[Fraido]

My hedgie was recently bred, my mentor has been breeding hedgies successfully for many years now, but I figure asking non-emergent questions on here is a good way to get some more action on the forums!

So, she was taken for three weeks, and while I think it's a little bit long, my guy pairs them for the whole three weeks. I just got her back today and am wondering what sort of signs I should be looking for, and any tips the lovely people of Hedgehog Central can offer me! Aside from what my mentor recommends, I want your opinions on what's best as well!

 

[Petlover500]

Have you seen the stickied topics?
They are really good, if you haven't already I recommend checking them out!

 

[Fraido]

Yes I have! I was just hoping I could get some of everybody's opinions here. After all, what's the point of being able to post on the forums if you just want people to read stickies?

 

[nikki]

The reason to have a mentor is to be able to ask them theses questions. If you read the forum this question has been answered many times.

 

[Fraido]

As I said in my original post, I wanted to become more active on the forum, that is why I brought my question here, and I'm not going to do that by just going through everyone else's posts for my answers. What is the point of signing up when you ask a question and ask for tips and just get told to go find and read the answer on other posts yourself? So my apologies for trying to be an active member rather than just a lurker. I will just go back to lurking, thank you anyways. (Not trying to get rude or anything, just what I have to say.)

 

[nikki]

We love having active members but we also get tired of answering the same questions over and over. I did a quick search of the forum and came up with 63 threads that have already answered this.

 

[Fraido]

Of course; however, I find that this helps to keep the forums active, it keeps the questions fresh and close to the top and easy to find, and often times it's a good way to have the answers to all of one specific person's questions in one easy to find area (if they don't happen to be in a sticky).

I should also probably say I keep reading your post in two different ways, when it comes to the word read. Looking at it as *red* seems very snooty compared to reading it as *reed*. You know what I mean? Like, "if you *red* the forums you'd know this already" is kind of how my mind took that.

But, as I said, I will stick to lurking.

 

[Petlover500]

If you have specific questions, I bet hedgie breeders would be happy to answer!
But having questions with such a broad topic can just be found in stickied threads that get answered over and over

 

[Fraido]

The stickies didn't give me anything I was looking for actually, it's all about before breeding, emergency babies, ethics, etc. I did skim through and check out what each was really about. I'm specifically looking for stuff about caring for her while she's pregnant. Maybe I missed it?

Signs of pregnancy isn't a broad question, at least I don't think so. I wasn't sure if there was anything else aside from weight gain, eating more food, and getting a bit round towards the end.

Regarding tips, I really just wanted any opinions anybody had to offer, be it what specific food they like to give their pregnant hedgies, about when to take the wheel away(?), any tips individuals have from their experiences. I didn't think it would be an issue, to be honest.

But seeing as most people probably don't want to repeat themselves, I will simply cruise around the forums and read more.

 

[Fraido]

I appreciate you trying to help though!

 

[twobytwopets]

You also need to understand this is hedgehog central, not hedgehog breeder central. 99% of the members have zero breeding experience.
Most people shouldn't breed, they don't have the resources, finances, maturity, proper stock or countless other reasons. That is why you won't find a how to breed post. If you breed deliberately and responsibly, you have done your research, made your contacts and done your footwork. Therefore that nonexistent how to breed post isn't needed.

 

[FinnickHog]

Read this thread from 2012. http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...lp/14546-what-symptoms-pregnant-hedgehog.html

If that doesn't help, using the search window above, type "signs of pregnancy". I'm not a breeder and I've only had one hog one year, but what I have learned by searching for you is that the symptoms may be nothing at all. Or you could see:
-Bulkiness or weight gain
-Engorged nipples
-Nesting
-Some erratic behaviors

Are you experiencing any of those and they made you concerned? As Two said, breeding hedgehogs honestly isn't much fun. Moms and babies are super sensitive. That's one reason why we don't just toss advice out to everyone and instead suggest you find a mentor to help you. That way when bad things happen you have consistent support from someone you personally know. It's not that we're trying to shun you, it's that the breeders here have seen more than their share of dead, half-eaten baby hedgehogs and are not looking to promote that. I can only imagine it wears a person down fast.

I hope that helps.

 

[Artemis-Ichiro]

Also there is a difference from your first question and your last post, generic broad questions have a lot of stickies around to read while specific questions like the second part are easier to answer.

If you ask a general very open question is hard to know what you already know and what you are really lookin for and people don't enjoy wasting time while they can be helping someone who really needs it. People with experience in breeding have other jobs and they come here to try to help people, most people are new to hedgehog owning and in pregnancy is most likely due to negligence or reciving an already pregnant hedgehog and need emergency help and information. Having a breeder on your side puts you ahead of the curve.

If there is a specific thing you feel the breeder is not helping you with, feel free to ask.

 

[Fraido]

Read this thread from 2012. http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...lp/14546-what-symptoms-pregnant-hedgehog.html

If that doesn't help, using the search window above, type "signs of pregnancy". I'm not a breeder and I've only had one hog one year, but what I have learned by searching for you is that the symptoms may be nothing at all. Or you could see:
-Bulkiness or weight gain
-Engorged nipples
-Nesting
-Some erratic behaviors

Are you experiencing any of those and they made you concerned? As Two said, breeding hedgehogs honestly isn't much fun. Moms and babies are super sensitive. That's one reason why we don't just toss advice out to everyone and instead suggest you find a mentor to help you. That way when bad things happen you have consistent support from someone you personally know. It's not that we're trying to shun you, it's that the breeders here have seen more than their share of dead, half-eaten baby hedgehogs and are not looking to promote that. I can only imagine it wears a person down fast.

I hope that helps.

Thank you for actually providing helpful information. You really didn't have to go searching yourself on my behalf!
There is nothing going on with her that concerns me, I was just wondering what to look for if she was pregnant, and I thought why not just ask the forum and see what others have experienced, aside from just my mentor because I'm not very active here. I've not come on this forum frequently.
Together, my mentor and I are prepared for if the bad things happen. Mentally and physically, we have what we need. So, thank you again, I am going to continue my search for experiences others have had.

 

[Fraido]

You also need to understand this is hedgehog central, not hedgehog breeder central. 99% of the members have zero breeding experience.
Most people shouldn't breed, they don't have the resources, finances, maturity, proper stock or countless other reasons. That is why you won't find a how to breed post. If you breed deliberately and responsibly, you have done your research, made your contacts and done your footwork. Therefore that nonexistent how to breed post isn't needed.

Well I did post in the Breeding and Babies Help area for a reason, so the few breeders on this site, or even anybody who has had the experience, could chime in with their own opinions/experiences.