To wheel or not to wheel...?

[Norah]

I know I am supposed to provide my hedgehog with a wheel and I will. It's just that the breeder I got her from never gave her hedgehogs running wheels and was strongly against it - or rather she said that wheel time should always be supervised because they can easily "run themselves to death" ... So my little Wednesday is four months old and never even saw a wheel and she's gonna get one later today. My question is - can they really run to the point they just get too exhausted and die? Do you provide your hedgehog with a wheel only for some amount of time?

[Artemis-Ichiro]

Sadly, a lot of "great breeders" have no clue of what they are talking about.

Hedgehogs in the wild can run easily 7 miles
In one night and keeping them in a cage without a wheel is cruel.

The wheel must be in the cage at all times and they don't need supervision.

[Matvei]

They need a wheel.
Without one, they can be very destructive.
They can pace around the cage and run their nose raw,
or try and escape.
Some of them self-mutilate.
They need the wheel for both physical exercise and mental health.

[Norah]

Thank you guys, went out and got her a flying saucer type wheel So tonight she gets to try it for the first time, if she feels like it.

[Lopi]

Originally Posted by Norah

Thank you guys, went out and got her a flying saucer type wheel So tonight she gets to try it for the first time, if she feels like it.

Some breeders are indeed a little wacko. Too many hedgehogs and no interaction with the outside world, they develop weird ideas that don't make any sense.

One guy I talked to before switching to another breeder told me Royal Canin was the ONLY food ANY hedgehog can eat. I suspect he had a deal with Royal Canin or something :P

I've also heard breeders insist that hedgehogs need to be at 90+ degrees because "they are African, you know".

Breeders usually give ok general advice, but doing your own research is always better than relying on one opinion only.

[Norah]

Originally Posted by Lopi

Some breeders are indeed a little wacko. Too many hedgehogs and no interaction with the outside world, they develop weird ideas that don't make any sense.

One guy I talked to before switching to another breeder told me Royal Canin was the ONLY food ANY hedgehog can eat. I suspect he had a deal with Royal Canin or something :P

I've also heard breeders insist that hedgehogs need to be at 90+ degrees because "they are African, you know".

Breeders usually give ok general advice, but doing your own research is always better than relying on one opinion only.

Yeah ... I just noticed a raisin in the food I got with my hedgie from the breeder... So I examined it a bit more and sure enough, found raisins mixed in. According to all I read raisins are supposed to be a big no no... the tricky part is making my hedgehog eat actual quality food cause she now refuses it and from everything I introduced to her she will only eat cooked chicken, boiled egg, wet cat food AND her old food (she probably grew up eating that weird mix which, btw, has an enormous amount of dried worms in it, too).

[Leoandme]

Oh man! Raisins are definitely a no no. That's such strange advice and a strange mix to give them. Dont worry though, my breeder gave me a mesh grid wheel for mine so I'm slowly starting to learn that not everything a breeder tells you is always trustworthy. Hope you get the food situation figured out! I can't wait to switch mine over to a quality cat food mix (he's on Spikes Delight right now from the breeder) and I think I'm going to have the sane issues switching him as he doesn't seem to like anything else, not even meal worms!

[Lopi]

Originally Posted by Leoandme

Oh man! Raisins are definitely a no no. That's such strange advice and a strange mix to give them. Dont worry though, my breeder gave me a mesh grid wheel for mine so I'm slowly starting to learn that not everything a breeder tells you is always trustworthy. Hope you get the food situation figured out! I can't wait to switch mine over to a quality cat food mix (he's on Spikes Delight right now from the breeder) and I think I'm going to have the sane issues switching him as he doesn't seem to like anything else, not even meal worms!

Yeah it's like raising your kid on McDonald's and then insisting they eat chicken breast and lettuce.