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bedding issues?

722 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Lilysmommy 
#1 ·
Im relatively new to raising hedgehogs, so please forgive my ignorance
I have one 4 year old hedgehog, that i bought about 5 months ago. the bedding material used was a blue recycled pellet, good absorbancy and what not. i continued to use this material. i noticed she had a little bit of a runny nose, but being new didn't know if this was normal
i now have two new hedgehogs, a 2 months old female and a 3 month old male. they were both bedded on a type of wood shaving.
i remember in my research before getting hedgehogs, that certain types of wood shavings can give them respiratory issues, that's why i kept on with the recycled material. but now the two new hedgie's are also displaying runny noses. could this be from the bedding, or perhaps a different issue?
thanks
Kyle
Girlie 4 yrs
Bully 3 months
Katie 2 months
 
#2 ·
It might be due to the dust of the bedding, since paper beddings are often still dusty. I would suggest switching all three to fleece liners as soon as you can (or you could even try just putting them on pillowcases as temporary liners and see if things clear up) and see if that helps. If it doesn't, I would take them in for a vet visit - runny noses can be a sign of URIs, which don't get better without medicine - they turn into pneumonia, which can lead to death.

Another thing to check - do you have heating systems for all three cages, or are they all staying between 73-78*? Cooler temps for long durations can also cause URIs, even if they don't attempt hibernation first.
 
#4 ·
They're not, most people just make their own liners (if you use fleece, they can be as simple as just cutting a single layer to fit the cage bottom, or if you can sew, you can make them double-layered or use other fabrics too). You can also buy them online though, we have some people on the forum here that sell them (check the For Sale section, I believe there's a bedding section in there), or you can search on Etsy as well. If you know of any breeders in your area, some breeders also make and sell liners.

Just to be safe, I'd suggest at least getting a digital thermometer to place in each of their cages. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the cage temperatures rather than just the house or room temps, since it can vary so much. :)
 
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