[joshbur]

i know baby hedgehogs sleep most of the time hes 12 weeks old as of today but he would still run around and explore when let out of his cage now he just stays in one spot and wont move been like this for two days he sleeps in his house comes out eats and drinks and gos back to sleep hes very inactive also ive noticed quills here n there i thought they quilled at a earlier age im pretty sure hes just quilling he scratches alot though what has me so concerned is before this started i added extra room to his cage added new bedding same material also i got him purina kitten chow i had a jar of food that come with the hedgie when i purchased him cause of the food change and bedding change is why i am so concerned this is my first hedgie ive spent alot of time researching them does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Immortalia]

What is his cage temperature at?

Does he come out at night? Have you noticed a poopy wheel in the morning? Since they are nocturnal, there's a good chance that he's been coming out at night when you're asleep. I know my boy doesn't come out unless he has COMPLETE darkness.

 

[joshbur]

hes not used his wheel for the last two nights he only comes out to eat and drink hes eating and drinking just fine he has a snugglesafe microwaveable heat disc maybe this is why he only comes out to drink and eat? usually when let out of his cage hes just running all over the place but for the last two nights he just sits in one place overall room temp stays around 70 as long as hes eating its not the food change having this affect ?

 

[Hedgiepets]

70º is not warm enough for him. He needs to be at least 72º and some do better at 75º. The snuggle safe disk does warm the whole cage, just where he is sleeping.

 

[joshbur]

i put a extra space heater in the room with sonic set him in the floor he sat there for about 2 minutes then he took off across the room seems alittle more energetic tonight so i guess i need to get a heat lamp? thought i could keep the overall room temp comfortable for all of us guess not lol

 

[Zalea]

You either need a ceramic heat emitter that doesn't put out light with a temperature regulator (the CHE plugs into them to shut them off when they hit the set temperature) or to use the space heater (also with a temperature control) all the time. The temperature needs to be a constant 72-80 degrees--even a 5 degree fluctuation can cause the symptoms you describe, which weakens the immune system every time it happens.

Hedgehogs begin to quill from 8-12 weeks; some will only quill a week or two, some will quill for months. A hedgie's skin gets dry and scratchy during this time; an oatmeal bath will help--BUT not until after he's been at a steady temperature for a few days. Bathing him now could cause him to get sick.