# My Pygmy hedgehog



## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

I have wanted a hedgehog for many years. I researched for very long time and felt in a place where I felt confident to take one on.
I don't believe in homing "new" pets when there are so many that need good homes. I advertised on a rehoming website and within days I had someone offering me a hedgehog for free that they took in a year ago temporarily. 
He is a boy, he is blind and small for his age. When he arrived he had a large indoor rabbit cage with no wheel and a water and food bowl with a wooden hut.
His nails were very very long and he would huff and click every time I went near him and to top it all off I am allergic to him lol!!! (antihistamines sorted that out, he is here to stay)
I bought him a large wheel, playpen and toys. I put him in his pen and he started to run around. After a while he started to push his balls and has adopted one of my t-towels as his comfort blanket. I can now pick him up without any huffing and I was able to clip his nails. (I have clipped nails of small animals before) one of his nails in his back foot was stuck in a pad and when I removed it he did bleed. But he was ok with it all and now runs and I mean RUNS everywhere, I have expanded his playpen twice because it just didn't seam big enough! Before I clipped his nails when he ran he would put his back end down onto the floor now he doesn't, I think that was due to the nails in his pads???? 
After all of that my question is how do I really know he is happy, I don't think he has had a good time and his habits don't appear to be "normal" his awake time is between 1pm and 4pm which is when I put him in his pen, he runs round and round without stopping, is this normal? I know that in the wild hedgehogs can go up to 5 miles a day but he just does the same circle is this a sign of stress/abuse I love all of my animals and they are spoilt, I just need someone to tell me that he sounds happy lol!! He has been with me now 1week and we have the start of a good bond going I think!!


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Well it sounds like you've done all the right things by him so well done! 
I don't think there is any way of knowing if he is 'happy' and his sleeping patterns may be down to him being blind.
Many hogs are different, some are very active and will run around crazily (mine is like this too) whereas others are very laidback. He sounds like a normal hog to me although you may want to put a pouch or hut in the playpen in case he does want to hide away  Just make sure he can use the wheel safely and knows where the food and water is


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for that, I never thought it could be because he was blind but it does make sense!! His wheel is bolted to his cage so it doesn't move, I used dried food in the bottom to get him to find it, now he loves it. 
I always put his t-towel in the pen and when he has had enough he hides underneath it. Usually he runs under it over it rolls in it, but when he gets in and stays still I know he is ready to go back to his cage. 
I put his food in the same place in his cage and I now put extra food in there for him to sniff out and forage for. 
One other thing you could help me out with, he was given to me with mealworms and dried indoor cat food. I know hogs aren't allowed anything with fish, when I looked at all the low calorie indoor dried cat food, I checked out the ingredients and they all had some kind of fish either oil, ground etc even though it said chicken, turkey!! What would you suggest? He loves cooked chicken and mash, I'm going to try him with boiled egg next (without butter or milk) 
Thanks again for your advice
:2thumb:


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Tiny amounts of fish are ok (I've seen some americans feeding their hedgies fish based foods and smoked salmon!). Try looking for indoor or lightweight foods with chicken/turkey etc as the main ingredient and the whole 30% protein, 10% fat thing. Do you remember what brands you've looked at? And what kind of food is he on at the moment?


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Fish and salmon!! Everything I have read has said never to feed fish of any kind. I was given whiskers indoor low fat food. I looked at iams and another can't i remember, it was an organic low fat dried cat food, it wasn't cheap. Everything I have read has told me that the best quality ones are best and to stay away from hog food as it is not good for them. 
I think he has only ever eaten the whiskers cat food and mealworms, he really liked the chicken and mash lol. I wanted to get him something different so he can have a varied diet but was amazed at the fish products hidden in the ingredients. I'll get them now though thanks!!


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Try mixing a couple of different feeds and introducing them to him gradually. Although people do feed fish based feed I wouldn't recommend it, better safe than sorry! Keep with the poultry, beef or lamb based food. 
Keep trying him on new things such as mince and other insects, you can try veg but most hedgies don't bother with it.
Have a look at this site - Diet's. It has a lot of good advice and recommended brands/type of food


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Thanks just looked and I'm going to slowly change his diet but To be fair he has had so many changes this week, new home, smells, toys and playpen i can take some time to have a good look around and change him over to a healthier diet.
You have been so lovely thank you.


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

That's a good idea

Thanks, hope you have fun with your new hoggy


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Hey, Im sorry to bother you yet again! My hog has started itching himself today, a lot, do you know what could be wrong with him?


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Do you know how old he is? It may be quilling (depending on his age), dry skin or mites. 

You could try bathing him in lukewarm water with flaxseed oil or aveeno oil added. You could also try an oat bath, which is placing oats in a cloth or old pair of tights and running the water through it. 

If it's mites you will have to take him to the vets, they'll be able to prescribe something to get rid of them.


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

Looks like you have been doing a great job! My hog runs round like a crazy thing for about an hour then settles down and just potters for the rest of the evening.

My cats did once bring in hedgehog fleas from the garden and she got a bit scratty, the vets mite solution also works for fleas though so if vgorsts bath doesnt work its the same thing, vets.

I use lots of smelly enrichment for mine that might be good for yours as he is blind? Parsley, lavender, mint etc give her something to do and she loves annointing with lavender. Just a thought!


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

I used an oatmeal bath, he didn't enjoy the experience to much but I managed to soak him in the warm oatmealie water then wrap him in a warm towel. He enjoyed that bit funnily enough lol. 
When you say about the lavender etc what exactly do you mean?
I did when he was dry gently rub him over paper to release some dry skin then looked at it under a magnifying glass to see if anything moved, nothing did but I'm going to keep checking regularly just in case.


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Jafna said:


> I use lots of smelly enrichment for mine that might be good for yours as he is blind? Parsley, lavender, mint etc give her something to do and she loves annointing with lavender. Just a thought!


That's a really good idea for any hog (blind or not), good thinking!

Just remember that some substances are toxic to hedgehogs (such as tea tree oil) so just check if you're not sure.

I'm assuming you just rub parsley or lavender etc around areas of the cage?


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

Yep, rubbing a little herbal toothpaste sends her off on a snuffling frenzy too! Loves it


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Could I use oils or do you use actual plants, sorry this is probably a silly question!
Thanks for the tip!!


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

It doesnt matter particularly, just be careful as if he can lick the oils they could make him ill. If you use oil dab in onto something, like kitchen roll, and pop that in. Make sure he doesnt eat it!


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Just looked through my oil collection I have
Thyme
Rosemary
Basil
Bergamot
Eucalyptus
Rosewood 
Sweet fennel
Cedar wood 
Do you know if any of these are any good? If notill have to go shopping lol!!


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

I've used Thyme Rosemary and basil, I wouldn't use the eucalyptus or fennel as they might be a bit strong. No idea about the others!


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

I'd stay away from eucalyptus and cedar wood too, some wood is toxic to hedgehogs (although I can't remember which!)


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

I used some basil oil on my me a small drop on my top then I picked up my hog. I have just adopted a 2nd "preloved" hog called Bonnie and whilst she is younger then brambles she isn't very friendly and is taking longer to settle. The oil worked a treat she ran round and round me snuffling into me and was just "chilled" lol

I would recommend this for anyone with hogs she loved it. Brambles was funny today as I wore yesterday's top (because Saturday is deep cleaning day for hogs reptiles, bunnies and fish!)and I still had the oil on and it was like he was hugging me lol!!!

Thank you for this advice


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

Glad it worked!! Lavender has a calming effect might help your unsettled hog calm down


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

*New enrichment*

Tried something new today and she loved it, thought I'd share! Gave her a shallow (new!) cat litter tray filled with compost and buried her worms in it. She has been digging in it for the past hour.....


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

That sounds great. I'm assuming you used normal compost from a garden centre and mealworms??

I'll give that a try, brambles will love that, it's another activity that could be ideal for him, I bet she got filthy lol!


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Would any of you guys have any ideas on how to settle my newest hog, Bonnie is still very tetchy, huffy and in my opinion scared every time I try to pick her up. She is definantly a night time hog unlike blind brambles who is just awake ALL the time, I can't believe I worried about him being unhappy now I've got to know him it's like he is always grinning lol, he knows my smell and recognises my voice now too and it's cute to see him respond to me.

I'm hopeing like mad that Bonnie gets to be the same, she is less then a year old and I'm not sure what handling she has had. I dot basil oil on my top when I take her out on an evening and I hand feed her a couple of dried mealies too. I only hold her for about 20-30 mins per evening. She does not like the run she constantly tries to get out and then huddles next to the bars and shakes. She does worry me. It's important that my animals are happy and right now I haven't found anything that she likes. 

She has toys and a wheel which she uses and she is eating and drinking. Any ideas??


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## Jafna (Jun 7, 2012)

Shel76 said:


> That sounds great. I'm assuming you used normal compost from a garden centre and mealworms??
> 
> I'll give that a try, brambles will love that, it's another activity that could be ideal for him, I bet she got filthy lol!


I used reptile compost because I had some spare, but garden centre would be fine. Yes, mealworms 

She was muddy, yes, but very happy!


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## A M Y (Nov 28, 2011)

Shel76 said:


> Would any of you guys have any ideas on how to settle my newest hog, Bonnie is still very tetchy, huffy and in my opinion scared every time I try to pick her up. She is definantly a night time hog unlike blind brambles who is just awake ALL the time, I can't believe I worried about him being unhappy now I've got to know him it's like he is always grinning lol, he knows my smell and recognises my voice now too and it's cute to see him respond to me.
> 
> I'm hopeing like mad that Bonnie gets to be the same, she is less then a year old and I'm not sure what handling she has had. I dot basil oil on my top when I take her out on an evening and I hand feed her a couple of dried mealies too. I only hold her for about 20-30 mins per evening. She does not like the run she constantly tries to get out and then huddles next to the bars and shakes. She does worry me. It's important that my animals are happy and right now I haven't found anything that she likes.
> 
> She has toys and a wheel which she uses and she is eating and drinking. Any ideas??


As you dont know how she was being handled previously, it may have been a case that she wasnt handled at all! I find this a common problem when people start "getting bored" of their APH. The handling reduces until people decide to sell them on. All you can do is try and handle her more and more often until she becomes used to being handled again.
My hoggie comes out every night but she usually just sits and curls up on my neck and goes to sleep. She only becomes active come 11pm where she goes mad on her wheel.
The more she gets used to you, the easier it will be to handle her : victory:


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

You'll find that each hedgehog is different, not all of them like to run around in a playpen but like to curl up on you/inside a pouch. If she doesn't want to run about try putting her in a pouch and just putting her on your lap


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## Shel76 (May 30, 2012)

Thanks guys, I'm just going to have to cuddle her more, oh no lol, I get her out every evening, I'll just have to be more patient.

Good to know she will love me like brambles does though!!!


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