first litter

[space boss]

I'm so excited my baby "Moose" just had babies today i am pretty new hedgehog owner wondering if there is anything special i need to do or know about any info would be greatly appreciated

[space boss]

HELLO is anyone there

[Ria]

Sometimes it takes longer for people to reply. I’m not good with breeding but I do know wheel should have been taken out and a water dish replaced with a bottle (I read it during research)
Oh and you dont touch any of them the mum or babies (someone else will tell you untill when soon as I’m not sure) and you dont clean the cage, you just leave everything how it is.

Has the mum rejected any of the babies ??

[Ria]

Okay so
After giving birth they should not be distubed for 2 weeks unless its for food and water.
Do not try to clean the cage until the babies are 4 weeks old
At 4 weeks the babies will start eating out of the mums food dish
They need to be weaned at 6 weeks
And by 7 weeks the male should be moved although I think it can be removed sooner someone will check this fact and tell you later

Oh and check to see if any baby has been rejected

[nikki]

You don't need to remove the water bowl, they are perfectly fine in a cage with babies. Leave mom and babies completely alone except to give fresh food and water once a day. After two weeks you can SLOWLY start handling them, one a day for a few seconds, and SLOWLY progress from there. You can't clean the cage or change anything in it until the babies are weaned and in their own cages.

Most importantly: Read all the threads in the breeding and babies section.

[nikki]

Originally Posted by Ria

Okay so
After giving birth they should not be distubed for 2 weeks unless its for food and water.
Do not try to clean the cage until the babies are 4 weeks old
At 4 weeks the babies will start eating out of the mums food dish
They need to be weaned at 6 weeks
And by 7 weeks the male should be moved although I think it can be removed sooner someone will check this fact and tell you later

Oh and check to see if any baby has been rejected

Ria please be careful giving breeding advice if you have never bred hedgehogs. You have given some bad advice that could be dangerous for the babies. The cage can not be cleaned when the babies are 4 weeks old, only when they are weaned. Moms have killed 4-5 week old babies because the owners cleaned the cage. There is no reason to remove a water dish from the cage and switch to a bottle. This can upset and stress mom and cause her to reject her babies.

[Ria]

Originally Posted by nikki

Ria please be careful giving breeding advice if you have never bred hedgehogs. You have given some bad advice that could be dangerous for the babies. The cage can not be cleaned when the babies are 4 weeks old, only when they are weaned. Moms have killed 4-5 week old babies because the owners cleaned the cage. There is no reason to remove a water dish from the cage and switch to a bottle. This can upset and stress mom and cause her to reject her babies.

For ONE I did state themat it should be doubled checked I only responded due to the fact that she wanted a response faster

TWO I read in a book that it should be changed BUT as already said I still said it should be checked

And THREE the part about cleaning the cage at 4 weeks came from THIS forum !! So if its WRONG then be carful what they read on here as I found that imformation ON HERE.

I do know I have never bred. And I do know I dont what to do. And I never stated I do know. And as I said already I still said this should be checked.

[HedgieHugger7]

[Aside from wishing OPs well and showing support, the one area in which all members yield to experienced breeders is breeding/babies. The emergency sticky on babies is a great (and admin-approved) resource which can be provided as well, while awaiting a breeder's reply.]

Best of luck with your prickly, little surprise bundles of joy, Space Boss!

[nikki]

Can you please link the post that said to clean the cage at 4 weeks? It needs to be edited or deleted.

[Ria]

https://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...opics/1?page=1

Unless I have missed a comment where a lot further down it says about the 4 months not being changed...
Its the first thing that came up on google when I asked about breeding pgymy hedgehogs. And being on this forum thought it was right.. so I told her because I thought it would helpful (obviously forgetting a rule which I’m sorry about)
This is the last time I’ll post on a thread about breeding I promise.