[christine.]

Instead of buying an igloo or other little home to go within my future hedgehogs cage, I am thinking of building it one.

My main concern/question is what wood to use, because I know that there are a lot of guide lines with bedding and i assume there would be just as many rules to go along with wood choice, I dont want my baby to get sick!!

Also any tips or experience shared would be great!

 

[dorasdaddy]

I would nix the wood idea, it is very hard to clean and can harbor mites

 

[christine.]

darn, I was hoping there was a cured wood out there that would be safe and not have mites.

would a cardboard box work well?

 

[FiaSpice]

would a cardboard box work well?

Yes, some people use tissue boxes with the plasic removed.

 

[LizardGirl]

Large tissue boxes or shoe boxes (as long as they don't smell very strongly) are great substitutes to the igloo, especially because hedgies like it dark.

 

[christine.]

Awesome I just got a pair of shoes that came in a smaller box, probably about 1inch wider and 3-4inches longer than a standard kleenex box. I will try using that.

are there any suggested ways for decorating it at all?

 

[LizardGirl]

You can cover it with a piece of fleece, other than that, I wouldn't trust any paint or markers or anything like that around a curious hedgie.

 

[silvercat]

I gave Sylvie a tissue box & she loved it! She dug & dug at the cardboard all night (well the fleece in the cardboard). One downfall was when she dug past the fleece & was just digging at the bottom of the box - very loud! :? I had to cut one side (what was the bottom when in her cage) out of the box so I could sleep.

 

[christine.]

Well maybe I will use the box, and just use the open top of the box, as the bottom.
The look of the box isnt too important to me, I wouldnt want to decorate it and then have my hedgehog get sick

thank you all so much for the advice

 

[dorasdaddy]

and remember, that box will only last a week or two most likely....they are disposable, and watch out for chewing, and if you see any evidence remove it so the little one doesnt cause himself a bowel obstruction.