[Spiky_Floof<3]

Hi all!
I have a baby hedgehog, probably about 8 weeks old. She is quilling, and I am training her to use a litter box, therefore, she does not have her wheel as I do not want her stepping on her own quills and/or pooping on it. Any ideas for other forms of enrichment? I'm worried she might be a little bored.
Thanks!

 

[Emc]

Hedgehogs often go to the bathroom on their wheels; that is just common hedgehog behaviour, and is something you're going to have to get used to. Give her back the wheel. They are very active animals, and need an outlet for all that energy - it's also an important form of exercise and for building up muscles.

Even if quilling, she needs access to the wheel. It is incredibly unlikely that her paws will get impaled by her own dropped quills when running on a wheel because they'd (the quills, that is) would literally have to be standing upright for them to hurt her. Quills dropped on a wheel don't pose any more of a risk - and if anything, pose less of a risk - than quills dropped in bedding.

 

[Spiky_Floof<3]

Thank you. I had a hedgehog before and am well aware of the mess they make (haha) . The breeder I got her from said that to not give it to her for a few weeks so she doesn't loose weight, as she is still a baby... I am going to put her wheel in within the next two weeks for sure. I am just wondering what types of other fun things I can give her in the meantime?

 

[Emc]

An 8 week old hedgehog should be able to have access to a wheel with no issues; just make sure to weigh them regularly, and youre good to go.

Additional forms of enrichment you could provide include things like foraging boxes (like a box filled with some fleece strips and hide some of her kibble in it), sand baths, or digging pits with soil or coconut fibre. Personally speaking, my hedgehog is only motivated by the above (and especially so if theres food involved)- she plays with her cat toys (and by play i mean shoves them around her cage, but seems to enjoy doing it) but anything she can dig in/make a mess of is her favourite.

 

[Spiky_Floof<3]

Okay thank you so much for the advice! Have a great evening!

 

[Aj.t]

You can also give her plenty of free roam around your bedroom/living room etc. I usually let Christina run around my entire basement (where her and I live) while I’m doing things like showering, cleaning, or the likes! Diet foraging is also a great tool- spreading their dry diet all around their house!

 

[Mecki]

I see no reason to deprive her of a wheel at 8 weeks of age. That makes no sense to me at all. My guy was a bit on the small size for 8 weeks of age when I got him but he still ran on his wheel and ate and slowly gained weight.

Nothing matches a wheel for vigorous exercise (other than an entire basement as Ajt suggests). It makes more sense health-wise to allow her muscles to develop by running on a wheel. If she needs more energy, she'll eat more. It seems counter productive to deprive a growing hedgehog of her wheel exercise.

 

[nikki]

When I was still breeding my babies got a wheel the day they were weaned and it was never taken away from them after that. Wheels are how babies relieve stress and not giving them one is not healthy for them mentally. There is no health reason for keeping a wheel away from a baby.

 

[Takehertothesea]

You can potty train her and have her wheel. Put a tray with some litter under the wheel and a litter box where she usually goes in the cage.


She’s a baby so it will take some for her to designate an area anyways. I used Care fresh bedding in my hedgehogs cage when she was a baby. After she started going potty in one area I only put the carefresh bedding in the litterbox and the tray under her wheel. She associates that bedding with her area to go potty.

Baby or not she will potty on the wheel because their digestive systems are as they are. As long as you’re giving her enough food she should be fine to exercise on it.

You can also get a dig box or make a giant dig box/play area for her out of a kiddy pool container. Or a big plastic bin