I'm hoping to be accepted soon, and am taking my little girl with me. I have living arrangements made though, and will be double checking dorm polocies just incase. Extra knowledge never hurts. I also agree with whats been said already. Hedgies are fun, and my little girl is a great stress buster. Give them a new toy, play with them or just cuddle and study. They'll make you laugh garuntee. Being silly, trying to be sneaky or extra smart, or being super cute sleepers all get me smiling.
One thing I'd like to mention though is housing. If you have the hedgie in the dorm you have to make sure its house/cage is well equiped with a heater that will stay at a constant tempurature. And if you can help it do not place the house/cage any where near a window. The draft from the window can make things very cold for your little roomate. Speaking of room mates, if you're sharing a dorm room or renting a place with others, make sure they are also okay with you owning hedgie. Make sure either way that they accept it as YOUR responsibility. Check too, to make sure if they own a pet as well before taking up residence. It shouldnt be a problem, but just in case. It is also nice to know, and good to consider when trying to find a good place for the house/cage. Big curious puppies sniffing aroudn can scare a new hedgie, and cats sitting on the top of the cage really annoys mine.
Another thing to consider when thinking about housing is a noise factor
My hedgie is an afternoon-late night girl. You can, and I recomend adjusting critters time clock to work with your schedual, this can be done by regular handling, feeding and play durring day. However! Hedgie still may like to shuffle around at night, and if the house is in your room you should be aware, it might keep you up but I'm mostly just giving you a heads up because you may want to take out certain noisey toys. At least until you get them adjusted to your time schedual. And DONT get a metal wheel. There isn't anything wrong as far as safety goes, but mine makes a real racket when luna gets her jog on. She also likes to push and root around the wheel, which then hits the cage sides etc. They also take lubricating it, vasline is what I've been recomended. Its just extra hassle.
You can also litter train hedgies (some take it better than others) and also paper train them, I find that the hedgies I get are already paper trained which is a bonus from the breeder.
Too, you've probably read hedgies like their bugs! You can get live bugs from bait stores (which I find are cheaper) or pet stores. From experience I find krikets kind of smell funny, and they chirp and make noise. I get meal worms from the pet store and here they're about $4 four a little tub of 100 worms. You dont feed all 100 worms to hedgie in one sitting, they're treats. So you'll need a good idea of where you're going to keep creepy crawlies. If you want them alive its got to be a warm place. Feeding them isn't a biggy if you're scared of them, I use tweezers.
ALSO from experience I've learnt that its best to know where a vet that will treat exotics is. Just in case!!!!!!!! When my first hedgie got sick I was stuck in a panic over a holdiay weekend. No one was open and the nearest one was almost three hours way. So just to be safe, its good to know.
Also, vets can be a good source of knowledge, another reference if you're still looking.
A good thing about rooming with others and having a hedgie is they dont produce much dander, so your allergic friend doesnt have to worry so much.
One last thing I think I should mention is Hedgehog Proofing. Your little pal will enjoy exploring the surroundings, thats not a bad thing. But you do need to hedgie proof things so they dont get hurt. The same way you would rabbit proof, or hamster proof a room. And always supervise them while they're outside their cage!!! An extra saftey tool I use is a large ferret ball. These are like the hamster balls except they are big enough to suit the way the hedgie is built, they have a different spine design than rodents. And the slits in the ball are large enough not to catch little nails and still small enough not to let the whole little foot out. These balls are hard plastic and protect hedgie from inquisitive kitties, and sniffing puppes. They also prevent your little buddy from getting in or under any crevice you might not be able to coax them out of easily. Just watch the stairs! And they're cleanable, the same way the wheel is. Some hot water and a little bit of dish soap and a little scrubbing.
Having said all that, I think a hedgehog is a great pet. Especially if you've researched for over a year now. Thats excellent!! Know what you're getting into before you get in to it. And you certainly came to the right place here, haha a jackpot everybody here knows a lot, and what we dont know we ask and learn from others here. If you get a hedgehog you should really stay as a site member here, you'll have available help 24/7. Hope I was helpful!
One thing I'd like to mention though is housing. If you have the hedgie in the dorm you have to make sure its house/cage is well equiped with a heater that will stay at a constant tempurature. And if you can help it do not place the house/cage any where near a window. The draft from the window can make things very cold for your little roomate. Speaking of room mates, if you're sharing a dorm room or renting a place with others, make sure they are also okay with you owning hedgie. Make sure either way that they accept it as YOUR responsibility. Check too, to make sure if they own a pet as well before taking up residence. It shouldnt be a problem, but just in case. It is also nice to know, and good to consider when trying to find a good place for the house/cage. Big curious puppies sniffing aroudn can scare a new hedgie, and cats sitting on the top of the cage really annoys mine.
Another thing to consider when thinking about housing is a noise factor
My hedgie is an afternoon-late night girl. You can, and I recomend adjusting critters time clock to work with your schedual, this can be done by regular handling, feeding and play durring day. However! Hedgie still may like to shuffle around at night, and if the house is in your room you should be aware, it might keep you up but I'm mostly just giving you a heads up because you may want to take out certain noisey toys. At least until you get them adjusted to your time schedual. And DONT get a metal wheel. There isn't anything wrong as far as safety goes, but mine makes a real racket when luna gets her jog on. She also likes to push and root around the wheel, which then hits the cage sides etc. They also take lubricating it, vasline is what I've been recomended. Its just extra hassle. You can also litter train hedgies (some take it better than others) and also paper train them, I find that the hedgies I get are already paper trained which is a bonus from the breeder.
Too, you've probably read hedgies like their bugs! You can get live bugs from bait stores (which I find are cheaper) or pet stores. From experience I find krikets kind of smell funny, and they chirp and make noise. I get meal worms from the pet store and here they're about $4 four a little tub of 100 worms. You dont feed all 100 worms to hedgie in one sitting, they're treats. So you'll need a good idea of where you're going to keep creepy crawlies. If you want them alive its got to be a warm place. Feeding them isn't a biggy if you're scared of them, I use tweezers.
ALSO from experience I've learnt that its best to know where a vet that will treat exotics is. Just in case!!!!!!!! When my first hedgie got sick I was stuck in a panic over a holdiay weekend. No one was open and the nearest one was almost three hours way.
So just to be safe, its good to know.Also, vets can be a good source of knowledge, another reference if you're still looking.
A good thing about rooming with others and having a hedgie is they dont produce much dander, so your allergic friend doesnt have to worry so much.
One last thing I think I should mention is Hedgehog Proofing. Your little pal will enjoy exploring the surroundings, thats not a bad thing. But you do need to hedgie proof things so they dont get hurt. The same way you would rabbit proof, or hamster proof a room. And always supervise them while they're outside their cage!!! An extra saftey tool I use is a large ferret ball. These are like the hamster balls except they are big enough to suit the way the hedgie is built, they have a different spine design than rodents. And the slits in the ball are large enough not to catch little nails and still small enough not to let the whole little foot out. These balls are hard plastic and protect hedgie from inquisitive kitties, and sniffing puppes. They also prevent your little buddy from getting in or under any crevice you might not be able to coax them out of easily. Just watch the stairs! And they're cleanable, the same way the wheel is. Some hot water and a little bit of dish soap and a little scrubbing.
Having said all that, I think a hedgehog is a great pet. Especially if you've researched for over a year now. Thats excellent!! Know what you're getting into before you get in to it. And you certainly came to the right place here, haha a jackpot everybody here knows a lot, and what we dont know we ask and learn from others here. If you get a hedgehog you should really stay as a site member here, you'll have available help 24/7. Hope I was helpful!
