[chocolav]

I'm a newbie mother of two hedgies, Cappucino and Cheddar. Ccino is a boy and Che is a girl. Both are christmas gifts from friends last Dec. 12, 2015. They were bought from a random petshop in Cartimar(I'm from the Philippines) and were told to be about 5mos. They were neglected that much I can tell as they have tattered ears and mites. Their previous diet was some crappy flower/star shaped dry cat kibble. I've already changed their dry food to Whole Earth Grain free Turkey and Duck kibble which I get from Bow and Wow at less than 700php or 13-14$ Per 1.1lbs. I bathe them with oatmeal wash, organic kiddie shampoo and vit E rinse. So far, the dryness of their skin has improved a bit though I think Ccino is in quilling stage but he is supposedly 5-6 mos by now. I don't know how to deal with their mites issue since I've never used wood shavings on them only clothes or paper and the vet check up ranges from 2000-3500php (42-74$) per hedgie. Also, I've notice some flaky grayish growth on Che's face which wasn't there when I got her. It is not painful but it bled one time. They are still active, eats/drinks well, poops and pees regularly. I am still a student so I can't afford that kind of vet fees yet.

Can anyone please help me? Any advice? I want to get them as healthy as possible so they can be with me for as long as possible. I love them to bits.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will reply!

Sorry if there are grammatical or spelling errors.

Photos of my hedgren.

 

[twobytwopets]

If you suspect mites, they go to the vet. It also a good idea to do a vet visit early in having them just to make sure everything is ok to begin with.
In the pet store were they housed individually, or were they in cages with other hedgehogs? If their was another hedgehog in with Che, plan on the possibility of her having babies from day one until 55 days from the time you know for certain she wasn't near a male.
They need seperate cages that are both escape proof and need to be kept seperate during bonding time, breeding only takes a second.

 

[Leeloosmommy]

... I think the white one looks to have skin problem and need to see a vet quick. It is not because he doesn't show pain that he is not. They are good to hide pain. To me, he looks verry uncomfortable, the damage skin seems to go even around his eyes.... Maybe your family or the peoples who gave them to you can help pay the vet bill?

 

[nikki]

Che looks like she could have a skin infection or even a fungal infection. You're going to have to get her to the vet to find out what it is and get medicine to treat it.

 

[nuttylover]

Welcome to the forum! I am also from the Philippines, and so feel free to message me

I would have a vet check them both out. The only vets that I trust here are Dr. Siday and Dr. Donato. Both are from Vets in Practice, in which case they have branches at Mandaluyong, Quezon City and at Alabang. Treatment for mites is revolution. Either vet will do a skin scraping.

Also please do not forget to quarantine both of them. That is to ensure that they will not pass any diseases from one to the other. Also, just like what the others have stated, you need to be on baby watch as most hedgehogs in Cartimar are housed together - meaning the girl might be pregnant already.

 

[nuttylover]

Also, vet check-up will not cost that much for one hedgehog here. Believe me as I have taken both my rescue and my baby who came from the breeder regularly to the vet. It would take 500 pesos (10 dollars) for a consultation, and for a skin scraping it would take 280 pesos for a dosage of Revolution (5 dollars). For the fungal, I am sorry but I am not entirely sure how that will go. It would depend on the vet on how they would treat it, and so yes the hedgehog who has it would cost a bit much than the other.

 

[chocolav]

If you suspect mites, they go to the vet. It also a good idea to do a vet visit early in having them just to make sure everything is ok to begin with.
In the pet store were they housed individually, or were they in cages with other hedgehogs? If their was another hedgehog in with Che, plan on the possibility of her having babies from day one until 55 days from the time you know for certain she wasn't near a male.
They need seperate cages that are both escape proof and need to be kept seperate during bonding time, breeding only takes a second.

My friend said that both were housed with other hedgies so I decided to house them in one cage. Che gets really restless and can't sleep without Ccino.

 

[twobytwopets]

Physically, that is a really bad idea.
Hedgehogs are induced ovulators. The male basically makes the female ovulate. Without the male no ovulation. Keeping that and the fact that they are solitary animals in mind, her body isn't meant to go through ovulation over and over.
Then you add in the fact that they will do what males and females do, you will have a big problem. No creature on earth is supposed to be constantly pregnant. Pregnancy depletes bodies of their stored vitamins and minerals. And you may never see babies keeping them housed together, because they will be eaten.
So she gets restless and won't sleep without him. Give her a stuffed animal and she will most likely adjust. Allowing her to constantly be pregnant, she won't be physically healthy.

Adding to that point, when you house multiple hedgehogs together you cannot monitor their food or water intake, and if one has bowel or urinary issues you don't know who it is unless they go on you or you seperate them.

 

[chocolav]

Physically, that is a really bad idea.
Hedgehogs are induced ovulators. The male basically makes the female ovulate. Without the male no ovulation. Keeping that and the fact that they are solitary animals in mind, her body isn't meant to go through ovulation over and over.
Then you add in the fact that they will do what males and females do, you will have a big problem. No creature on earth is supposed to be constantly pregnant. Pregnancy depletes bodies of their stored vitamins and minerals. And you may never see babies keeping them housed together, because they will be eaten.
So she gets restless and won't sleep without him. Give her a stuffed animal and she will most likely adjust. Allowing her to constantly be pregnant, she won't be physically healthy.

Adding to that point, when you house multiple hedgehogs together you cannot monitor their food or water intake, and if one has bowel or urinary issues you don't know who it is unless they go on you or you seperate them.

Thank you so much! I will work on giving them separate housing as soon as possible. I don't want her to get pregnant anymore because I think she is since her nipples are a bit engorged(crossing fingers she isn't). I will also buy or make stuff toys for them. Also about temperature issues, I live in a tropical country so should I be worried about the temperature?

 

[Artemis]

You should read as much as you can about breeding on this forum because most likely you will end up with babies and if not prepared, they can be killed by the parents.

 

[nikki]

She's probably pregnant already and you need to separate them right away. If she gives birth with him in the cage either he or she will kill the babies. If she's been with the male for a while now she may have already had at least one litter that was killed and eaten.

 

[chocolav]

You should read as much as you can about breeding on this forum because most likely you will end up with babies and if not prepared, they can be killed by the parents.

Will do! Thanks )