Bedding

[daphnesmom]

Every morning, I wake up and find bedding in Daphne's food dish and a lot of bedding in her house. I watched her last week and realized that Daphne moves bedding into her house with her mouth, and sometimes she picks up bedding and then goes to eat and drops it into her dish. Does anyone else's hedgehog do this with their bedding? The room is always warm enough (75-80 degrees), so it's not because she's cold.

[Pokey]

That's a cute little quirk! What type of bedding are you using? I have heard of some hedgehogs filling their water dish with wood shavings or other bedding, but not their food dish. Maybe she just likes sleeping with the extra bedding? I would try cutting up strips of fleece or flannel and adding it to her current sleeping location for extra comfort... but I don't believe it's anything to worry about unless there is a possibility of a choking hazard.

Drew & Pazu

[Christemo]

A lot of people use fleece for that reason. I don't want Amelia seeing a piece of bedding and thinking "nom nom".

[hanhan27]

Hedgehogs are burrowers. It's wired in their brains to burrow to find someplace cozy to sleep. There's not much you can do about the bedding-in-the-food-bowl situation if you're not willing to switch to fleece.

Just double checking, but is there any way she could be pregnant? If so, she may be trying to make a nest.

[daphnesmom]

We're using Carefresh bedding. I've watched her closely since this realization and she's not eating it at all.

Sometimes I'll put one of my T-shirts in with her so she can smell me or use it for warmth if she wants, and sometimes she sleeps under it, sometimes she doesn't. I should definitely try fleece strips. Would you think 12" x 12" squares would work?

There's no way she could be pregnant.

[ShutUpAndSmile]

Carefresh is discouraged on here because its very dusty and leads to respiratory problems. You should switch to fleece. It will save you money as well as be healthier for you piggy.
My strips are usually 1in by 3in or so.

[daphnesmom]

Thanks! I have read that it was appropriate for hedgehogs, and Daphne's previous owner used it, so that's why we continued. We will look into switching to fleece liners.