Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

As I was reading this ( and I am a new owner) I was not offended one bit!
Newbies like myself, need to actually TALK to people who have hedgies, need to do research ACTUAL RESEARCH! I looked up hedgies for a few weeks before even looking for one, I FINALLY found HCC and since then this has been the MOST useful and informative source.

Even after I got Stella from a woman who couldn't keep her and was using all the wrong products (i.e. cedar, feeding her low qual food, and even giving her a water bottle which was way too dangerous and broken, ON TOP OF ALL THAT NO HEATING UNIT!!!) I was learning more!
Each day is something new and I constantly have questions. So I say, DON'T give anyone easy access info.

Anyone looking for a pet should be prepared- pets are not impulse decisions.

I appreciate this post.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

Nice!! Learned something today! See Ya!!..

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

Great post. Some think something's wrong with their hedgie when it's actually just normal behavior!! :lol:
I once saw someone asking a few questions about their hedgie... they had gotten him from a pet store that sold them a basket of hedgie supplies...
It had VITAKRAFT food and a CHEW BLOCK included in it.
:roll: Some people just have no idea what is and isn't for a hedgie.
And don't you hate it when people call hedgies PORCUPINES? It bugs me so much.
But that owner did switch foods and take out the chew block. I forgot what else was in it, I just remember those two things...
hr

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

So i'm getting a new baby in a few weeks and I want to make sure everything is perfect for her when she arives. So far I have gotten her aspen chip bedding, A wheel, food/water bowl, I'm making her house out of sterilite per directions I found on HHC, I've gotten her a few matchbox cars and toilet paper tubes (cut of course) because i've heard some like to play with that sort of thing, I'll be stopping at the pet store to get her a little hidey house, an a night shirt i've been wearing so she can get used to my scent. I also picked up some non-scented soap snce the kind we usually have is pretty strong smelling. Please tell m if there is anything I over looke or any suggestions you may have. I may just be being an over worried expectent parent, but I want to make sure I can do all I can to make her happy.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

The only thing that came to mind would be a heating plan. If your house is kept at around 75 degrees it should be fine but some hedgehogs need a few degrees cooler and some a few degrees warmer. You may need to purchase a space heater or a CHE set up to make sure that you can keep your new hedgie at the right temperature. You may already know this but wanted to make sure just in case because IMO its one of the most important things to owning hedgie right up there with a good food mix and providing enough light per day :)

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

Yes i'm trying to work out the temp to see If I can just keep my house that temp constantly or if I have to buy something else specifecly for her.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

To be honest, I don't understand how a person could visit this site and not know things like what you described (cages, wheels, liners, vets, etc.). I remember finding this site on google and feeling like I'd discovered a gold mine. The websites that I had been visiting just weren't providing the information that I needed. The experiences that you all provided were, in my opinion, the most helpful. To be honest, I think I was originally the person that saw a picture of a hedgehog, was over-whelmed by their sheer adorableness, and immediately wanted one. So I looked them up and learned their basic needs and was planning to do some more, way deeper digging. My dad was originally VERY anti-hedgehog. I knew that in order to obtain one of these wonderful creatures, I would have to do some HEAVY research. I found this site and still felt like I really, REALLY wanted one (even after reading for literally three and a half hours). My dad was slightly more convinced, but I would still have to wait a few months. So in early September, I actually found a breeder practically down the street from me, whose daughter I actually know. The first thing I asked was about food and vet :D. Anyway, we went to go meet her and her two hedgies for sale. One appeared to be a cinnamon or cinnacot pinto (VERY high pinto) and the other was Dewey (I know he's either an algerian chocolate or brown, but if anyone would be able to tell from my sig, they should please tell me :D). I immediately fell in love with him. His adorableness won my dad's heart too. We arranged to pick him up a week later and we went shopping for everything. I've had him for five months and I still love him to death, even after his mites, minor upper respiratory infection (he came with these things), and, worst of all, quilling. Hahaha.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

Yes, I got my hedgehog (Adler) at a pet store last Sunday, and the girl working there looked like she was barely out of high school. Not that this always means anything, but she didn't really have a clue about the hedgehog at all. When I brought up my internet research, and how a wheel and litter box were recommended, but that I didn't see those in their cage (6 or 7 hedgies in a 1' x 2' cage with no hideout ... ridiculous!) she told me that she had never heard of anything like that. I'm so glad I found sites such as these, or else my hedgehog would probably hate her life. The only good bit of advice she gave was to get a cage with narrow spaces in the wires to avoid an escape.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

if your hedgie is a female, and she was in with others...keep in mind she may be pregnant. The only way to know for sure if she is is to wait and she if she has any babies. Be prepared in case she does.

Re: BEFORE you bring baby home..
 

I think that people who don't care about there hegies are horrible people. I find your post non offending but GREAT AND HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT A HEDGE HOG AND NOT HAVE TO GIVE THEM UP BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY OR CANT AFFORD THEM.