Daytime

[buddhaman24]

I am going to be getting My first hedgehog in a couple months. so I been doing alot a research on hedgehogs. so i have a question i know hedgehogs are nocturnal. so what i want to know would it be Ok to take him out during the day for like an hour to cuddle with him in my arm our in a hedgie bag. our if he want's to explore.? i just want to get bonding time in the day an at night .so i would appreciate any feed back thanks....

[Lilysmommy]

It depends partly on the hedgehog. Many don't like to be disturbed during the daytime. Think of it as someone waking you up at 3 am and wanting to play with you. Some will be okay with a short cuddle time, or short exploration time, but you'll have to wait and see what your hedgie thinks. For the most part, it's best to just stick to evening/night socialization times, since it's more natural to them.

[Immortalia]

It is up to the individual hedgie. Some hedgies are ok with it, while others aren't.

Though keep in mind that it can very well make the hedgie sick, as they are nocturnal and most comfortable to come out only at night.

You should do a search for "nocturnal" on this forum. The search function is on the upper right corner. It has many other inputs on how others feel about taking hedgies out during the day.

That being said, I've brought my boy out during the day, though I only do it about once a week, if even(usually less)...Mainly just to trim his nails while he's still groggy I've brought my boy outside during the day as well, but I've always kept it short, and he just snuggles up close to me and sleeps. On normal days, I usually take him out anywhere around 7pm-9pm and he usually goes back into his cage at around midnight.

IMO I think you should work on bonding first at the "normal" hedgie awake hours in the evenings, so you don't stress out your hedgie too much by making so many changes.