Buddy’s cage, I need advice though... 🙂

[Buddysmom]

I’ve had Buddy a week and I’m a new Hedgie owner. I’ve owned lizards and turtles so I’m a little familiar with temp, bedding etc. So anyway, the bedding I have was included in his cage but I don’t like it. It gets all over the fleece, gets in his water and is just messy. And the food pictured is what was suggested, thoughts? Can I see your cages to get ideas?! Please!! 😉 PS, I have since added the tunnel to his cage.

[Mecki]

I just posted this photo on another thread, but it shows the things in my cage. The tunnel you have (I assume you made?) is very much like the one across the back of my cage. My hedghehog loves that tunnel and it's his preferred sleeping spot.

I use wood pellets in the litter try under the wheel. The little house in the back left is his dig box. It has strips of fleece and some pom pom balls.

As for the food, they say that almost all hedgehog foods are not as good for them as certain dry cat foods. Though recently there was mention of a new brand of hedgehog food that seems pretty good. I just don't know which one.
I found this link most helpful (after reading the nutrition sticky on this forum).
http://www.volcanoviewhedgehogs.com/kibble-list.html

[Mecki]

By looking at the list at the kibble link above and seeing which of those are actually available locally for me to buy, I ended up buying two to mix. (That is supposed to be a good idea in case there is ever a recall on one or the store is out. If you are still able to get one, at least your hedgehog won't have to suddenly switch foods.)

I use a mix of Pure Balance chicken & brown rice formula and Wellness Core grain free deboned chicken, turkey. The Wellness is a little high in protein but since mine is still young (like yours), they can handle the higher protein.

I'll switch from the Wellness as he grows older.

Oh... and I should mention in case you weren't aware that it is a good idea to switch them to new foods gradually by mixing the old food with the new to give their tummies time to adjust.

[Aj.t]

Hey there! So glad to hear you’ve chosen to add a hedgehog to your family. Unfortunately for the food, it’s a poor quality kibble. I’ve had experience with this specific brand and the ingredients are pretty bad. It’s almost like giving them McDonald’s every day- yuck! When looking for a quality kibble, you’ll want to focus on two main things: ingredient list and analysis. Personally, ingredients is slightly higher on the importance list. Look for a kibble that has real meats or real meat meals listed as the first 3-5 ingredients, and low on stuff like starches and fillers of the likes. I’ve even seen some “hedgehog quality” foods have ground aspen shavings in them! So definitely look for that. As for analysis, the protein content should be between 30-35% while the fat a general maximum of 15%. There should be fiber listed in the percentages, and I always look for taurine- it’s a compound that has oodles of benefits in humans and animals alike (though it shouldn’t have a high percentage as too much of anything is never good, but taurine specifically works with some major organs so flooding them with loads of taurine could cause major problems!). Like Mecki said, a mix of two or three kibbles is always a good idea in the event one becomes discontinued, but it’s not *required*.
As for housing, I have a similar set up as Mecki but I have a Midwest Guinea Habitat instead of a tank!

[Mecki]

Oh, the cage photo above was taken at night and I can see how it could look like a tank. It really isn't though. Here are some clearer photos.

[Aj.t]

Originally Posted by Mecki

Oh, the cage photo above was taken at night and I can see how it could look like a tank. It really isn't though. Here are some clearer photos. [IMG class=inlineimg]https://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/images/smilies/icon1.gif[/IMG]

*and suddenly he feels like Christina lives in a shoebox* LOL that’s an awesome set up I feel like I should have remembered that if you’ve posted pictures before!!! 🙂

[Buddysmom]

Thanks for all the help guys! I will buy better quality food and mix with what I have. Once I finish the bag of bedding I currently have I’m going to use something else, haven’t decided what yet. Yes I did make his tunnel as well as the blue/grey pouch!

[Mecki]

Originally Posted by Buddysmom

Thanks for all the help guys! I will buy better quality food and mix with what I have. Once I finish the bag of bedding I currently have I’m going to use something else, haven’t decided what yet. Yes I did make his tunnel as well as the blue/grey pouch!

Since you can sew, there's no limit to what you can make for your hedgehog! Everything fleece in my hedgehog's cage was sewn by me - main liner, top liner under wheel, snuggle bag on left, food 'mat.' I made extras so I can trade them out during washing.

[Buddysmom]

Originally Posted by Mecki

Since you can sew, there's no limit to what you can make for your hedgehog! Everything fleece in my hedgehog's cage was sewn by me - main liner, top liner under wheel, snuggle bag on left, food 'mat.' I made extras so I can trade them out during washing.

Yeah I figured you had made them and those mats are a great idea!! Great job by the way! 😉 Did you put batting/padding in them? Did you use a round padding for the edges?!

[Mecki]

Originally Posted by Buddysmom

Yeah I figured you had made them and those mats are a great idea!! Great job by the way! 😉 Did you put batting/padding in them? Did you use a round padding for the edges?!

Thanks! The main liner has batting inside. The medium size mat is not filled/padded. I figured he could burrow under that if he wanted. However I did make a couple that same size with padding to use as lap pads when I have the hedgehog out on my lap.

Just yesterday, I thought it would be fine to have him out on my lap with a mat that was just 2 pieces of fleece sewn together (no padding). Well, Mecki decided to pee-- and the pee went right through the fleece and soaked in my jeans!

I'm using the padded lap pads from now on!

Not sure which "edges" you meant.