So I have had an albino female for a few months now. She is hilarious! I bought everything in the world, but she's just a bit of a brat.
I bought her a wheel that she refused to even go near. Ended up taking it back because it was just using up her space. Her favorite toys are toilet paper rolls cut once long ways, and a cat toy ball with a bell inside of it. I'd heard a lot of people tell me to try a stuffed animal, but she didn't care about that either. She gets her exercise by running around our enclosed pool cage. She loves it out there! She interacts very little with the dog and cat, they pretty much all ignore each other.
A lot of people warn against using wood shavings as bedding, but I switched over to Carefresh, and honestly, there's just as much dust from that as there was from the pine shavings when I clean out the cage. People also say not to use aquariums, but that's what she liked best. It's the only one she'd even think about coming out and running around in. Granted, I used a 55 Gal tank so she'd have room, but she loves it. And it's not tough to clean at all, really. Also, I ended up adding a cement block that I put her food and water bowls on. This forces her to walk across it to get to them, helping keep her nails trimmed. (Although she does sometimes squeeze on the side and just stick her head up high enough to reach, see above brat comment.
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While I'm not going to claim to know any more than anyone in here, I definitely believe this site to be a WONDERFUL source of information. I would just suggest for new owners to be ready for some trial and error with bedding, toys, etc. After all, it is all about making YOUR hedgie happy. Experiment with a few things and see what they react to best. And to those whose hedgie's use a litter box, you're lucky. Acacia won't touch one. She avoids it like the black plague (or the wheel I'd bought her. :lol: )
A lot of people warn against using wood shavings as bedding, but I switched over to Carefresh, and honestly, there's just as much dust from that as there was from the pine shavings when I clean out the cage. People also say not to use aquariums, but that's what she liked best. It's the only one she'd even think about coming out and running around in. Granted, I used a 55 Gal tank so she'd have room, but she loves it. And it's not tough to clean at all, really. Also, I ended up adding a cement block that I put her food and water bowls on. This forces her to walk across it to get to them, helping keep her nails trimmed. (Although she does sometimes squeeze on the side and just stick her head up high enough to reach, see above brat comment.
While I'm not going to claim to know any more than anyone in here, I definitely believe this site to be a WONDERFUL source of information. I would just suggest for new owners to be ready for some trial and error with bedding, toys, etc. After all, it is all about making YOUR hedgie happy. Experiment with a few things and see what they react to best. And to those whose hedgie's use a litter box, you're lucky. Acacia won't touch one. She avoids it like the black plague (or the wheel I'd bought her. :lol: )