Plush Toys

[velooyuotn]

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum so please excuse me if I say anything wrong. I've read most of the other threads about toys but nobody has mentioned where I can go to get plush fabric toys for my hedgies? I see people with pictures or stories of how their hedgehog cuddles up to a mini bear or frog. Where can I look to get something that small? I've looked online and all the toys seem to be pretty big and none that would be small enough for a hedgehog.

[momIImany]

You can get small stuffed dog toys at places like Petco, Petsmart, or even Walmart. You could also look up toys for ferrets online.

[velooyuotn]

I guess I was looking more for little stuff animals for the hedgehogs to cuddle with. I did find some ferret toys and even cat toys! Thank you!

Do you know if hedgehogs like mirrors? Wondered if I should get a small mirror that it can look at itself with.

[sklock65]

Cat toys are always a good option just be sure they don't have any catnip in there because hedgies are so sensitive to smell and personally I would be worried that hedgie might rip it open and have access to it. I have read posts of people using happy meal toys...always a good "hedgie size". I bought a tiny stuffed dinosaur around the holidays that I think was technically a Christmas ornament and I cut the tag and hanging ribbon off before letting him play with it. My preference is to only let my hedgie have the stuffed toys when he is out of his cage just because I am slightly over protective and worry about if he would be able to rip the seams or naw at it or something. Anyways that's just me...as long as you really watch for any loose threads (which can end up being surprisingly dangerous if wrapped around their little feet) you should be fine.

Oh...and I ALWAYS have my iPhone camera on standby when I introduce new toys...never know what (if anything) a hedgie will do or how they will react to a new toy and I've caught some super cute moments from the first interactions of a very curious hedgie and his new toy!

[velooyuotn]

I totally forgot about catnip, thank you! I will def make sure that the cat toys don't have catnip in it. I will have to look into the happy meal toys (dont eat MCD) haha. Yeah I heard about the loose threads, I will def watch out for that. Thank you for the advise!

[MrPinball]

I found a supercute little pink bunny or dog (not sure what it is ) at CVS. It's about 3 inches long, flat and fluffy, has no eyes and can't see any thread. I was just mostly concerned about buying one that has eyes he could chew off or thread. But like others have suggested, take a look around at Petco, Petsmart, Wally etc..

[velooyuotn]

Do hedgies really like to chew a lot? I've read other owners talk about how their afraid their babies would chew the eyes out of stuffed toys

[sklock65]

I think it kind of depends on the hedgie. Hedgehogs are not chewers the way some other small animals are. That being said sometimes they do naw on things or try tearing into them maybe if the scent is appealing. That's why it's just always a safe bet to keep an eye on the situation

[Chihirolee3]

Make sure whatever stuffed animals you give to your hedgie have no loose threads for that can get tangled in their feet and hurt them. I'd recomend they also not have stuffed animals with beans (i.e. beanie babies) in them or any similar of those kind of stuffed animals (which includes rice animals, straw animals, and any 'weighted' animals {where there is something in their feet to keep them steady}). Also make sure the eyes and other facial features are not embroidered, because a curious hedgie may knaw on it and loosen some threads, which you don't want. Make sure the the facial feature don't have googly eyes or "sewn" faces (button eyes or noses), because the the plastic of googly eyes can come off, and button eyes present a loose thread hazard. Go for stuff animals that have solid plastic facial features. Make sure any and all seams on the stuffed animals are tight and secure (cheap ones from walmart or those claw machines I'd be extra careful of because they are just made cheaply, and thus can be sloppy in make). Also, if you want to use beanie stuffed animals (like the hedgehog beanie baby because that would be too cute to resist), you could cut open a seam, get all the 'beans' out, refill it with fleece scraps/strips and it'd be much safer if your hedgie did happen to rip it open. Avoid at all costs, stuffed animals that have "hair" (see pic of my cat in signiture for a good example), it the same thing as a loose threads hazard.
I'd also avoid any super cheap (dollar store, claw game, etc.) stuffed animals because they are filled with left-overs from baby diaper productions, and the fillings are meant to hold moisture and disintergrate in a short time afterwards (within a few months or so, and they do that because of landfills), and if your hedgie spills (tips his dish) water or pees on it, you'd be safetest just to throw those kind out. Those stuffed animals don't last a year once they get wet.

I repair stuffed animals for one of my hobbies, so I'm sorry if I went a bit overboard in description...

[velooyuotn]

I didn't think they were chewers... I see people make cardboard/tissue paper houses for them. I figured if they were chewers they would break their house into pieces. I will definitely keep an eye out while my hedgies are playing.

I am not sure if you guys can view this but these are what I ordered for my hedgies

http://happytailsdiscountpetemporium.ne ... 20toys.jpg

http://happytailsdiscountpetemporium.ne ... e%20pk.jpg

http://happytailsdiscountpetemporium.ne ... parkle.jpg

(in case you cant view the pictures, one set is ferret toys- plush toy (no eyes or anything sticking out), sparkling ball, plastic ball, second and third set are cat toys- a roller toy (looks like fabric rolled up like a newspaper), mouse toy, smaller mouse toy, and a sparkling ball)

In total that's 17 toys, so if one breaks or if my hedgie tears it open I can quickly and easily replace it

I will keep in mind about beanie baby and refilling it with fleece scraps, I will avoid the "hair" toys.

You totally did not go overboard, I really appreciate your advice and knowledge. Not just don't do it but actually explaining why =)