Hedgehogs pretty much choose their own sleep schedule. It's important to let them sleep during the day - you might see them come out for a quick bite to eat & you can say hello, or if you have a while where you'll just be hanging out, you can get her out IF she doesn't seem bothered, and if you let her sleep. Usually it's recommended to wait until the evening (at least 6-7 pm) before you get them out for bonding time, and the later you get them out, the more likely they are to be accepting of it rather than grumpy.

That all said, she'll be around quilling age, so she may be grumpy no matter what you do, so don't be surprised by that. Just keep handling her anyway and it'll be over sooner or later. And while you don't need to really regulate her sleep schedule, she does need a light schedule - she should have 12-14 hours of light during the day, and you'll want to use a lamp near or on the cage for that instead of depending on daylight (which can be too dark some days & during the winter doesn't last long enough). Not enough light leads to hibernation attempts. If you're concerned about remembering to turn the light on/off, you can get a timer at a home improvement or hardware store, or stores like Walmart.

Some hedgehogs like toilet paper tubes, just make sure that any that stay in the cage are cut length-wise to avoid her getting stuck. Some like small stuffed animals (make sure nothing can be chewed off) and will carry them around (or just knock them over). Some like dig boxes filled with fleece strips to burrow into, or dig boxes with medium aquarium stones that you can hide treats in. There's a lot more ideas in the Toys forum.

I'm glad you got Molly from a breeder. Pet stores aren't really a great thing to support, and even small mom-and-pop ones can have problems. I'm sorry you found that out the hard way with Lula.

Lastly, welcome to the forum! And if you haven't seen it yet, here's a fantastic care book that's free to download, written by one of the old mods from the forum - http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files/hedgehogbook/download.html Even though you already have hedgehog experience, it's great to have on hand and it's fun to read through even if you're an old hand.

 

Thank you so much! I was thinking that the light from the widows of my apartment would be enough, but I have a lamp that I can use. I will also be setting up her ceramic heat emitter tonight Took longer to arrive than a I thought.

Also thanks for all the toy ideas. Lula was not much of a digger but I can already tell that Molly is. I have been working on litter training but I think she thinks her "Fresh News" filled litter box is for digging Any thoughts on treats that can be left in the cage all night and into the day? I don't want anything to go bad.

My goal is to be the best hedgie mom that I can be. While I know WHS is genetic, I still blame myself for what happened to Lula.

 

Try not to feel too guilty about Lula. I know it's hard, but remember - she was lucky enough to go home with you, and I'm sure she had an amazing life with you, and was well cared for when she didn't feel well. She couldn't have asked for more than that.

These are some of the treats I used with Lily - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/10708-cat-dog-treats-safe-hedgies.html Lily's favorite of the ones listed was the Wellness jerky. The Pure Bites brand also has freeze-dried chicken, beef liver, and...some kind of fish, I forget. I mentioned in the link that I was concerned by the high protein, but I think now that's less of a concern than the freeze-dried part, since too much of anything freeze-dried can cause dehydration and possible constipation or impactions.

While I'm not sure on how long these can be left out (and they're a bit messy to hide around the cage), these were Lily's favorite treats, hands down - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4390190 If Molly seems to like meat once you start trying out different treats, those might be a hit with her too! They never stayed in the cage longer than a few minutes, Lily would smell them and wake out of a dead sleep to come eat them. :lol:

Mealworms would be difficult to hide in the cage since they'd move around, but I used to freeze crickets, then thaw them out for a minute & hide them in Lily's cage along with mealworm pupae and the treats in the first link. I had a stone dig box, plus several silk aquarium plants, and a few other small toys/stuffed animals and would hide the treats behind, on, or near those things. I also had Amazon.com: Super Pet Habitat Defined Enrichment Pod, Hide N' Go Treat: Pet Supplies and always hid a cricket in that. After a few times of leaving the cricket half-out or with at least a leg sticking out, I could hide the cricket all the way behind the door & she'd push it aside to grab the treat. The crickets are the only thing that would be kind of iffy to leave out after one night, but I never had much of a problem with that - Lily loved them & usually made a couple rounds of her cage as soon as I put her back in for the night to get them all.

You could also use small pieces of cooked chicken, turkey, or fruits/veggies to hide around the cage. They probably wouldn't be good to leave in there longer than just the night, but if you find something she likes, I'm sure once she gets the hang of finding treats around the cage, they won't stay out all night anyway! Just make sure to introduce treats one at a time so you can watch for allergic reactions.

(Sorry my responses are so long! I like talking about Lily & her find-the-treats game. )

 

Love the idea of the enrichment pod! Yay for bird toys! I actually have one somewhere but it is defiantly more for a bird.

Never even thought about the aquarium plants. I have some on hand some where.

Can you freeze meal worms? I have those on hand at the moment. Gonna be honest...crickets freak me out. They jump...and I don't want them running around by apt.

And talk about Lily all you want. I almost named Molly Lily...and I am serious about that.

 

Hehe, Lily's a good name!

You're not alone, a lot of people on here are pretty freaked out by crickets. If you're really afraid of them, it's not going to hurt anything to not use them. But you don't have to handle them alive or let them out around your apartment. Usually it's best to gutload them with some veggies when you first get them - but to be honest, I forgot to sometimes & just stuck the bag of them in the freezer. If you want to gut load, you can leave them in the bag or container that you bring them home from the pet store in, and just slip a piece of carrot or whatever veggie in to the bag quickly, then close it again before they escape. Then after a day or so, pop the bag in the freezer to freeze them over night!

However, if you'd rather avoid them completely, that's understandable. I'm not sure if you can freeze mealworms, really, I never tried it. I know when mealworms die, they go black pretty quickly & I'm not sure if freezing would do the same. You could try it with a couple and see what happens? I know I've seen another person discuss roasting bugs (mealworms, crickets and roaches) in her oven, and I'm guessing she probably froze them first to kill them.

 

I found crickets in a can at petsmart yesterday. They are not frozen or freeze dried! You take out one or two and put the rest into the fridge. I have to admit I was kinda grossed out, especially when Penny started chewing on it's head, but the way she attacked it was kinda funny! I was worried about her choking, she was scarfing so fast and furiously! She would have to eat it fairly quickly because if left out too long they can rancid. We fed hers to her when she was good and awake.