Hedgehog Died, Want Another

[reedwoman814]

Originally Posted by abbys

Something caught my eye that I didn't notice before - you said you feed him every other day, and on in between days he only gets a few mealworms? They need to be fed every day. They aren't like turtles, who can eat every few days.

I think she meant that hedgie got the mixed dry food daily, and as treats she swapped between wet cat food and meal worms.

[shmurciakova]

I just wanted to say I am sorry and to me, it really does not sound like it was anything that you did. Since you take your hedgehog out every day and this just happened one day, it sounds to me like it could have been some genetic defect. I mean, who knows really. It is true that a CHE is a better heating setup, but I had a hedgehog when I lived in Alaska and our house was 72F at best for most of the year. She had a heating pad underneath her. She probably made 3 hibernation attempts over her life, I think one was at our house, the other two times she was at a sitters and she was older...she did not die though. I would be very surprised if that is what happened to your hog....maybe if you never took her out and had no idea what was going on for a couple of days or something.
Now I have a CHE and it is just a lot better because even if the room itself is not a constant temp. the cage is and my new hedgie has never gotten too cold.
Five years is a long time for a hedgehog to live. My first one (mentioned above) lived 3 3/4 years.
In any event, like the others said, give yourself a little time to grieve. and tell your boyfriend that a prarie dog is not the same thing!

[hedgiemrsonic]

I just want to thank everyone for the advice again. I'm feeling a bit better today, I still miss him, but I'm crying less.

Originally Posted by reedwoman814

I think she meant that hedgie got the mixed dry food daily, and as treats she swapped between wet cat food and meal worms.

Yes, I was not starving my baby. He was fed daily the dry food. Everyother day he got mealworms or wet food as a treat, since I thought both everyday would make him obease. Sometimes he got other treats.

Originally Posted by shmurciakova

I just wanted to say I am sorry and to me, it really does not sound like it was anything that you did. Since you take your hedgehog out every day and this just happened one day, it sounds to me like it could have been some genetic defect. I mean, who knows really. It is true that a CHE is a better heating setup, but I had a hedgehog when I lived in Alaska and our house was 72F at best for most of the year. She had a heating pad underneath her. She probably made 3 hibernation attempts over her life, I think one was at our house, the other two times she was at a sitters and she was older...she did not die though. I would be very surprised if that is what happened to your hog....maybe if you never took her out and had no idea what was going on for a couple of days or something.
Now I have a CHE and it is just a lot better because even if the room itself is not a constant temp. the cage is and my new hedgie has never gotten too cold.
Five years is a long time for a hedgehog to live. My first one (mentioned above) lived 3 3/4 years.
In any event, like the others said, give yourself a little time to grieve. and tell your boyfriend that a prarie dog is not the same thing!

I find it hard to think it was hibernation, since in October we lost power for about 3 weeks and I had to heat his cage without using any normal methods. I ended up heating up fireplace bricks on the stove (we have a gas one) wrapping them in towels and then placing them in his cage, and then placing a blanket over it. My house was freezing since our heat could not come up without the power.

I did check on my guy daily, we always would snuggle at night and in the morning I'd wake him before work to see if he was okay, I also would check his water and heating pad then, plus if all the food was gone I would make a note to up the amount (unless I overslept badly, then I would check after work). The night before he seemed fine, but I didn't check on him in the morning, because I woke up ten minutes after I was supposed to be at work, which I feel bad about.

I'm not sure I can have a pet that doesn't live longer than 5 years, I'm really upset my little guy is gone. My bf thinks because prarie dogs live longer and since they love attention I'll be sastified with one, I'm not so sure, but I'm waiting until June to get another pet, so I have pleanty of time to research and compare them to hedgehogs. He took me to a pet store today and I held one a bit, he seemed like a good snuggler, but I know hedgies or at least my guy was a good one too.

Originally Posted by nikki

If you do decide to get another hedgie, please look into food for him. Its recommended to feed high quality, grain free dry cat food.

My little guy would never eat the cat food I bought for him, I even tried breaking it down into smaller pieces and he just wouldn't go for it. I mixed it with his normal food to ease him in and he would eat around it. I tried 2 different brands that I think I saw on this site or another one. If I get another I hope he'll eat it.

[abbys]

Originally Posted by reedwoman814

I think she meant that hedgie got the mixed dry food daily, and as treats she swapped between wet cat food and meal worms.

Ah, I misread. Sorry about that.

Originally Posted by hedgiemrsonic

I'm not sure I can have a pet that doesn't live longer than 5 years, I'm really upset my little guy is gone. My bf thinks because prarie dogs live longer and since they love attention I'll be sastified with one, I'm not so sure, but I'm waiting until June to get another pet, so I have pleanty of time to research and compare them to hedgehogs. He took me to a pet store today and I held one a bit, he seemed like a good snuggler, but I know hedgies or at least my guy was a good one too.

I totally understand how you feel. It's a lot of pain with such a short turnaround. Take this time to clear your head, and best of luck with whatever you decide.

[SammyeDarling]

Originally Posted by abbys

Something caught my eye that I didn't notice before - you said you feed him every other day, and on in between days he only gets a few mealworms? They need to be fed every day. They aren't like turtles, who can eat every few days.

That caught my attention as well but I believe that she means she gave him the wet cat food and meal worms every other day. If not, I think the heating issue and malnutrition would be a big factor in the cause of death.

As for getting a new hedgehog, wait and save up some money--especially because you never know when you may have to fork out a couple hundred at vet.

[coopdavillage]

Sorry for your loss. To be honest you may never get over the passing. We had our first hedgie 13 years ago and she died early because she had a tumor. I have never gotten over it and probably never will. I have to work not to call Ruby (new hedgie) by our old hedgies name (Chloe). Sometimes there is nothing you can do.
However after losing my first hedgie I wanted to make absolutely sure that I took the best care of Ruby so as not to lose her early. They can be a lot of work but they are worth it. So on that note I will definitely agree with reading up more (not saying you did anything wrong). The book linked by AngelaH is very good!

[SouthernSweet]

I'm sorry you lost your baby so soon! I wish you the best on deciding what happens when it's time for a new pet <3

Originally Posted by hedgiemrsonic

I find it hard to think it was hibernation, since in October we lost power for about 3 weeks and I had to heat his cage without using any normal methods. I ended up heating up fireplace bricks on the stove (we have a gas one) wrapping them in towels and then placing them in his cage, and then placing a blanket over it. My house was freezing since our heat could not come up without the power.

My hedgehog, Quinlee, will sometimes attempt hibernation if my room hits below 73 degrees (I try to keep my room 75 and above with a space heater). She has not done so every single time, but it does happen. If your hedgehog's cage was 72, it really could have been a hibernation attempt, especially if the hedgehog had less daytime light than usual.

Originally Posted by abbys

Something caught my eye that I didn't notice before - you said you feed him every other day, and on in between days he only gets a few mealworms? They need to be fed every day. They aren't like turtles, who can eat every few days.

Just curious, where have you heard that turtles can (or should) eat just every few days? I had a RES for 5 years and the only resource that told me to feed him every few days (as opposed to every day) was the flea market my dad was stupid enough to buy him from. (they also told him turtles only grow in relation to how much space they are provided and forgot to mention they need USB light and a basking area and pretty much a billion other things). My go-to says adults are fed, at a minimum, vegetables on a daily basis (http://redearslider.com/pellets.html).

Very few wild animals actually wait days between meals, is my thought.

[abbys]

Originally Posted by SouthernSweet

Just curious, where have you heard that turtles can (or should) eat just every few days? I had a RES for 5 years and the only resource that told me to feed him every few days (as opposed to every day) was the flea market my dad was stupid enough to buy him from. (they also told him turtles only grow in relation to how much space they are provided and forgot to mention they need USB light and a basking area and pretty much a billion other things). My go-to says adults are fed, at a minimum, vegetables on a daily basis (http://redearslider.com/pellets.html).

Very few wild animals actually wait days between meals, is my thought.

Technically my experience is with a tortoise, not a turtle, and I think their feeding is different. But Mikey is going on 30 years old (had him for 18), and he's happy and healthy.

[AngelicDarkness]

Originally Posted by shmurciakova

I just wanted to say I am sorry and to me, it really does not sound like it was anything that you did. Since you take your hedgehog out every day and this just happened one day, it sounds to me like it could have been some genetic defect. I mean, who knows really. It is true that a CHE is a better heating setup, but I had a hedgehog when I lived in Alaska and our house was 72F at best for most of the year. She had a heating pad underneath her. She probably made 3 hibernation attempts over her life, I think one was at our house, the other two times she was at a sitters and she was older...she did not die though. I would be very surprised if that is what happened to your hog....maybe if you never took her out and had no idea what was going on for a couple of days or something.
Now I have a CHE and it is just a lot better because even if the room itself is not a constant temp. the cage is and my new hedgie has never gotten too cold.
Five years is a long time for a hedgehog to live. My first one (mentioned above) lived 3 3/4 years.
In any event, like the others said, give yourself a little time to grieve. and tell your boyfriend that a prarie dog is not the same thing!

OP sorry for the loss of your little one.

That being said, I wanted to address the above quote. Hibernating can happen at any degree. I had a hedgehog at 70 degrees and a heating pad under her cage for many years (she passed away in year 6, from a tumor). However,my current hedgehog has hibernated twice - once at 78 degrees and the other at 75 degrees. Also, the lighting can play a factor as well. If it were a genetic defect, there may have been other signs that may have been spotted.

[coopdavillage]

I depends on the animal, Russian tortoise's need to be fed on a daily basis. Some wild animals actually don't eat but every couple of day but that's mainly a "I didn't catch anything" scenario.