Yeah, seriously

Hedgehogs are fully grown at 6 months of age, since yours is 8 months old already shes already past 'puberty'
Puberty will be around the first quilling at 2-5 months. the 'teen' years

Silent spinners are notorious for coming loose
be sure to check on the screws regularly
having a 12 inch wheel fall on you is no joke when your body is only 6 inches long

Give mealies? hehehe

New dry cat food list updated on 21st March 2008

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forum/index.php...e=post&id=20628

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Added on April 14, 2008, 4:17 pmIts kind of like canned fruit vs fresh fruit
fresh is better

This post has been edited by Cimredopyh: Apr 14 2008, 04:17 PM

Its talking about what kind and how many meat protein sources the food contains

Two meat source would have something like this in the ingredients

Chicken, Fish
or
Lamb, Turkey
etc

One meat source will be

Chicken
or
Lamb
etc

One meat meal would be

Chicken meal
or
Lamb meal
etc

Is the 'season' over? so quiet suddenly

Wow look at Spikey ! thats a big riceball you have there

Plus if i recall correctly you guys are feeding him RC indoor 27 which is pretty low fat and protein. And he has a wheel too.
I guess he is just genetically big

About him being stinky, does he have a noticable strong odour
or is he just a messy boy and stinking up his cage with poo and pee?

Reason i ask is the hedgehog itself should not have a strong odour, often a strong odour is a sign of some kind of health problem (ear infection etc)

Try bathing him once a week, and cleaning cage more often if you think its just poo and pee. Probably thats all it is


I bathe both of mine about once a week also, cages are cleaned every 3-4 days. Spot cleaning is done everyday (pick out scattered kibble or poo)

Edit: I just thought of something else, since spikey is a big boy be sure to check all the places where his skin folds are clean, sometimes bacteria can get caught there and that may be making him smelly (around the legs, tail, his double chin etc)

This post has been edited by Cimredopyh: Apr 18 2008, 06:17 PM

Wobust Wodent Wheel?

Not really suitable for hedgehogs for a few reasons

1) Same dangers as wheels with side spokes
( some hedgehogs look to the side while running and the spokes or in this case the
cutout holes may hit the face causing eye injuries or blindness)

2) The wheel running area is too narrow for many hedgehogs, their bodies are broader and their running stance is different from the rodents that the wheel is designed for, only comfortable for smaller, slimmer hedgehogs ( yes even tho it is the 'wobust' size )

3)Due to the closed front design, urine is unable to drain out properly, the hedgehog will be running in a slush of poo and pee all night long
this is very unhygienic and you will end up having to give frequent baths /foot baths

4)Once again due to the closed front design you have to dismantle and re assemble it everyday to clean not only do you have to clean and dry the wheel but also the section that closes the front

Its not so great for the hedgie and also inconvenient for you. I hear its really good for rodents, but unfortunately hedgehogs are not rodents


Edit: Mamata are you using the wheel without attaching it to the cage? The silent spinner stand is not big enough to support the wheel by itself and it will definitely fall over
It was designed to be screwed onto the cage AND used with a stand at the same time

you either need to find a way to secure the stand to the base of the cage or find a way to attach the back of the wheel to the side of the cage

This post has been edited by Cimredopyh: Apr 19 2008, 10:18 PM

Better think again

Wah..Looks like the 'season' is not over after all
Ive been buying stuff to make bucket wheels for the two little ones, will let you guys know how it works out when im done.

Sorry to hear your hedgie is experiencing this! Regarding a vet other than Dr Yeoh there is also Dr Jenny (hands and paws)
location and contact number for both of them can be found in the vets sticky
about vets in Malacca you can try to PM Hao, he may know.

Just to be sure however when exactly did this happen? because the symptoms for motion sickness are similar to what you described.
Many hedgehogs will experience this when they are traveling in a car
or some even get it when you are walking around alot and carrying them.

When i brought mine for a vet check up they became unstable and unbalanced and puked. On the way to the doctor the puke was like liquidy kibble but on the way home there was no more food in the tummy so the puke was all foamy, exactly like the stuff they produce when they anoint. However once we got home and they were comfortably back in their houses the puking and wobbling stopped.

You should also know that there is no way for WHS to be confirmed other than post mortem
also there is no cure, only supportive measures.

But please dont give up all hope! there could be many causes for the symptoms you describe, it could be a virus, inner ear infection all kinds of things.

Hard to tell from this pic (and the shavings on the back dont help ) but it looks like it cooouuuld be a snowflake
Pick the hedgie up and look at it closely.
How many % of the quills are totally white from root to tip with no brown stripe round the middle?
If 50% or more of them are white with no stripe its a snowflake

Sure she has no injury from the wheel falling on her?
Maybe shes angry because she blames you every time it happens

Snowflake is not a colour by itself, its just a term for hedgehogs who have alot of white quills
Think of it as the hedgehog version of highlights on the hair

So you can have Cinnamon Snowflake, S&P Snowflake, Champagne Snowflake etc

but theres no such thing as just plain snowflake

Yours looks like an Algerian Chocolate
So if more than 50% white quills then its a Algerian Chocolate Snowflake

My pleasure

Not many actually, just the two hedgies, two cats and a tortoise.
Whole family has animal mania tho so i guess i was doomed from birth.
My uncle even feeds a cicak that likes to hide under the rice cooker, much to the disgust of his wife

The name isnt actually pronounceable its hypodermic backwards
When i used to ventrillo for WoW people would say 'sim' so thats what i think of it as


LOL!

I think those you tube vids your talking about were posted by a lady to help people recognize the symptoms and stages of the disease. She has the vids linked elsewhere and the comments disabled (names of the hedgehogs were molly, emma rose etc ?)

Unfortunately no hedgehog can 'survive' WHS. It is a incurable progressive disease. The symptoms will just get worse and worse over time.

Most choose to have them put to rest once the symptoms become unmistakable.
This is not cruel, caring for a hedgehog with WHS is difficult, time consuming and heartbreaking.
In latter stages they can no longer walk or support themselves to move to the food/water you have to help them to eat or they will starve/dehydrate.
Also they will often poo and pee and just lie there in it so you will have to keep them clean and free from infection. You will have to care for it with the dedication of a full time nurse.
If you really cannot manage it would be more cruel to prolong and compound its suffering just because you cannot let go.
Some people who are dedicated enough choose to care for their hedgehogs up to the final stages of the disease and then have them put to rest.

It is indeed hereditary,and also one of the possible reasons for WHS is thought to be inbreeding.
This is why its better to try get your hedgie from a responsible breeder so that you know who the parents are.
With pet shops you never know the health background, also their stock is more likely to be inbred.

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Added on April 21, 2008, 6:47 pmJimBeam
This is a disease that if often confused with WHS, since you mentioned vomiting this is something else you might want to look into

http://www.hedgies.com/vestibularsyndrome.htm

Symptoms of vestibular syndrome:

* Rapid onset of symptoms, with a healthy animal becoming incapacitated within the space of a day or even hours
* Loss of balance -- staggering, falling, and falling into objects, almost looking like the animal is drunk
* Vomiting
* Lack of appetite
* Circling in the same direction the head is tilted
* Rapid, almost uncontrolled eye movements known as nystagmus




This post has been edited by Cimredopyh: Apr 21 2008, 06:47 PM

You fail at bonding.

Hehe nolah its not a bonding thing, its just individual hedgie preference.

Also younger hedgies tend to have less adventurous taste buds, just try again later or try other fruits.

Demon till now refuses to eat anything but kibble and insects...he really loves insects. He will take small amounts of apple sometimes but everything else i prepare, scrambled eggs, steamed chicken, fish all got rejected

Angel will smell it, taste it, anoint with it, then ignore it and eat kibble ><
She does not even seem to recognize insects as food.

Its just a healthy treat and something to supplement and add variety to their diet, not necessary.

You can also try cut up into small kibble sized pieces to make it easy and more appealing for them to eat.

Just a reminder be sure to remove all seeds, seeds are toxic
and never feed grapes, they are toxic to many animals

Im not sure if fruit skin is toxic or not but its better remove that too because of pesticides.

Yup this is very true, if they like mealies giving it to them when you spend time together is a great way to bond
However try to avoid feeding it directly from your hands or fingers, just put it down in front of them and push it towards them. Dont worry they will still know the food is from you.
If you always feed directly from your hand they will come to associate hands=food and this may encourage them to bite your hands.

I dont mind touching individual mealies so much anymore but im really too geli to reach into a container full of them, i still use chopsticks
I must confess i kind of like to touch the pupa tho..they wriggle so vigorously when touched haha!

Actually if you go read the how many pets do you have thread you will see alot of lyn ppl do own hedgehogs, but not active posters in this thread. Maybe they just ghost it ?_?

CooLeRthings Theres one in Segar that sells Frontline spray

SEGAR PETS CENTRE & VETERINARY SERVICES
2, Jln Manis 3, Tmn Segar, Cheras, 56100 KL
Tel: 03-91334192, 03-91332343
Fax: 03-91328375

Be very carefull not to spray anywhere near the face, just spritz the rump area a couple times

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Added on April 24, 2008, 10:40 pmHello and welcome to hedgehog corner!
First things first
Since you are in Penang, find a vet near you that can treat exotics.
If you dont do this in advance you will regret it later.
If an emergency happens, the delay while you search for one at the last minute will cause your pet to suffer and maybe even cost it its life.

4 months isnt too old, but when you buy from a petshop your taking a gamble.
You will never really know the real age
If you buy a female she might be pregnant (if they keep males and females together)
You dont know what kind of health problems it will have (even more reason to find a vet)
It may be very difficult to socialize and bond with it due to the stressfull petshop environment that it has been in.

This post has been edited by Cimredopyh: Apr 24 2008, 10:40 PM

Congratulations on your new baby! i am so glad that you made the effort to find a vet already

What were they feeding it before? If possible continue to feed it the same thing they fed it and slowly switch in the new food, hedgehogs do not adapt well to a sudden change in food and it may cause it to stop eating.

The best thing for them is a high quality cat food with around 30% protein and below 15% fat ( this means NO whiskas or friskies please)
Royal Canin babycat is for younger hedgies (below 6 months)

Some other types you can try are
Blackwood Adult Cat
Royal Canin Indoor 27
Royal Canin Fit 32
Acana adult cat ( abit high in fat but still acceptable)

Dog food is actually just as good as cat food but you MUST crush the kibbles as they are too big and may cause the hedgehog to choke or be less interested to eat. ( some kibbles that are for small breed dogs don't need crushing, but most normal dog food is too big )

Since you are asking basic questions like what to feed, i am guessing you did not do much research
Hedgehogs are exotic pets and require a higher level of specialized care. Please do Google and read up about it.
Some important things to read up on

Suitable Diet
Safe housing
Safe toys (especially regarding the wheel!)
Common illnesses

Heres a link to get you started, there are also links on the left hand side regarding housing and toys.
http://www.freewebs.com/thehedgieden/hedgehogcare.htm

Happy reading