# Zoozone for Pygmy hedgehogs?



## stephenie191

After coming acorss a really good breeder with a litter due of these cute hogs, i've decided i want a female!

It will be ready in july so i have plenty of time to buy the cage, wheel etc.

A few questions,

Are Zoozone's the bets cage for them? 
Which Wheels make the least noise?
What kinds of toys do they like best?


I know there is a good few owners on here so hopfully you lot can help me out! LOL :blush:


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## stephenie191

Would one of these, very similar to the zoozone, be just as good? 

Ferplast Rabbit 100 Deluxe Cage Poultry Brooder on eBay, also, Rabbits, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 04-Jun-09 19:44:47 BST)


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## Choggie

I use the zoozones for four of my hedgehogs and use both the silent spinners and the flying saucers. For toys they have cat balls, cardboard tubes to run through and also a couple of beanie babies to snuggle up with. You can also use toilet rolls for them to play with but make sure that you cut them down the middle so that they don't get stuck.

The zoozones are really easy to clean out as the plastic top clips off and the whole lot can be carted to the bin and wiped out thoroughly

If you use the zoozone you will have to get somebody to cut an inch off the legs of the silent spinners so that they fit under the wire top comfortably but both are easy to clean and don't create excessive noise.

One of my hoggies has a rat slipper as he like to sleep in it.

I also use a silent spinner in their play pen along with a variety of tubes which they do like to run through and hide in.


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## stephenie191

Thanks thats been really helpful. : victory:

The zoozone are alot easier to clean thinking about it, compared to the other cage i posted.

The toy ideas are really good too.

One last thing, do they chew alot? Are their teeth like rodents where they need to keep them warn down alot?

I've found lots of into on feeding, housing etc but none on that :blush:


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## Choggie

Clicked on the link and it does seem very similar to the zoozone - if you intend to breed with your female I would probably change the cave to a nest box that has a removable lid as it is easier to check on the babies if you use one of these - only my thought.


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## Vase

Its the Zoozone 2 that most people use which is about 39" long I think. The other Zoozone (1 presumably) is too small apparently.


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## stephenie191

Choggie said:


> Clicked on the link and it does seem very similar to the zoozone - if you intend to breed with your female I would probably change the cave to a nest box that has a removable lid as it is easier to check on the babies if you use one of these - only my thought.


Yeah, i think i would probablly take that out and add my own hides and stuff! 



Vase said:


> Its the Zoozone 2 that most people use which is about 39" long I think. The other Zoozone (1 presumably) is too small apparently.


Yeah some of the zoozone seem too small even for guinea pigs etc !


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## Choggie

Not found that mine chew but I would imagine the cat biscuits take care of that. They all have different personalities, three of mine wouldn't dream of taking a nip out of you but one boy takes a nibble every now and then, less now than he used to to although he did catch my OH the other night and made him jump, made me laugh. My other little girl is a little bugger and catches you unawards, burried under the towel and decided to nip in a very private place - had to peel me off the conservatory roof!


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## Choggie

It is the zoozone 2 that I have used. There is another cage on the market made by Savic that is exactly the same as the zoozone (lid slightly different) but it is a lot cheaper. Have yet to source it apart from Pets at Home but I am trying to get this one in for the shop.


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## stephenie191

Choggie said:


> It is the zoozone 2 that I have used. There is another cage on the market made by Savic that is exactly the same as the zoozone (lid slightly different) but it is a lot cheaper. Have yet to source it apart from Pets at Home but I am trying to get this one in for the shop.


I love the Savic cages, i used them for my guinea pigs but they have bars.

Will that make a difference to the hog?


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## the zoo

Large Blue Zoozone Rabbit Guinea Pig Indoor Cage Hutch on eBay, also, Rabbits, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 14-May-09 10:22:08 BST)

for zoozones, flying saucers, silent spinners etc


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## Choggie

This particular savic doesn't have the bars only on the lid so it is equally as good as the zoozone - I have the catalogue and I am hoping to find where I can get these from.


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## stephenie191

Choggie said:


> This particular savic doesn't have the bars only on the lid so it is equally as good as the zoozone - I have the catalogue and I am hoping to find where I can get these from.


I don't think i've seen them?

Heres Savic's website, is it this one?

http://www.savic.be/DetAnimal.asp?group=Small%20Animal&fam=Rabbit%20cage&product=Rody%20Rabbit


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## Choggie

I knew there was another name for it - Rody Rabbit - the only difference is the top and it is quite a lot cheaper than the zoozones - I have two of them and have no problems with them at all.


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## stephenie191

Choggie said:


> I knew there was another name for it - Rody Rabbit - the only difference is the top and it is quite a lot cheaper than the zoozones - I have two of them and have no problems with them at all.


Yeah, i would like the white one and then add loads of pink stuff :blush:! LOL

But they do seem much cheaper so worth a look i think !


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## Shell195

APH arent rodents so dont need to gnaw. I have my male in a Nero 4 cage as he doesnt climb but my female is in a Zoozone as she is very active. Im just in the process of hunting for a bigger suitable cage for her, I want one as big as a Nero 4 but without bars.


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## stephenie191

Shell195 said:


> APH arent rodents so dont need to gnaw. I have my male in a Nero 4 cage as he doesnt climb but my female is in a Zoozone as she is very active. Im just in the process of hunting for a bigger suitable cage for her, I want one as big as a Nero 4 but without bars.


They're very hard to come acorss. Thats the thing, the Nero are so big, but the zoozone don't seem to go up to that big a size.

Have you tryed the Rody rabbit? from Savic, it seems quite big


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## clair74

I tried the ferplast 100, but got fed up with the limited placesyou could put a wheel.
I then swapped to a Rody rabbit but then built my own viv which is much nicer.
Edited to say the rody rabbit is 3ft long so no bigger than a zoozone.


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## Lucy_c

Choggie said:


> Clicked on the link and it does seem very similar to the zoozone - if you intend to breed with your female I would probably change the cave to a nest box that has a removable lid as it is easier to check on the babies if you use one of these - only my thought.


Hi there sorry to jump in on this but would you advise getting a nest box and putting it inside the cage? I have two hedgehogs living separetely and I am considering breeding but want to do as much research as possible before I make any decisions. Any advise is welcome I absolutely
Love reading about hogs they are wonderful pets. And more on the topic I use zoozone 2 cages and they are easy to clean out and a good size I think. Lucy xxx


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## stephenie191

Lucy_c said:


> Hi there sorry to jump in on this but would you advise getting a nest box and putting it inside the cage? I have two hedgehogs living separetely and I am considering breeding but want to do as much research as possible before I make any decisions. Any advise is welcome I absolutely
> Love reading about hogs they are wonderful pets. And more on the topic I use zoozone 2 cages and they are easy to clean out and a good size I think. Lucy xxx


The female will need some sort of nest box when you breed her yes! She should already have a hide or house type thing, if thats no good then theres loads to chose from : victory:


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## Choggie

All of my choggies have hide aways, the boys have a wicker hut that I can lift up easily but for the girls I did get them a wooden house each. There are loads of different ones out there, mine are corner houses and have a nice big entrance hole. The only thing I did was to knock the roof off gently with a hammer as I wanted to make it easier to access when the babies were born. I will try and get a picture and put it on for you.


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## Choggie

Got the photos for you now










The above is the nest box I have for my new mum Hattie - the roof is completely removeable.










This is Herby's nest box and the roof is in two pieces that push together. It works well but I am looking to change to the corner box as the roof lifts off in one piece and I find it easier than trying to balance two pieces.









These are what I use for my boys and they love them.

All of my boxes have fleece inside and I chuck them in the washer on a boil wash to clean them.

Hope this helps


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## Lucy_c

That's great thanks and the pics give me an idea of what to look for. Just one more question how do you go about checking on the babies without upseting mum as I know that you have to be very careful around a new mum. How long do you leave it before checking? Thanks I have always got so many questions. Lucy.


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## Shell195

Choggie said:


> Got the photos for you now
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> The above is the nest box I have for my new mum Hattie - the roof is completely removeable.
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> This is Herby's nest box and the roof is in two pieces that push together. It works well but I am looking to change to the corner box as the roof lifts off in one piece and I find it easier than trying to balance two pieces.
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> These are what I use for my boys and they love them.
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> All of my boxes have fleece inside and I chuck them in the washer on a boil wash to clean them.
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> Hope this helps


 
Where do you buy these wooden houses from?


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## Choggie

Sorry to admit it but Pets at Home as I hadn't seen anything else that I liked. 

The first time Herby had babies I was a nervous wreck and I plagued the breeder who I had Henry off - she was a god send and helped me all the way. I did leave it the full 10 days before I dared to peak but I could hear the little squeaks all the time so I knew they were ok. When I did look I lifted the roof off and pulled the fleece back with a pair of tweezers to take a peak - the first time I lifted them out they were about 14 days old and so tiny, amazing how quickly they grow. From then on I handled them every day increasing the amount of time they were out of the nest box but I always kept mum with them in the first four weeks. Herby was really wanting to run on her wheel as I removed it when she had her babies as there is a danger they can get trapped under them when they start exploring, so Herby went for a run in her exercise pen and I had her two babies.

Hattie caught me by surprise as I have mentioned previously and I had no idea that she had given birth - lifted the lid off normally and went to get her out for a run and bingo, three little choggies. Everything I did was wrong and I know that I was really fortunate that she took everything in her stride but I do believe that I have gained the trust of all my choggies through handling them and loving them - they get better fed than the rest of the house!


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## Lucy_c

Thanks it's really scary cuz u read everywhere that they can destroy there babies if they become stressed and don't know how well I would cope with that but it sounds like you just have to let them get on with it. Just also wondering where did u get the fleece from? Thanks Lucy.


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## colinbradbury

hi lucy , and stephenie if you would like me to e-mail you one of my care sheets over for aph , then feel free to pm me your e-mail. might be some extra info in there for you , if your like me you will like reading as much on the animals your interested in from many sources. 

cheers col


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## Choggie

The fleece is just a normal fleece blanket that I got from a local bedding supply shop and I cut it up into smaller pieces so have loads of nest box fleeces. Whip one out and I have a spare on to go in. I got a double blanket and it cost me about 8.00


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## Vase

colinbradbury said:


> hi lucy , and stephenie if you would like me to e-mail you one of my care sheets over for aph , then feel free to pm me your e-mail. might be some extra info in there for you , if your like me you will like reading as much on the animals your interested in from many sources.
> 
> cheers col


Hey, would you be able to send me one too please? My hoglet is about 5 weeks old now and I'm doing all the research I can before I get him.


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