Hello, I'm new to the forum. Last Thursday I bought a female hedgehog at our local exotic pet shop. Her name is Penelope and she is 7 weeks old. I believe her coloring is called pinto.
I have a few questions, some are kind of random, heh.
1. She was $320, is that the average price for a hedgehog?
2. I go to my boyfriend's house a lot, traveling by train and then bus. The "journey" is about 45 minutes long. I have a carrier for her, similar to this one (just not as fancy, lol):
She doesn't seem to mind the trip, and doesn't seem stressed out about it. In her carrier is some food and a bunch of cloth to snuggle in, for warmth and comfort. What I'm wondering is, is it safe to take her with me? We're getting her a temporary cage to keep at his house so she'll be more comfortable there. I immediately give her water upon arriving at his house, btw. I also don't think she's too cold when we're traveling, although it is kind of chilly outside. The bus and train are heated, and I periodically check on her to make sure she feels warm enough.
3. The man who sold her to me said that she might be pregnant, because her sister who was in the same cage just had babies. I'm assuming that the male (her brother) didn't only mate with the sister, but I guess we'll see. She is 7 weeks old, is she old enough to have a safe pregnancy/birth? Is she more likely to abandon/cannibalize her babies because she's young?
4. Is playing music while she's in the room OK?
5. Are hedgehogs fully grown at the age of 7 weeks? The pet store owner told me that she's done growing but I got a hedgehog book and the hedgehogs in the pictures are huge compared to her!
6. How fragile are hedgehogs? Like, their limbs and whatnot. She explores my boyfriend's bed, which is a mattress on the floor, and she always runs to the edge and tries to shimmy down. It worries me a lot... if she accidentally fell a few inches, could she be seriously injured? I'm assuming that she's very delicate.
7. How intelligent are hedgehogs? Can they learn their names? Online I found nothing regarding this and I *REALLY* want to know! Is her name (Penelope) perhaps too difficult for her to eventually learn? Also, do they bond with their owners? She seems to already know who I am, and she uncurls herself after a few seconds and wants to explore right away. If she was afraid of me would she stay curled up in a ball? When she's walking around, her quills are smooth for the most part, when I pet her she occasionally huffs but it seems like she does that out of surprise more than anything.
I'm sorry for all the questions, I promise that I have done my research, I'd just rather ask experienced owners "face to face" instead of just reading pages that aren't interactive. I might ask more if they come to me.
I have a few questions, some are kind of random, heh.
1. She was $320, is that the average price for a hedgehog?
2. I go to my boyfriend's house a lot, traveling by train and then bus. The "journey" is about 45 minutes long. I have a carrier for her, similar to this one (just not as fancy, lol):
She doesn't seem to mind the trip, and doesn't seem stressed out about it. In her carrier is some food and a bunch of cloth to snuggle in, for warmth and comfort. What I'm wondering is, is it safe to take her with me? We're getting her a temporary cage to keep at his house so she'll be more comfortable there. I immediately give her water upon arriving at his house, btw. I also don't think she's too cold when we're traveling, although it is kind of chilly outside. The bus and train are heated, and I periodically check on her to make sure she feels warm enough.
3. The man who sold her to me said that she might be pregnant, because her sister who was in the same cage just had babies. I'm assuming that the male (her brother) didn't only mate with the sister, but I guess we'll see. She is 7 weeks old, is she old enough to have a safe pregnancy/birth? Is she more likely to abandon/cannibalize her babies because she's young?
4. Is playing music while she's in the room OK?
5. Are hedgehogs fully grown at the age of 7 weeks? The pet store owner told me that she's done growing but I got a hedgehog book and the hedgehogs in the pictures are huge compared to her!
6. How fragile are hedgehogs? Like, their limbs and whatnot. She explores my boyfriend's bed, which is a mattress on the floor, and she always runs to the edge and tries to shimmy down. It worries me a lot... if she accidentally fell a few inches, could she be seriously injured? I'm assuming that she's very delicate.
7. How intelligent are hedgehogs? Can they learn their names? Online I found nothing regarding this and I *REALLY* want to know! Is her name (Penelope) perhaps too difficult for her to eventually learn? Also, do they bond with their owners? She seems to already know who I am, and she uncurls herself after a few seconds and wants to explore right away. If she was afraid of me would she stay curled up in a ball? When she's walking around, her quills are smooth for the most part, when I pet her she occasionally huffs but it seems like she does that out of surprise more than anything.
I'm sorry for all the questions, I promise that I have done my research, I'd just rather ask experienced owners "face to face" instead of just reading pages that aren't interactive. I might ask more if they come to me.