# HELP PLEASE - african pygmy hedgehog



## slithering pets (Oct 30, 2010)

hi,

heres the background info

my mrs bought a pair of african albino hedgehogs and all the kit, 2x 4ftx2ft plastic containers/rubs/vivs with hides, excersize wheel and troff for both water and food at one end, the ambient temperature never falls below 22oc as there in my snake house which is all controlled by thermostats, and is quiet, aspen as substrate (advised by local rep shop), and shredded chippy paper(the type your fish and chips are wrapped in) as bedding, we feed a mixture of IAMS cat food, morio worms, wax worms, and fresh veg and fruit, which gets changed everyday. She weighs 278g, he weighs 290g.

They were paired together from the 9th February to 14th February, and the female was then put back into her normal 4ftx2ft viv/container, we waited 25 days then put her into a large faunarium, suspecting her to be gravid/pregnant, but shes now been in there for about a week, theres been no birth or hoglets allthough she has made what appears to be a nest, and just really would like some advice, 

if you could please answer the below questions it would be greatly appreciated, or if you have any other *HELPFUL* advice please post, I dont want to be shot down then burned on a spit, so no negative posts just *helpful and friendly* advice please.

Are we doing everything OK?
Is there anything that could be improved?
Is there anyway that we can tell if she is pregnant?
Anything else of relevance?

Thankyou very much for your help and advice, this is just not my area of expertise.


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## Rach1 (May 18, 2010)

hello, 
i'm interested to see what people reply to this as i am thinking of breeding my lil lady soon...

i would love to be of help but don't know enough on this to advise you. maybe she is just going over a bit. you will know if she has given birth tho as you will hear the hoglets squeaking.

i hope you get the answers you need and i hope all is fine with your lil lady...
good luck and we need pics of the babies... LOL


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## mat_worrell (Sep 20, 2009)

Having never bred them before I wouldn't really know where to start. The only helpful thing I can say is one very crude method of seeing if she is pregnant is a blue/purple patch on the females belly. This is the internal organs being pushed to the front by the babies inside her. As I said. Crude but generally effective. And also weight gain.


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## nikki_alaska (Apr 10, 2009)

Hedgies will go 30-50 days gestation, so don't panic yet!! 

There are small signs to show pregnancy, although not all hogs show them- 
weight gain 
descended, visible nipples
nesting
and behaviour in general.

Is she eating more than usual? Drinking more? Any other change you may have noticed??

If you think she has changed in any of these ways, you should just leave her to it.

When she has the babies, you shouldnt go poking around in her cage, the more you interfere the higher chance she'll get stressed and may destroy the babies...... there is a general 'rule' if you like, not to disturb or touch the babies for 2 weeks+, then to do it VERY gradually over a week or so, depending on the mothers reaction to you.

HTH

xxxxxx


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## Peebles (Jan 25, 2011)

Nothing constructive to say that has not already been said other than ask your reasons for moving her from her usual viv/container to a faunarium?

I would think moving her from her place of comfort would be a bit stressful for her at this time, plus the faunarium would be smaller (i am guessing)?


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Do you mean a faunarium like these? PT-2310 Flat Faunarium Large Value Vivariums


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## slithering pets (Oct 30, 2010)

Shell195 said:


> Do you mean a faunarium like these? PT-2310 Flat Faunarium Large Value Vivariums


yes thats the one its about a 1/3rd of the size of her big tank, we were advised by the local rep shop to put her in a smaller enclosure about 10 days before the exected date as she would feel more secure and its less room for her to go to get the hoglets that crawl out of the nest, as they dont like to move much after birth

PT2310
460 x 300 x 170 mm
18" x 12" x 6 1/2"​


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

slithering pets said:


> yes thats the one its about a 1/3rd of the size of her big tank, we were advised by the local rep shop to put her in a smaller enclosure about 10 days before the exected date as she would feel more secure and its less room for her to go to get the hoglets that crawl out of the nest, as they dont like to move much after birth
> 
> PT2310
> 460 x 300 x 170 mm
> ...


 
Thats the equivalant of keeping her in a shoe box and more likely to cause her to destroy her litter.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

slithering pets said:


> yes thats the one its about a 1/3rd of the size of her big tank, we were advised by the local rep shop to put her in a smaller enclosure about 10 days before the exected date as she would feel more secure and its less room for her to go to get the hoglets that crawl out of the nest, as they dont like to move much after birth
> 
> PT2310
> 460 x 300 x 170 mm
> 18" x 12" x 6 1/2"​


I think you might have been ill advised by the pet shop there, she would (as mentioned above) probably be more comfortable in her own territory at this time & i think more likely to have a nesting instinct in her own home - also if mum gets stressed she would have more room to potter about and have a break from the bub's every now and again.

I would think it would increase stress/frustration levels at being confined to such as small space compared to normal, especially with all them bub's - imagine being confined to one small room with up to 5 screaming kids wanting attention and fed all the time :lol2:


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## pgag_1_york (Mar 12, 2008)

just join here and read the breeding section: Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum

you need to do a lot of research!


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## slithering pets (Oct 30, 2010)

Jamiioo said:


> I think you might have been ill advised by the pet shop there, she would (as mentioned above) probably be more comfortable in her own territory at this time & i think more likely to have a nesting instinct in her own home - also if mum gets stressed she would have more room to potter about and have a break from the bub's every now and again.
> 
> I would think it would increase stress/frustration levels at being confined to such as small space compared to normal, especially with all them bub's - imagine being confined to one small room with up to 5 screaming kids wanting attention and fed all the time :lol2:


I have moved her back into her big cage, thankyou for the advice, i thought getting the advice from a pet shop which sells hedgehogs would be good advice :bash:


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## pgag_1_york (Mar 12, 2008)

slithering pets said:


> I have moved her back into her big cage, thankyou for the advice, i thought getting the advice from a pet shop which sells hedgehogs would be good advice :bash:


no most shops dont care about anything but the money!!! take a look at the rescue site to see my point! Home - Homeless Hogs


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

slithering pets said:


> I have moved her back into her big cage, thankyou for the advice, i thought getting the advice from a pet shop which sells hedgehogs would be good advice :bash:


I don't think pet shops know what they are speaking about half the time tbh! 

Anyway, good to hear shes back in her own home, she will be much more comfortable - keep us updated on how she gets on : victory:


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## jellypies (Jan 18, 2011)

can i ask how old your female actually is? im looking into breeding too and have done alot of research so seem to know my stuff. you're not ment to breed females untill they are a minimum of 6 months old but a recommended 7 months, and the male you are mating her with should be a minimum of 5 months old. 

i really do recommend joining Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum and reading through the breeding discussions, ive posted a good blog type post on their directly about breeding but you really need to start reading up. 

well done for moving her into the bigger cage, females tend to get fed up after a while so like to have some space, make sure you take her wheel out at 30 days pregnant and do not put it in untill all hoglets are weaned and out of cage. you should remove any male babies from the cage at 6/7weeks old and put in a seperate cage from each other.. males should not be kept together. all hogs must be 100g minimum before you send them to their new homes too. And like some one else said, at 30 days do your final cage clean out and then leave well alone just adding food and water daily.. dont disturb any babies at all untill 2 weeks and then just pick one up per day for literally no longer than 2 minutes, place back in the nest and if all goes well, mummy will except her back into the group, after a few more days of doing this with a diff hog each time, take each one out for a little longer. (ensure at any stage of takin a hoglet out that the mother has left the nest area completely, if you dont.. you run the risk of her rejecting the hoglet or destroying it)

im pretty sure all info you need is on the link ^ so just get reading. Did you not have a mentor through the process? all this research really should have been done first so you were prepared for anything. I would also recommend if you havent already, making sure you are with an exotic vet who have experience of dealing with hogs as well as one that is available for 24hour call out.. just encase you have to deal with a disabled, dying or severely injured hog at 3am!! 

Do you know that your hogs are unrelated? Are they registered? are you preparing care packs and a questionnaire and condition of sale forms for potential new owners? have you done lineage checks against both hogs to make sure they both have healthy back grounds? Shop bought hogs often come unregistered, without proper care sheets, no lineage and can often be related. as you havent done your research before mating the hogs, you seem to have an awful lot to catch up on which is worrying with your female preparing for her bubbas any time now. 

i recommend joining the forum anyway.


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## jellypies (Jan 18, 2011)

slithering pets said:


> hi,
> 
> heres the background info
> 
> ...


i would also recommend changing from aspen shavings and chippy paper to something alot more comfortable for your hoggies, i use fleece ( a light colour so if they bleed or are injured you will know about it) you can get a decent sized fleece from the B&M shop or Primark for £2.49 which washes well. id recommened using tea towels, tshirts, pet fleeces or even cut up fleece pieces for the bedding, warmer and much comfier especially for a pregnant hog. 

I use iams too, hoping you are using just the Chicken based dried food!? they shouldnt have the one with fish in at all. Their weights arent bad but its recommended that adult hogs are between 300-450g but then, i dont know how old your hogs actually are??? 

i know alot of people will just shove hogs back together if they dont have any babies after 30 days, please dont do this. ill try and put this as simple as i can, hogs can take 30-50 days to give birth, your window is both from the first day they were placed together so the 9th feb +50 days and the last window could be from the 14th fed +50 days. its important that you wait as if you place both hogs together with out waiting, females can often give birth with out you realising and then are distroyed by both the female and the male whilst he is still in the cage. 

Also, there isnt any way of knowing she is pregnant but if she is only 278g and shes nearing 30days already then thats very light for a pregnant hedgie. what was she before you placed her with the male? you need to be weighing her regularly as this may give you a small indication that she is pregnant, you are looking for dramatic increases in weight from week to week. nothing is 100% though. 

hoped the info helped, itd really concerning that you dont seem to know much at this stage, i dont mean to shoot you down and believe i have given you some good advice so i hope you take it in the right way, just want whats best for the hedgies. please please please join the forum, theres alot of other people that know more than me


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## angeldog (Mar 12, 2006)

did you mention her age as i cant see it anywhere.
aph shouldnt really be bred until they are at least 300g so if shes only 278g now then she must have been extremely small before you bred her or she hasnt gained any weight.
just agreeing with everything thats already been said, defo join pygmy hogs uk and defo need to do a lot more research which really should have been done before even considering breeding.
also you do realise with 2 albino hogs you are more than likely going to get a totally albino litter, albino is the hardest colour to find homes for and as experienced breeders are finding it hard to find homes for their hogs have you considered what you are going to do with the babies?


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## Avyron (Jun 29, 2010)

I think the pet shop does not know what it is talking about to be honest - the best thing to do is leave potential mum hog alone - make sure she has plenty of food and that its quiet.

I am a little worried about her weight - usually 300g is the minimum to breed a female. Do you know their ages? Are they related? 

If she has made a nest she may be pregnant - but keep clear until the babies are 2 - 3 weeks old depending on mum's reaction - they will destroy their babies if disturbed or stressed (I had a mum kill her 2 day old hoglets last week for no apparent reason) unless there is a problem with mum giving birth. 

I think you should keep a careful eye on mum - she is underweight for breeding and if she is younger than 6 months or older than 1 year (for first litter) there is a higher chance of complications. I am not trying to scare you or be horrible - just warning you. 

I think you should have a word with the pet shop so others dont have the same problems x


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