[logan09]

Well, where to begin. I got 2 hedgehogs on monday(for free), from one of my friends. I notice the female was pretty big(I kinda new she was pregnant). Well, I woke up Tuesday morning, and opened up the shoe box inside there cage to find 4 little babies(what I could see) and quickly closed it. I was not prepared for this to say the least. These are my first hedgehogs I have. I'm not new to pets though, having 9 tarantulas, 5 snakes, and 2 geckos. Even though the hedgehogs are nothing like them. My main concern, is that when I shine a flashlight in the box(has a red lens over it) I can see a couple babies in the corner, not by the mother. Is this bad? I would really like all of them to live. And I'm really pressured to open up the box to see if there all still alive( But I know I shouldn't). And should I be feeding her(the males in the cage to) some special foods? I bought some cat food called "taste of the wild" it has 42% protein, no grains, etc... Is this good? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks...
-Logan-

 

[Pickles90]

I would advise taking the male out of the cage ASAP to leave the female and babies in peace if you search the forum you can find the right food to be feeding a mother with new babies

Good luck!

 

[Lilysmommy]

Remove the male immediately, he will most likely kill the babies in order to mate with the female again. They should not be together at all in the future, even a few seconds is enough time for them to mate again. You will need a separate cage for him, with all of his own things (igloo, food/water bowls, wheel, etc.).
Next take the wheel (if there is one) out of the cage, then leave the mother alone. She could likely kill the babies herself if she is disturbed too much. If you can, make sure her cage is in a quiet room, away from main activity in the house. Avoid going into that room except to change the mom's food and water. You will need to keep minimal contact with her for the first two weeks.
The cat food you mentioned has too high of a protein. I think if she's on a food already that isn't one of the harmful hedgehogs foods, the only thing you should do with her food is add a bit of Babycat food, to give the mom extra fat to produce milk.
You can also contact Deneen (Hedgiepets) or Nancy on this forum, they are both experienced breeders and should be able to give you more help.

 

[logan09]

Well I removed the male, and upon doing so found 3 of the 4 babies dead(one was staying under the mother, and looked fine). I removed the dead ones. The male's rear leg was pretty cut up, my guess from the female? I hope the 1 makes it.

 

[nikki]

I'm sorry about the 3 that didn't make it and hope the best for the one that's left. Just follow the advice that's been given and make sure the male and female are never together again, not even for a second. Taking the 3 dead babies out was the right thing to do, but now you need to leave her completely alone for 10-14 days and just hope for the best.

You may want to bath the male to clean the cuts up...if they are bad he'll need to see a vet....if they aren't bad you can put some plain, not extra-strength or pain relief, polysporin on it..just make sure he doesn't make it worse.

 

[logan09]

Just on update. The baby doing great(getting big), and is starting to get some color. My question is, when do there eyes open? Its been 2 weeks now, is it ok for me to pick him up? BTW the males leg is doing really good.Also I dont know if this should be asked here, but what do these usually sale for? The reason I ask is, I would like to sale the male(only because I shouldn't keep them together). He's albino BTW.

 

[LizardGirl]

Glad to hear they are doing good! You can start handling briefly at two weeks if mom is okay with it.

"Common" colored hedgies usually go for 100-200. Albinos are sometimes sold for less because they are much harder to home, they are common and not many people want them...

 

[logan09]

"Common" colored hedgies usually go for 100-200. Albinos are sometimes sold for less because they are much harder to home, they are common and not many people want them...

Hmm.. Didn't know that. That's good to know. The female is "common" color along w/ the baby(looks like) which I like a lot better. Plus shes very "nice" and not extremely skittish like the male. Thanks for your reply.
-Logan-

 

[ILOVElily]

Glad to hear they are doing good! You can start handling briefly at two weeks if mom is okay with it.

"Common" colored hedgies usually go for 100-200. Albinos are sometimes sold for less because they are much harder to home, they are common and not many people want them...

Wait why are they hard to own? and why wouldn't people not want them they are beautiful!

 

[LizardGirl]

Not hard to own, hard to home. Hard to find homes for since a lot of people don't want them.