# african pigmy hedgehogs



## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

i bought 2 females and 2 males 
around 3 months ago and they are now around 5-6 months 

one of the female is massive compaire to the over female and they started off at the same size and she has be came very aggressive just wondering if you think she is pregnant. 

they are all in there own cages and we was'nt gonna breed her yet but 
we let them out to play in the front room and we see them mating
and didnt let them mix after that.


thanks to any help .


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

The answer is YES, why would you let them out to play together as hogs are solitary animals only coming together to mate
Have you joined Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum as you can get proper advice from there


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## Milligan (Jun 1, 2010)

OMG!!!!!! When its this going to stop why on earth would you allow male and females to mix together . Didnt you do any research regarding the APH at all. I feel so sorry for the pets when the owner has no idea how to look after them ..


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## lovin'life (Apr 7, 2010)

I have to agree with shell and miligan :bash: Def get over to the pygmy hog forum Shell suggested where you will be able to get some good advice for your Hedgie. 

You will need to work how many days ago the mating happened.


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## lexxiesmith (Nov 29, 2009)

Let me get this absolutely crystal clear;

You let them out to play... 

You saw them mating...

You only think she *may be* pregnant.

Where on God's Green earth were you during science lessons!? :bash:


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## Pinkchi (Nov 23, 2009)

lexxiesmith said:


> Let me get this absolutely crystal clear;
> 
> You let them out to play...
> 
> ...


:no1:

Cannot believe people are still making mistakes like this! :bash:


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## Carla-Jade (Jun 13, 2010)

yep it does sound like she is pregnant. the best thing to do would be make sure from now on they dont mix at play times. id say have lots of shreaded kitchen orll & extra substrate available in the cage should she decide to make a nest but may not as it is her first littler & so young she might not to know what to do. try to see how far along she is- when the mating occured. she will need to be kept quiet- she will prefer limited interference in her cage so jsut go in to do water & food with poo collection other than that she will most likely want to be left alone. 

i have a male so not been through this myself but id definately join the forum Shell suggeste, its where i have picked up such info like ive given you- but somebody experienced with it themselves should be able to give better help- just thougt id chip in with what i know!


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## xxx_phoenix_xxx (Sep 25, 2009)

:gasp: this is where RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH comes in before owning an animal then mistakes like this just wouldnt happen. i researched for 2 years straight before getting my hog i knew before even owning one to keep males seperate from females at all costs.:bash:
i would deffo join the pygmy hogs uk forum there are loads of people on there who can give the correct advise to ensure that the female pregnant hog is careed for correctly, she is very young poor girl. 
fingers crossed the hog gets thrue this all ok good luck and i hope you do the right thing buy her and join the forum to seek advise that is very much needed in this case


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## Milligan (Jun 1, 2010)

Carla-Jade said:


> yep it does sound like she is pregnant. the best thing to do would be make sure from now on they dont mix at play times. id say have lots of shreaded kitchen orll & extra substrate available in the cage should she decide to make a nest but may not as it is her first littler & so young she might not to know what to do. try to see how far along she is- when the mating occured. she will need to be kept quiet- she will prefer limited interference in her cage so jsut go in to do water & food with poo collection other than that she will most likely want to be left alone.
> 
> i have a male so not been through this myself but id definately join the forum Shell suggeste, its where i have picked up such info like ive given you- but somebody experienced with it themselves should be able to give better help- just thougt id chip in with what i know!


 
I agree with what u said Carla but geezzzzz she cant even spell pygmy :bash: these poor APH are going to suffer because no research was done before getting them Why on earth would anyone buy so many if there intentions wasn't to breed .. posts like this piss me off


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## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

you lot need to stop being rude
when i bought them they all live togther and they are all unrelated 
and the person said they like playing with each other.
and they are aloud to be social with each other.
so i fort it would be ok.
and i wont let it happen again


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## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

*aph*

by the way i bought them to breed 
but i dont wanna breed them yet.
and when i buy things it not breed all the time i bought 4 as i got them pretty cheap.

and also the person i bought them from gave me some info and she said thats all i need to no.


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## Carla-Jade (Jun 13, 2010)

please read my reply, I wasn't rude, I was trying to give you some positive advice that I thought you might need at a worrying time for yourself & the hogs


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## lovin'life (Apr 7, 2010)

No one is being rude i think people are frustrated because it seems that you havent done any research about it just gone on the say so of what the previous owner told you. Breeding APH is not very easy at all. No one is trying to offend you. Please have a look at the Pygmy hog forum as there is so much info on there and people who can help advise you for the best of your hedgies. :2thumb:


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## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

*aph*

yes i no 
thanks for that and also thanks to everyone else who wasnt jumping down my throat 

i got the wrong care for them to start with 
and now i no there wrong im gonna search up as much info as i can 
to make sure no more mistakes.

any one else wanna be rude dont bover writing on my thread 
and thanks again to the other people.


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## Carla-Jade (Jun 13, 2010)

my hog was sold to me even without a care sheet & was told wrong stuff too- but i joined the pygmy hogs forum and it really is invaluable the help from there. as i say cos i have a male ive not been through it but there are many fantastic breeders there who can give better advice- its a lovely place with friendly guys- we will all help the best we can. hope to see you there!


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## Milligan (Jun 1, 2010)

:bash:Now im not one to attack other people .. but i have to say ...

You have invested in them because they were cheap , and you had intentions of breeding yet you no nothing about caring for them .. 
It doesn't matter if they are unrelated you should have done some research regarding general care . There is alot of us that are answering your thread that have 1 or more hoggies and we are very passionate about them , there is a lot of us who wouldn't even think about breeding before getting a mentor .. you have been irresponsible . what are you going to do if your hoggie is pregnant .. and she decides to eat the babies..? or she dies in hoggie birth..? join the forum as the others suggested .
If you want to take this as a rude answer then thats up to you but to be honest people like you piss me off


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## panther_87k (Feb 4, 2009)

you cannot blame everything entirely on the "breeder" you got your hogs from. Anyone with an ounce of commonsense knows that ANY male animal WILL mate with a female. its simple biology which most kids learn by the time they're 13!


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## xxx_phoenix_xxx (Sep 25, 2009)

well at the end of the day people are going to be rude you have been an irresponsible hog owner. its common sense not to have them any where near each other and as ive already said this is why its so important to research before even contemplating getting an animal. you cannot say that it is any way the breeders fault as there re still many areas of researh to be done and i'm sure not all breeders have the time to talk you thrue everything. however in your favour a responsible breeder would of had you fill in a questionaire to make sure you have the correct knowledge to care for the certain animal which in my opinion you clearly have not, otherwise this would not have happend. just join the forum and concentrate on the poor female which is probably deffinately pregnant.


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## dexnos (Mar 10, 2008)

The female needs to be put into her* OWN* cage (without bars), viv (plenty of ventilation) large Zoozone 2 *NOW*

You need to provide her with a nesting box , lost of suitable substrate ~ what are you using now?

What is her current diet? Given she is only a baby herself she and her babes risk calcium deficiency as well as many other things.

Her wheel needs to be removed immediatly

If the babies survive , you need to ensure they are sold as pet only. You have been given no proof that they are not related to each other. And judging by what you say you have also been given a load of crab advice .eg "they can live together" *LIE*, Not related I'd say that was a big fat* LIE* as well.

You need to register them asap so a track can be kept of thier line. This is a free service.

Yes the owner did give you bad advice, but you have also acted badly buy buying them because they were "Cheap". If anything this should have been reason enough to avoid them.

You have had them a few months so should have started to do research into them yourself and not just rely on what you have been told, both yourself and the seller are responsible for this situation.

You can't change that now but you can alter thier futures dramatically for the best. They all need to be separated into thier own vs. They are solitary animals. Its ok to let the females out together for time out when you know she is def not pregnant etc . Having said that you also need to assume the other female is pregnant and start counting from the last time they were out together to day 50. 

At the moment the best thing you can do is join Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum asap. go into the breeding section and READ, READ, READ also check out diet and environmental section. Yes you may get a little stick. You have to understand we are all passionate about the welfare of APH hedgehogs and have come across so many sad stories that could have so easily been avoided if the person had invested some time into research instead of taking things at face value. But by joining you will be proving that you want to make things different and provide the best poss care for your 4. No one is gonna knock you for that.

If you do join make it clear you have come over due to being recommended to do so, give your user name on here that way we will recognise you and try to support you through this as much as we can.


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## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

*aph*

i have been feeding aph on 
fruit and cat biscuits and tin cat food (chicken and beef).
they get meals worms and wax worms once a week. 

and i use wood shavings at the bottom

with a nesting box and also use hampster bedding. 
also i join the aph forums my user name is micheal1990 
also she had 5 baby yesturday . 

also thanks for the advice and i didnt buy them because they was cheap i went to buy 2 females and they basically gave me 2 males for free.

i no it is my fault i should of got more care sheets first 
and read alot more but the person who sold them to me 
made it sound so easy with the care she gave me.
and its not an excuses.

thanks.


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## dexnos (Mar 10, 2008)

Congrats on the babies and fingers crossed all goes well.

Glad you joined pygmy hogs , things can only get better and by doing so ur showing you want to move forward and are willing to take on advice :2thumb:


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## bugsandinsects (Jun 17, 2009)

*aph*

yes i am trying very hard to get as much info on them as possible now 
thanks


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

I hope your hog and her babies are doing ok. Do your best not to disturb them now except to go in to put down food and water. Leave the nest box alone entirely as you don't want to upset mum. Hopefully you have plenty of good advice from the pygmy forums.


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