[MadisonDuncan]

Hello, I just got a hedgehog 4 days ago. He is 8 weeks old. I named him Samson. I was just wondering if it is normal that he is sleeping a lot. He is active when I get him out to play, but it seems like everytime I put him in his cage he just goes right back to sleep.

I was also wondering how often he needs to be fed? He pretty much eats all of his food as soon as I put it in his bowl. I don't want to over feed him.

thank you.

Madison

http://i48.tinypic.com/hvure0.jpg

 

[LizardGirl]

Hey and welcome!

Hedgies are nocturnal, and babies will sleep a LOT. As in, up to 23 hours a day, only getting up to eat and stretch for a bit and go back to sleep. They grow out of it.

You should be feeding him as much as he will eat, every day. Just keep his bowl filled for him to eat whenever he likes.

 

[MadisonDuncan]

Ah, thank you very much. I was getting a little worried.
I also have a question about biting...he is quite the little biter. hahah
He usually licks before so at least I get a warning.
I'm not sure if he is just curious, or if he doesn't like me..

 

[LizardGirl]

If he is licking before biting, take that as a warning. Something smells good on your hands. Try washing with the same unscented soap before handling each time, to help prevent that. If he keeps biting just remove your skin from his reach.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

Congratulations on getting Samson, he is so adorable and I love his coloring Hedgies do sleep a lot so I wouldn't be worried. I free feed mine and in the mornings when I get up I dump what he doesn't eat, wash and then refill. When I first got him I counted his food before it went in the bowl, then recounted in the morning to see how much was ate. I did this for quite some time til I felt confident I had an average then I just added that much plus 25 extra pieces in case he got more hungry one night or started eatting more. This helps me not throw away as much in the morning when I wash everything.

 

[MadisonDuncan]

Thank you :] I love him a lot. I feed him in the morning before I leave..maybe like 15-20 pieces and then a snack when I get home and then a little again before I go to sleep. Is that too much? He usaually eats everything.

Also I'm trying to litter train him...but of course that may take awhile.
I got him a litter pan and litter called "Safe pet potty litter" it is for small animals, but I don't know if I should use it or not. any suggestions on litter, or advice on litter training?

 

[nikki]

you should be leaving food in his dish all the time, if he's eating it all he needs more. Hedgehogs need to be fed free choice, meaning they should have food available all the time.

 

[Morel3etterness]

I was told to only feed the baby 2 teaspoons of dry kitty food a day. I do a little bit more. I usually put 10 pieces in when i wake up..the in the middle of the day and before i go to bed...especially when I see him waiting next to the food bowl. Also, highly encourage buying meal worms. I bought Egon large meal worms and he is now 8 weeks old. I am petrified of bugs so I use tweezers to pick them up and put them in the bowl for him. He slurps it up in seconds. Give him a worm or a treat (you can find a list on the forums-be careful to research treats well to prevent giving the baby something he will choke on)...worms and treats 2-3 times a week. You really should be feeding him worms or crickets! You can keep the worms in a fridge too...they don't move about as much when you first take them out.

Be careful not too overfeed or you will have an obese and unhealthy hedgie. =)

 

[nikki]

Hedgehogs do not over eat, they need to be free fed, they only become overweight if they don't get enough exercise or have food that is to high in fat.

 

[Morel3etterness]

Any website as well as the breeder I bought mine from told me if you feed them too much-especially insects they can become over weight. I am sure, as you said, if they are running on their wheel for hours on end at night they should be fine. I was just taking the advice of someone who has been raising hedgies for a few years.

My breeder actually brought out the father of the baby I took home and he was HUGE. He was the size of a rabbit...and very angry. They compared him to an obese hedgehog. Im just looking out for my guy. Feed as you wish, I just would not encourage to feed every time the bowl is empty. Any time I load up the bowl with some kitty food, its all gone in under 10 minutes. Kind of scary =/

 

[nikki]

as i breeder i feel all my hedgies free choice, and so do all reputable breeders that i know. I wouldn't sell any of my babies to anyone that said they would limit the hedgies food. The food is probably gone that quick when you fill the bowl because the hedgie is hungry.

 

[Hedgiepets]

I was told to only feed the baby 2 teaspoons of dry kitty food a day.

2 teaspoons is only 1/24th of a cup. There are 48 teaspoons in a cup. I think it should be more like 2 Tablespoons which would be 1/8th of a cup. That is about what mine eat.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

I was told to only feed the baby 2 teaspoons of dry kitty food a day. I do a little bit more. I usually put 10 pieces in when i wake up..the in the middle of the day and before i go to bed...especially when I see him waiting next to the food bowl.

I've never heard or read this before, my thoughts would be if he is waiting next to his food bowl then he was hungry. The only thing I have heard is that if your hedgie is overweight you can find a food with less fat in it but never to limit how much he eats. I know all hedgies are different but that seems like such a small amount to me. My hedgie is almost 20 weeks or 5 months on Christmas Eve and he eats well over 75 kibbles on any given night and a lot of nights its more. The only reason I count my kibbles at all is to know that he is eatting well and so that I have a good idea how much to put in so Im not throwing out huge amounts of food in the morning when I clean dishes, I always add more in just to be on the safe side so he is never waiting by a food dish to eat. You are always free to do as you wish but I personally wouldn't recommend it and would not feel comfortable distributing the food in such a way unless an experienced vet with lots of Hedgehog Experience/Knowledge of their nutritional needs personally seen mine and told me otherwise. Just my opinion though.

 

[Immortalia]

When my boy was a baby, he ate A LOT. Every night, he'd eat an entire bowl of food! (small ceramic crock bowls, approx 2inches diameter, 1 inch deep).

Slowly, as he matured(nearing 3-4 months), he ate less on his own, but he didn't lose weight and he steadily gained weight actually. And now he has plateaued at 310g, and he is still given as much food as he will ever want to eat. He has not gained weight, and he has not lost weight. He also has the "teardrop" shape, so I will always chose foods that are under 15% fat(right now, they're all in the 8-12 range, from off the top of my head). He also finished off a 3lbs bag of Wellness in 3 months during his baby growth.

This is also where daily/weekly weighings are important. I weigh my boy weekly for 3 consecutive days(to get a good average for the week). If I were worried about something, I'd weight twice/day daily.

So from my (lack of) experience with my boy, and from the advice of those who are more knowledgeable, I will always feed my boy more than he can eat, so that he will always have food in his bowl.

 

[hedgielover]

2 teaspoons seems like way to little to me as well. Quigley is an adult and he eats about 1 1/2 tablespoons plus mealworms and crickets a few times a week. From my understanding babies eat much more than adults because they are still growing. I don't fill the bowl every time it is empty I just throwout leftovers and give fresh food every evening. He hardly ever finished his full 1 1/2 tblsp at night but will snack on it during the day until the bowl is almost empty at night when I fill it up.

My understanding is that they only food that should be limited are treats that may be fattening. Such as mealworms and sugary fruit.

 

[Morel3etterness]

So it is actually safe to keep feeding as they keep eating? Mine is only 8 weeks old so I would have thought to watch what he is eating thinking he may over eat because he doesn't know any better yet.

I have upped his food a little this past week giving him what I felt was accurate for his size as opposed to the 2 teaspoons I was told to give him. The breeder who sold him to me said he was just weened off the mother so maybe thats why?

 

[Nancy]

They should never have an empty dish and especially not babies. Babies eat at all hours of the day and night so the food should be available. Once you get to know how much he eats, you will be able to give him just a little bit more than he eats so that you aren't wasting food. As long as there are a few kibble left, that is the right amount. Some are light eaters, others eat a lot and the size of the hedgehog does not always dictate how much they eat. I've had some skinny minny's that were piggies and others that bordered on obese that didn't really eat much at all.

Babies usually eat a lot but that usually slows down around 5-7 months. Babies eat a lot and produce a lot. :lol:

 

[Morel3etterness]

Thanks for the heads up. =)