questions about signs & symptoms of hedgie pregnancy

[Albrecht]

im just wondering what are the signs and symptoms of hedgie pregnancy.. because i've heard that one sign is that the assumed pregnant hedgie drinks a lot of water.. is it true? eventhough there is no weight gain..? its my first time to try breeding my hedgehogs..

[Puffers315]

Most of the time there are no signs, you just count 35 to 55 days from the females last encounter with the male. Females may start drinking lots of water a day or two before they give birth. Some might get heavy looking in the rear quarters. Some might have pronounced teets days before giving birth. But many times there are no signs except to count the days.

I hope you did your research before doing this. If the female is over a year old and never had a litter, there is a chance she'll have complications because after the one year mark their hip bones begin to fuse, making it sometimes hard or even impossible to pass the babies. Both hogs should have know lineage for four generations, otherwise there may be genetic diseases passed onto the babies.

Hope that helps.

[Albrecht]

meaning its possible that they'd not gain some weight as they get pregnant?

[Puffers315]

I would have to double check but indeed if my memory serves me correctly, some will gain noticable weight over time and others won't gain anything that'll give any indication. Around here we just tell people to count the days, prepare the female as if she was preggers and wait and see. After the 55 day mark you're clear. Of course these are usually accidental cases.

How long were the male and female together? Mating can be quick and females ovulate when they come into contact with a male.

[Nancy]

Puffers, how many litters have you raised?

[Puffers315]

None yet, and I know, shouldn't be answering questions on something I've only read about and not experienced.

[Hedgiepets]

Usually hedgie will have more urine and poo output along with weight gain, but some don't have any of that. Just be prepared for babies up until day 50.

[Nancy]

Usually there are multiple signs. Weight gain is the main one. Increased food and water intake is usually obvious. Their poop often takes on a different smell. Most of the time the poop smell was what clued me in before any weight gain was noticeable. Some will go off their food for a short while because they feel yucky which is like morning sickness. They do tend to get butt heavy by the 4th week.

On occasion, there are no signs or symptoms at all so like Deneen says, be prepared for babies.

[Albrecht]

Originally Posted by Puffers315

I hope you did your research before doing this. If the female is over a year old and never had a litter, there is a chance she'll have complications because after the one year mark their hip bones begin to fuse, making it sometimes hard or even impossible to pass the babies. Both hogs should have know lineage for four generations, otherwise there may be genetic diseases passed onto the babies.

Hope that helps.

hehehe she already had her first pregnancy after i got her.. and according to the person who'm i got my hedgie from, she had 4litters..

[Albrecht]

Originally Posted by Puffers315

I would have to double check but indeed if my memory serves me correctly, some will gain noticable weight over time and others won't gain anything that'll give any indication. Around here we just tell people to count the days, prepare the female as if she was preggers and wait and see. After the 55 day mark you're clear. Of course these are usually accidental cases.

ahh i thought that it would only take them 35-40days gestation after putting them together.. but after i reviewed the site (http://hedgehogvalley.com/hhogbreeding.html) it was stated that their longest gestation period would be 50days..^^

Originally Posted by Puffers315

How long were the male and female together? Mating can be quick and females ovulate when they come into contact with a male.

i got them together for 7consecutive days, then i separated them for the next 7days, then joined them the 2nd time for 7days.. then separated them again until now..