble in their bowl to eat as they please. Then at night they will give them a small bowl with about a tsp of an "extra". Introduce "extras" slowly, and one at a time. This way if you hedgie gets a sore tummy, runny poops etc- you will have a better idea of what caused it. Extras include- -hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, regular cheese, plain yogurt, mashed potatos, cooked yams, cooked sweet potato, cooked peas, cooked carrots, cooked corn (small amounts only), straw berries, blueberries, different mellons (watermellon, honeydue (sp?), cantolope (sp?) etc), cooked chicken, cooked beef (small amounts, not too often, its fatty) pork (same as for beef), baby foods (chicken, beef, different veggies) and so on. For switching foods, follow this guideline: Week 1- 1/4 new food, 3/4 old food Week 2- 1/2 new food, 1/2 old food Week 3- 3/4 new food, 1/4 old food Week 4- All new food Here are the websites of some of the above foods mentioned, as well as some others that I forgot:
*Blue Buffalo- http://www.bluebuff.com/ *Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul- http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/ *Eagle Pack- http://www.eaglepack.com/ *Evolve- http://www.evolvepet.com/ *Felidae- http://www.canidae.com/ *Innova- http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab *Natural Balance- http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/ *Nutram (Canadian Food)- http://www.nutramonline.com/ *Royal Canin USA- http://www.royalcanin.us/ *Royal Canin Canada- http://www.royalcanin.ca/ *Wellness- http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/ *Wysong- http://www.wysong.net/ Another commonly asked question is "Where can I buy Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul?" Here are some places: *http://www.Petfooddirect.com - http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/...&brand%5Fid=630 *http://www.NationalPetPharmacy.com - http://www.nationalpetpharmacy.com/...31&brand_id=630 *http://www.petluvers.com - http://www.petluvers.com/ChickenSou...FatFormula.html *Steph (http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/member.php?u=6175) is an Authorized Distributor- http://www.cuddlycrittersexotics.com/ Find a distributor near you - http://www.chickensoupforthepetlove...istributors.php Thanks Laura for your great article.
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| Temperature | ||
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Hedgehogs come from tropical climates and therefore require warmer temperatures than other small animals like rats, mice, gerbils or hamsters. Hedgehogs require a temperature of at least 72F (22.2 Celcius). For some hedgehogs 72F or even 73F is not warm enough and they will attempt hibernation. I find 75-76F to be a good temperature that seems to agree with everyone. The best way to ensure your hedgehog is warm enough is to turn up the heat but a room space heater will work just fine. A human heating pad set on low and placed under half of the cage will also work. The pad must only be under part of the cage so if the hedgehog gets too warm he can move to a cooler area. Reptile heat pads are not recommended as they can get too warm. Human heating pads are safe to use under plastic based cages. Keep in mind that a heating pad will only add a bit of extra heat in a localized area and that the room in general needs to be warm. Another way to add a bit of heat to his bed are the Snuggle Safe heat discs which are made for puppies and kittens. These are hot pink microwaveable discs that hold heat for 5-8 hours. The drawback with them is that they must constantly be re-heated. One of the first items a new hedgehog owner should purchase is a good reliable thermometer. The best place for the thermometer is right beside or on top of the cage. Hedgehogs should not be kept at floor level in basements. Basements are usually too cool and damp for a hedgehog. |
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| Lighting | ||
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Hedgehogs require 12 - 14 hours of light per day. During the summer this is accomplished by having the hedgehog in a room with good natural daylight although the cage must NEVER be in direct sunlight. During early spring, fall and winter there must be an alternate light source. This is as simple as leaving a light on near the cage 12 - 14 hours a day. Many people put the light on a timer from 7 am – 9 pm. This does not mean that you can’t have a light on after 9 pm. Usually evening is the time people play with their hedgehog and the extra hours of light not a problem. Some hedgehogs will attempt hibernation if they do not receive an adequate amount of light, regardless of the temperature of their environment. |
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| Hibernation | ||
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Hedgehogs who are attempting hibernation are cool to the touch. His belly and feet are cool. Usually the hedgehog will be in a curled up ball and often quilled up. He will be lethargic and wobbly on his feet. He either won’t eat or won’t eat or drink very much. He also won’t eliminate much either. A hedgehog that is attempting hibernation must be warmed up immediately but slowly. I find the best way to do this is to wrap him in a towel and place him on a human heating pad set on low,sitting on me. Then I can ensure he is not getting too warm. Another way to warm him up is to place him under your clothing. Your body heat will warm him up. Within 30 minutes the hedgehog should be responding to the warmth and become more alert and active. If after an hour of being warmed the hedgehog is still not responding he must see the vet immediately. NEVER put your hedgehog in water to warm it up. There is more risk of it getting even more of a chill and the added stress of a bath will only make the situation worse! Any hibernation attempt weakens the hedgehogs immune system. They longer the hibernation, the worse the after affects. This can make him more susceptible to illness and mites. Your hedgehog needs to be watched closely for up to a month after a hibernation attempt to ensure he is suffering no after affects. An Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) is one of the most common results of a hibernation attempt. I check each of my hedgehogs each morning to make sure no one has attempted hibernation overnight. |
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| Bathing Your Hedgehog | ||
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On occasion you will find that hedgie needs a bath. You can use baby shampoo, Aveeno Oatmeal bath, or kitten shampoo. NEVER use Tea Tree oil, Tea Tree Shampoo, or anything containing Tea Tree oil on your hedgehog. TEA TREE OIL and shampoo IS TOXIC and will KILL YOUR HEDGEHOG. Keep the water level low at about 1" - 2" or less for babies. Make sure the room is warm so hedgie does not get a chill. Hedgehogs are usually not fond of baths and will try their best to escape. Sometimes it is best to hold hedgie and pour water over his back using a plastic glass. Chances are very good that hedgie will poop in the water and probably more than once. Be prepared to change the water a couple of times. If you wish you can use a soft toothbrush to gently clean his quills and feet. Once hedgie is clean rinse him well as any soap left on his skin can cause irritation. In the final rinse you can add a few drops of olive oil to help soothe and prevent dry skin. Once hedgie is nice and clean wrap him in a warm towel. Holding him on a heating pad ensures he won't catch cold. Make sure he is dry before putting him back in his cage. Putting the heating pad under his cage for a few hours will ensure he doesn't get cold. |
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| Foot Bath | ||
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Very often all hedgie needs is to have her feet washed. Fill a shallow pan with about 1/2" of water and let hedgie walk around in it. A soft toothbrush works well for gently brushing the poop off her feet. You can also soak a wash cloth with water and let her walk over it. Soap or shampoo is not needed. |
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| Dry Skin | ||
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Dry skin has many possible causes. Mites, fungus, dietary deficiencies, the time of year or not rinsing the soap/shampoo off her well enough. A nice warm bath in Aveeno Oatmeal wash will help. Another is to put a handful of regular oatmeal, not instant, in a cloth and swish it around in the water.
Follow either up with a couple of drops of olive oil in the rinse water. Once dry, a few drops of Vitamin E oil on her back will spread and help her dry skin. Shampoos and soaps are often drying so unless the hedgehog is very dirty they are not really needed. If the dry skin persists or is accompanied by excessive scratching or quill loss in patches a vet visit is needed to rule out mites or other causes. |
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| Bloody Wheel and Feet | ||
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Some morning you will take a look in your hedgehogs cage and find a bloody wheel. Do not panic. Very often hedgehogs will run so much they injure their feet. This especially happens with young hedgehogs and older hedgehogs who have never had a wheel before. Usually the bleeding area will be between an outer toe and the one next to it. Often there will just be a slight reddening of the area, nothing else. It is best to give him a foot bath and leave the wheel out for a night to let it heal. Watch his feet closely for signs of infection. This may happen numerous times before his feet toughen up. |
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Sneezing Often hedgehogs new to a home will be sneezing. Frequently these are hedgehogs that have come from a pet store but can happen with hedgehogs from breeders too. At times the change in environment can cause a bit of sneezing. This is usually random sneezes that go away in a day or two. Certain beddings can cause allergies as well as nose irritation and sneezing. All loose beddings such as shavings of any type, Carefresh, Yesterdays News, shredded paper, etc are dusty and depending on the individual hedgehog can cause a reaction. Often to those unfamiliar with hedgehogs it can be difficult to tell if the hedgehog is truly sneezing or is a normal little snuffling sound. Listening closely and watching the hedgehog will show the difference. Often a hedgehog that is sneezing will also be licking his/her nose frequently. While hedgehogs do lick their noses and some more than others, it should be assumed that a hedgehog that is sneezing and also licking their nose frequently has a runny nose. Runny noses are not always a concern. There can be some clear liquid with an allergy or nose irritation but clear mucous can also be a sign of a upper respiratory infection (URI). Any thick, cloudy or coloured mucous means infection and the hedgehog needs to be treated by a vet ASAP. Any sneezing combined with a runny nose or excessive nose licking should be checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. URI’s can quickly turn to pneumonia which is very often fatal or leaves life long health problems. The first thing to do if your hedgehog is sneezing is to put him or her on cloth cage liners. A temporary liner can be a pillow case, flannel baby receiving blanket, or T-shirt. Ensure there are no loose threads or raw edges to the fabric. Never use a towel or any loose woven or loopy fabric as the threads can get wrapped around tiny nails. You can also buy polar fleece at the fabric store and cut to fit the cage. Fleece does not need to be hemmed as it doesn’t leave raw edges. Once you have something to use as a liner, wash it and double rinse with a bit of vinegar in the rinse water to cut the laundry soap residue. Either dryer dry or hang inside to dry. Do not hang outside as allergens and pollens can attach to the liners. Within 24 hours of using a liner, if the sneezing is an allergy or caused by dusty bedding, the sneezing should have either quit or lessened immensely. If there is no change, a vet visit is a must. URI’s must not be left untreated as they will NOT go away on their own and the hedgehog will continue to get sicker until it is too late. Whenever there is a concern about the possibility of the hedgehog being ill, care must be taken to ensure the hedgehog remains warm enough and is eating well. In the case of a respiratory infection, one sign that it is turning to pneumonia is decreased eating. Count the kibble you give him or her and count again in the morning and again in the evening. Keep track of how much the hedgehog is eating. Ensure he is drinking and watch his urine and fecal output. Often green or slimey poop indicate increasing infection. At any time if the hedgehog is lethargic, unsteady on his feet, decreased appetite, decreased urine and feces, runny eyes, runny nose, and sneezing, he is a sick hedgehog and needs to see the vet IMMEDIATELY. Any sneezing that increases in frequency, is combined with excessive nose licking and does not go away in 24 hours with a change to cloth liners must be checked out by a vet. The sooner a respiratory infection is treated, the easier it is to treat. Leaving a URI untreated will have deadly consequences for your hedgehog. |
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| Taking your hedgehog in the car | ||
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The safest place for your hedgehog when riding in a vehicle is in a hard sided cat carrier that is securely buckled into the back seat. Hard sided cat carriers offer the most protection in the event of an accident and are easily recognizable by emergency personnel who are trained to look for pet carriers. While soft sided carriers are cute and convenient to use when walking around with your hedgehog, they are not as safe in a vehicle and are often mistaken for purses or tote bags in an accident. Benefits of using a hard sided cat carrier include: - ventilated on all sides so if ventilation on one or two sides gets blocked, air will still get in the other sides - the hard shell protects the hedgehog from flying objects in the event of an accident. Many carriers are airline approved so will not fly apart in an accident. - Hard sided carriers can be securely buckled into the vehicle and many come with seat belt slots to enable easy buckling. - Hard sided carriers are unmistakable to emergency personnel who are trained to look for pets. - Hard sided cat carriers are inexpensive, often $20 or under. Some hedgehogs get very carsick. It is best not to give food for a couple of hours prior to taking him/her in the car. If you will be gone more than an hour, it is best to take a bottle of your home water and a small unbreakable water dish, or water bottle if that is what the hedgehog uses. On any trip more than a few hours that includes a stopover he should be offered a bit of food. Even if you don't think you will be gone that long, packing water and food is a good idea, just in case. Take plenty of extra bedding in case your hedgehog gets sick or relieves himself. Being in wet dirty bedding is not comfortable for him and wet bedding can give him a chill. Lining the carrier with a few layers of fleece provides a nice cozy warm place for him and the fleece will protect him from any bumps or jostling while in the vehicle or being carried. On his carrier attach a label with his name, your contact information and alternate contact information. In highway trips I attach a cloth bag to the handle of the carrier. This is filled with water, food, the dishes, an extra hedgie bag and blanket and all my contact information. When the carrier is lifted out, the bag comes too and in the event of an accident, the hedgehogs belongings will be with him. Ensure your hedgehog is not riding in the sun. If you will be driving for numerous hours, buckle him into the side of the vehicle away from the sun. Baby sunshades work well too. A light blanket or baby receiving blanket over the carrier will keep him out of drafts from air conditioning. It is very important to ensure your hedgehog stays warm enough. Mitten warmers work great and take extras so you have more if needed. I keep mitten warmers in our van and car's glove boxes as well as in the bottom of all carriers. You never know when you will need one (or more). If you have a remote thermometer, put it in his carrier and the reading part up by you so you will know what temperature his carrier is. Temperatures between rear seats and front seats can differ greatly. During a trip, check your hedgehog often to ensure he is warm enough and has not soiled his bedding. I usually stop every hour. |
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| Overnight travelling with your hedgehog | ||
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I guess the best place to start is with a warning. NEVER leave your hedgehog alone in a parked car. A car sitting in the sun in minutes can reach temperatures inside that will quickly kill your hedgehog. Just because hedgehogs like warm temperatures, the temperature inside a car is more than your hedgehog can tolerate. Also hedgehogs dehydrate very quickly. Take your quilly friend with you in a carry bag rather than leave him for even a few minutes. If you are travelling and have to stop at a store, a sleeping hedgehog in your purse or backpack will not even be noticed. When travelling overnight or on an extended trip your hedgehog will be the least stressed if things remain as close to home as possible. Take your hedgehogs cage if possible. If not in the week before you leave downsize your hedgehogs home to something that you will be able to take with you. One of the most important requirements for any overnight stay is that hedgie has his wheel. If you can find a bin, cage, or dog/cat carrier that will accommodate a wheel, bed and food dishes your hedgie will be quite comfortable. Make sure that whatever you choose is totally escape proof as you don’t want a hedgie running loose in a hotel room that has not been hedgie proofed. Try out whatever cage/carrier you plan to use at home first. Usually if hedgie is comfortable and has his wheel he will not try to escape but don’t risk it. When travelling think of how to keep hedgie warm. A motel room may have air conditioning or heating that is cooler than hedgie is used to. I always recommend that every hedgie owner have a human heating pad so take it with you. A thermometer is a necessity in his cage just to make sure the temperature is within what hedgie is used to. Stock up on mitten warmers for use in your air conditioned car and make sure that the air conditioning is not blowing directly on his cage. Also make sure his cage is never in the sun. Baby sunshades work great for this. Food and water are important considerations. Make sure you take enough of hedgies food and water to last until you are home. This is especially important if what you are feeding is not available where you are going to. Remember that water will only last a day or two so plan for an alternate water supply that hedgie is used to. Any change in water can upset his tummy. If you are going for longer than a few days consider switching your hedgehog to bottled water of a brand that is readily available. Start switching him a few weeks before you leave by adding increasing amounts of bottled water to his regular water until he is switched over. Some hedgehogs travel quite easily and do not mind riding in cars at all. Others get horribly car sick in which case hedgie would probably be better off staying home and having someone come in daily to feed and water him, or to stay at a neighbours house while you are away. CAMPING Taking hedgie camping presents some other unique challenges based on what type of camping equipment you have. Off course in a fully equipped house trailer with all conveniences hedgie will be just like at home. Just ensure he stays warm and keep him inside unless someone is with him while outside. Also it is a good idea to have a net to put over his cage to keep mosquitoes and bugs off him. One of the nets designed for over a babies carriage or playpen work great. They are elasticized around the bottom and fit most cages. It can be rather challenging to take your hedgehog camping in a tent. Keeping him warm is difficult especially at night when often the temperatures can drop quite dramatically. Also dampness is a consideration if it rains. If you are camping in a tent hedgie needs to be supervised at all times to ensure his safety. Wild animals are a consideration as they could easily get at hedgie if he is in a tent. Keeping him in the car is not an option either as cars quickly get too hot. His food and water requirements need to be kept the same as at home. (see travelling with your hedgehog above) |
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Due to the amount of spam, porn and other unwanted emails I am getting, I have removed automatic email links. Please remove the spaces out of the email addresses below. thehedgieden @ cogeco.ca thehedgieden @ gmail.com For faster response please use the above two addresses. I do not check hotmail as often. thehedgieden @ hotmail.com |
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