[Bookgobbler]

Hi everyone,

So I have been stalking this site for a couple of months now first to get more information to see if hedgehogs and I were a good fit and then later to prepare for my new baby Tama. I got her this past Saturday and I have a few concerns and mostly am just looking for opinions or ways I can do things better.

At this point I have her cage set up with water bowl and water bottle in one corner of the cage and on the other side of the cage (diagonally) I have her kibble bowl. Is this too far? I read somewhere that they are not likely to do their bathroom business where the food is kept and I wanted to make sure that she wouldn't burrow under the liner. The other corners are have a giant ferret corner litter box and her igloo.

That leads to the next question. I know she is still settling down but she eats very little (have yet to actually count, will do that tonight) but I know she drinks the water b/c I replace it every day when I get home from work b4 she wakes up and there are little crumbs in the water. In the morning when I go to check on her, her wheel has only a few poops (maybe 3-5) but there is a urine stain on the paper towels under the wheel.

I gave her a mini bath yesterday b/c of the trip home she had urine/vomit/poop all over herself and was smelling very badly and also she has been losing a lot of quills here and there. I did not do the whole soap issue but did put oatmeal in the bath and did some flaxseed oil for the rinse to help with the quilling. She did not soil the bath water but she pooped right on the first drying towel I had for her... :roll: but as I was cleaning up the supplies I took a closer look at the poop... it was brown but as I opened it up a bit (trying to wipe it off) it was a bit green on the inside and was very stringy/fibrous... is that normal? is this still part of the dreaded green slimy poop? Did I rush her too much?

Last question for now, she has not once used the litter box. I am very happy to say that the only mess she makes is on the wheel and on the paper towels under the wheel but I keep it in there hoping. But it takes up a lot of space and if she doesn't plan on using it, I would rater remove it and give her more room to roam. Of course, right now she doesn't eat much in general so that means not that much poop to go around... she has yet to poop on me since I brought her home from the breeder.

Sorry for all of the questions but I want what is best for Tama.

(info on baby: personality - very good, age: ~6 weeks)

 

[Ahava]

Hey! First of all, congratulations on your new hedgie!
Unfortunately, I can only offer advice on the litter box thing. If you want her to start using the litter box, try taking some of her old poop and putting it into the litter box. This will help get the smell there and if there is already poop in the litter box, she will smell it and maybe go there again (as a creature of habit).

My hedgie was really easy to train to use a litter box, so hopefully this helps.
Congrats on Tama. I can't wait to see pictures of her!

 

[Zalea]

If there's kibble in the water, it's probably not too far apart. How much of a distance would you say is between them if you measured?

Some hedgies eat very little. Is it the same food she was on at the breeder's? She probably just needs a little time to settle in. You'll find out what her normal eating habits are. How much is she eating now?

Green poop is normal for a few days. The stress of moving plus changes in water, food, etc. can cause upset tummies. As long as it's firm and clears up in a few days there shouldn't be a problem. Just keep an eye out and if it goes on for longer than a week or so, a vet checkup might be in order.

She probably will never use the litter box. Most people compromise and put the litter box under the wheel so that droppings can run off into it. I just use a paper towel instead of an actual box. The box in the corner probably will never be used--as a litter pan, anyway; you could probably put fleece strips in it for a dig box if you wanted to do so.

Congratulations on your little girl. It sounds like she's settling in well.

 

[hedgielover]

For the first month I had Quigley he hardly ate anything (3 kibbles/night), he still eats very little but is up to 10-20 kibbles per night. Counting or massing the food will help a lot. If you have an accurate kitchen food scale massing is easy. Measure it before you give your girl the food and again in the morning. The difference if how much she ate. You should have an idea of how many kibbles there are per gram so that you can compare it to what people say on here (most count so talk in # of kibbles rather than measurements) I find massing easier, more accurate and faster.

I've always offered the same amount of food no mater how little of it Quigley eats. There is the occasional chance that he decides he's really hungry and eats the whole 1 1/2 tbls (15 grams, 75 kibbles).

A note about poop, if I understood your post right her poop that you noticed the green in was somewhat soft. If the green does go away but the poop continues to be soft it is a hint that her diet might be too high in animal protein. Wellness for instance is too rich by itself and works better if paired with a food that has more veggies and grains in the ingredients.

 

[Bookgobbler]

Thanks for the suggestions.

She ate 3 pcs of kibble last night a few others were lightly nibbled on.
To be on the safe side, I moved the water closer to the kibble.

I have been trying to get poop into her litter box for the past few days but since those are "on demand" I have only managed to get 2 itty bitty pcs in there and those were from the wheel when I was able to scrape some off after soaking it a bit in hot water... do you think that is still enough to give her the idea? I know only some end up learning to use it but I am fine with the situation right now as is with just the wheel. I'm just trying to find better ways to arrange the cage setup so she has more space and if that means getting rid of the litter pan, that's fine also.

new: last night I took her out for our nightly bonding and she smelled horrible, I gave her a bath on monday night and I am trying to limit stressful situations since at this point just taking her out to bond is stressful enough (she's always sleeping so I have to wake her up from a sound sleep to bond) but she smells like she really needs another one but I also don't want to dry out her skin. any suggestions? should I just put up with it until a while has gone by?

 

[hedgielover]

Did she smell like pee or poo or did she smell more like something she'd anoint with. If the first then she is probably having droppings fall on her when she uses the wheel and that is making her dirty. If the second try not to give her messy treats that she anoints with. Instead of giving a full bath I would try just wiping her quills with a damp cloth, if she will let you.

 

[Bookgobbler]

I'm not exactly sure what she smelled of. I'm still pretty new at this and not familiar with all her scents yet. I have yet to see actual annointing and I tried to keep the new smells to a minimum since she just moved. I did put in a worn t-shirt the night before to help her get used to my scent. And I have seen videos of a towel/sock being enough to annoint on.

She's quilling a lot right now, do you think she would be in more pain if I rubbed her down with a wet towel?

also, new question (sorry everyone!). I have been doing a lot of searching about the topic of bonding but with her quilling and all, I have been trying to just carry her in the t-shirt/fleece blanket to my lap and let her settle how she wants and keeping petting to a minimum or to her forehead if she'll let me. my problem though is that she's still a baby and sleeps a lot. I try to let her gradually know that I'm there and about to pick her up but she never wants to wake fully so I feel like I might be scaring her when I pick her up or her snuggle blanket suddenly moves with her in it. any ideas on how to make it a bit easier on her?

 

[hedgielover]

Rubbing with the towell might be a problem because of the quilling. I've never had a baby so I don't know much about quilling (nothing first hand). A foot bath might help to get rid of some of smell but I wouldn't give a full bath yet. From what I've read it dries their natural oils too much to do it more than once every week or two.

 

[Zalea]

Could you explain a little more what you mean by "she never wants to wake fully"? Do you mean just when you try to gently wake her or that she's always groggy while you're trying to interact?

If you mean she's always groggy, you could have a temperature problem. I'm assuming you meant when you try to wake her gently.

When it comes to opening blankets/sacks, just do it slowly and gently. She'll be a little startled, but that's normal because they're not sure what you are. Let her smell your hand then take her out for more interaction.

During quilling oatmeal baths really help. While you shouldn't do it nightly, if she really seems to be uncomfortable every few days you can give her another oatmeal bath. The oatmeal helps the quills come through a little more easily, and it shouldn't dry out the skin much in the two weeks or so that you'd be doing it, especially with a flaxseed rinse to help. Try bathing twice a week during quilling, but not much more than that.

Rubbing with a towel is really going to hurt so avoid that.

 

[Bookgobbler]

I'm pretty sure it's not the temp. I have a heat emitter set up with the thermostat thing and also a digital thermometer that keeps me up to date.

I have the blinds open all day long so as long as it is sunny outside, she's getting her req hrs of sun. would that be part of the problem?

although, this past Sat she had a vet visit and so she was up around 11:30-1:30 and since then she has been waking up around 10. I have no idea how it all relates but I'm happy with it.

ps. I think she's about done quilling for now, I've been holding her and letting her sleep on the couch with me and have noticed fewer quills being left behind afterwards. hurrah!