[Chippiesmom]

Hello all,
My hedgie is almost a year old and I have had her since she was a little over a month or so old. I did take care of her as a little baby as well when her mom was with her but now she's just with me. I've run through some issues with her cage and her toys. When she was with her parents in their cage they had one of those silent spinner wheels. Her parents loved this wheel and would run in it every chance they got. However they would poo all over it. I just bought the wheel for my hedgie a few months ago and as suspected she loves it! She runs on it all night long and into the early morning. My main issue is that like her parents she poos on the wheel and her feet always end up dirty and gross. I was wondering if it would be bad to put a little bath sort of thing for her to play in so as to prevent from having to clean her a few times a week. Is that a bad idea? Also I heard that putting large rocks in their cage helps them trim down their nails. Is this a good idea? Thanks!

 

[funkybee]

Well unfortunatly ALL hedgies poop on their wheels like that, cleaning poopy feet all the time just comes with the territory. As far as providing a foot bath for her in her cage I'm not sure but it seems to me that you would run the risk of her getting wet and cold and possibly entering hibernation as a result. That being said she probably wouldn't even use it since I have a water dish for mine that he could climb into if he wanted at he never has(he sits in his food bowl though lol)

 

[anna m]

Yes they do poo on their wheels as they run
they can use a wheel from about 3 months of age

what I found to be of help is put the wheel in a cat litter tray
put lots of Chinchilla sand in the tray and sit wheel on top

they love to poo and wee in the sand and you just scop it up
change the sand every week but clean it every day

this sand will also clean the feet of all poo
they love it

 

[LizardGirl]

Water wouldn't be good because once he gets wet, he'll get too cold. Sand is also not a good idea, especially very dusty sand (like chinchilla dust) because it sticks to a hedgie's moist nose and can cause problems when inhaled. It also can dry out the skin much faster, and hedgies are prone to that.

 

[krbshappy71]

Ah, POOPY BOOTS, the true joy of ownie a hedgie.

Mine get a very quick shallow foot bath when needed for poopy boots. Not a full bath, just enough to rub their little feet clean and see if the nails are getting long. Can also try baby wipes on their feet before you handle them but they are pretty squirmy when doing that.

 

[hedgielover]

Silent spinners are also the worst wheel for cleaning and are not really that safe. The slit between the coloured plastic to the white part is just big enough to get a toe nail stuck. Also there have been injuries and deaths from the wheel falling on the hedgehog. The most recommended wheels are a calkwalk style wheel, bucket wheel, comfort wheel, and flying saucer wheel.

The easiest ones to clean seem to be the calkwalk and the flying saucer. I love the flying saucer and I don't find that Quigley gets very poopy feet while running on it.

 

[krbshappy71]

Riley gets very poopy feet on flying saucer but it is SO EASY to clean! I don't have to wash the base every time, just pull off the top disk piece. I only wash the base once a week. Two flying saucer disks fit in my smaller bathroom sink, very handy.

 

[hedgielover]

Riley gets very poopy feet on flying saucer but it is SO EASY to clean! I don't have to wash the base every time, just pull off the top disk piece. I only wash the base once a week. Two flying saucer disks fit in my smaller bathroom sink, very handy.

Hmm, another case of all hedgehogs being different.

 

[anna m]

Water wouldn't be good because once he gets wet, he'll get too cold. Sand is also not a good idea, especially very dusty sand (like chinchilla dust) because it sticks to a hedgie's moist nose and can cause problems when inhaled. It also can dry out the skin much faster, and hedgies are prone to that.

I puy up a post on another forum about chinchilla sand and no one has had any problems with it. None at all

 

[nationofamanda]

there is nothing you can do about poop boots but learn to find them cute (as i have) and not mind wiping their feet clean every few days with a moist cloth (as i do)

if you hate hate hate cleaning the wheel (as others have said, that wheel is generally deemed unsafe for hedgies...) a smoothed surfaced wheel is easier to clean, look into one of those.

also, like most info regarding hedgies, a lot of stuff is unknown...but it is a fact that they have really sensitive respiratory systems. the dust that is fine for chins is not going to work for hedgehogs.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

They might not have known of the dangers of sand on the other forums. From stories I read when I was researching it can cause problems when getting into their lungs where the hedgie has later come down with pnemonia because of the foreign particles in their lungs. I also read where hedgies have gotten them stuck in private area. In one case it was very unnoticable but the hedgie later died from a septic infection that went throughout his whole body. I understand some things can be freak accidents but I read enough personal accounts that ended disastrously that there is no way I want sand anywhere near mine. I wish I had saved all the links where I read these but at the time I didnt think to do it, you may be able to find them again with google. To me its just easier to let mine have his papertowel litter and if he ever gets messy to just wash his feet in the sink. There is very little risk that way.

 

[nikki]

I know when we had chins that the dust would make me sneeze and make it hard to breathe..it also made my skin dry and itcy..I would worry it would do the same to a hedgie, especially over time.