Hi guys. I am new to hedgehog corner.
I just got a hedgehog few days ago, don’t even know how old is it. (x
I am here to get more information about hedgehog. ^^

I am curious to know that, how to train my hedgehog to be a toilet trained hedgehog?

Advice from you all will be highly-appreciated. ^^v


This post has been edited by K.s: Oct 4 2008, 05:26 PM

Welcome K.s to hedgie thread.

To litter train hedgehog, you can scope up their poo and place it at the place you wish them to poo at (in most cases, people use litter trays designed for small animals). Even so, most will poo on her exercise wheel (if there is one). I only put the wheel back into her home at night after she's done poo-ing. Good luck

Toilet train.. hm... few ways are discussed here and yes, it's the question that i asked not long ago. Lol!
Basically scooping up hedgie's poopoo n place it inside the tray is kinda tidious, n it took quite a time to train it.

And oso observe where the hedgie always poo, it usually will poo at 1 spot it choose (hedgies, like rodents are hygienic creature), n u can make that spot the toilet by placing the potty tray there.

After u place the tray there, make sure u put some fresh "poopoo" droppings in the litter tray so the hedgie will get the idea.

Or, if u are pretty lucky, watch out for a "pointing tail" and wiggling (sign that the hedgie is going to poo), carry n place the hedgie inside the tray n let it poo there.

Well, not all hedgies can/want to be toilet train. =)

Haha... as for my Echt, the above method never work. I tried n no point. Echt just poo poo everywhere around, except for his sleeping spot (not in the hiding box) n he pooed inside the hiding box.
So, i just cover the whole cage with shavings.. full of shavings and let Echt poo everywhere n anywhere he like. I leave him like that for 1 week. Then I just change the whole bedding in the cage, n put other types of bedding (not the shavings anymore)For me i replace with newspaper now. I just put the shaving in the tray and TA-DA!!!! Echt always go to the tray n poo on the shavings. This idea is to let the hedgie know that it shud poo on the shavings n not on other things.


n since Echt poo poo at that corner, i can add in shavings in his hidebox d.

So yeah, thats how i potty train my Echt. ^^

Main conclusion is, different hedgehog different personality and different brain. So u could try a few methods for ur hedgie.

**attached picture might give u some idea of my hedgie cage.

---

Added on October 4, 2008, 3:58 pmNo, no more bitey, pretty tame now, know how to sleep on ppl's palm oso, even when my fren carry him the first time, he just sleep on my fren's palm.

The hedgie is cute, altho hedgie know how to swim by nature, those ladies are pretty cruel treating him that way. Poor baby.


This post has been edited by Hiyuki: Oct 4 2008, 03:58 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Thanks empty_reg
how the minimun size of litter tray shoud be?
well, thx for your advice ya .. ^^

Thanks Hiyuki too
my hedgehog wont poo n pee at a spot,
he always poo anywhere.

hmm..i cant differentiate the Sleeping Box n Hiding Box.
coz he always hide and sleep directly in the box i gave to him.
If it is sleeping box, is it considered a hiding box also? =_= foolish question. lol
Actually what i gave is not a box, is a Big round cup.
He just hide himself into the cup, and sleep. =.="

Since I gave him the cup, he never poo n pee inside it, surprise nia!
But he poo outside, everywhere everytime.

Btw, thanks lot for your help.

This post has been edited by K.s: Oct 4 2008, 05:35 PM

sleeping box = hiding box

Of course they wont pee n poo inside their sleeping place
same as us, we dunt want our bed smelly n dirty rite? =]

toilet tray u can buy those normal toilet tray but since hedgie foot are small n fragile, I suggest u to take out the top of the tray as that may caused their legs fall inside n may caused unwanted accident. Just take out the cover n put their poo inside repeatedly until they know its toilet for them.

This u may take time as diff hedgie have diff personalities and some may accept it very fast while some might need more time to learn how to use the tray

Nice info Hiyuki on litter training Echt. Might try that when boo is bigger, gonna let her roam around my room cause her box is too small for her..

K.s: Reanne might be selling some. You can ask her.. (In page 35) = )

empty_reg: hahaha.. that's just my random idea ah~ didn't really expect it to work but it DID work. your Boo is cute. ^^

ouh, it is seems like really need some times to train the hedgehog.

emm...i just bought a new storage box, and wood shaving for it,
after moving new house, it seldom eat and drink n keep sleeping. So hows?
Even I wake him up he still walk walk only, no eat no drink.




one more question here...

emmm...you all will carry your hedgehog in hand?
will it move here move there?
my hedgehog wouldnt sit or stand properly in my hand.
feel sad ='[
maybe still not familiar with me?
i think so bah...

This post has been edited by K.s: Oct 4 2008, 11:07 PM

Hiyuki: The most important is it works. Haha.

Not sitting still is normal one. Ham is an explorer but Boo is a shy girl that will try to find the darkest place to hide if being left out in the open.

Hedgehogs have different personalities. Erm, not eating and not drinking at first is quite normal, he needs some time to get used to his surroundings.

You can try turning off the lights and try to catch him drinking and eating. Most often, shy hedgehogs like Boo only comes out when the lights are totally out, so if I stayed up late, I need to cover her tank with a dark fleece cloth to mimic night falls for her to come out and eat.

If he doesn't eat for the whole night or drink any water, then this is not usual. Have you also changed the food you're previously feeding it?

nope. i din change.
i am using royal canin 34 now.
i will learn u cover with a cloth or what,
see hows lo. ^^
thx ya ^^

Can give it a try, but their personality won't change over night. If it is still not eating for the whole day (Not even a bit) then can be something serious. Don't worry, most probably is the new unfamiliar environment only. = )

K.s: sleeping whole day long for the first week is normal. =) hedgie needs time to adjust to new home.
never stay still when u carry it is oso normal. i think most ppl's hedgie never stay still when being carried, like mine super active.
give it some time yeah~ n like wat empty_reg said, if it eat exactly nothing then maybe kinda serious. consider luring it with 1 mealworm/cricket infront of ur hedgie n see how it reacts.

empty_reg: LOL! good luck to u in advance for potty train Boo. ^^

Alright. Never allow her to be potty train for some time already, not sure she still remember.. If not, I'll just use your method.. = )

Yes, this weekend, we went walking around pet shops to look for a new house for our little baby. We are still deciding wat name for him.....Went around looking around for food and other stuff..... very excited.

If it is still a baby, I think so as Jenny said can only pick up the hedgie end of the month after the baby is stable, what food is good for them We saw so many different types of food.... Dunno which one to get also.... Any suggestions??

I've read that most our you, feed the hedgie with cat food... but is it ok to feed the hedgie with dog food also??

The housing for the hedgie is rather expensive, we saw a few that is RM300++ but looks very nice. Anyone can suggest somewhere that is cheaper? We are also thinking of maybe just buying a toyogo box for him until we find something nicer....... The rest are not too expensive like food, poo litter (crystal type) as well as the food tray......

So happy and excited......

Welcome to world of spikes!

They can also take dog biscuits (2 months ago, I was feeding RC dogs - with the silky terrier image). But if you can, most recommend RC cats. Mine are fed RC cats now, mealworms (4 times /week), occassionally boiled unseason chicken / hard boil eggs. Heard from forumers that there is hedgehog food available for sale at Pet Safari. Not sure if is good. You can look at the ingredients.

A huge toyogo box will do. But as they grow in size, is also good to provide them a bigger home if you have space to spare. Housing hedgie is easy, just avoid mesh bottom cage.

Thanks for the feedback..... i also realised the mesh bottom cages will make it difficult for them to walk....

The ones I saw had a wooden floor.....what do you think? I got a free box of Iams Cat food for kittens, is this good?

Wooden floor should be alright. Not heavy ar? Haha. No idea how it looks like, what came in my mind is just a kennel with wooden floor. Lolx.

Not sure about Iams. Heard that Iams is very cruel when it comes to experimenting to animals when its comes to experimenting with their products. Take a look at the nutrient part, will be good if protein is high (20%+) and fat (around 10% - 15%) lower.

For additional protein, usually I give some eggs or chicken or mealworms.

Thanks for the feedback. Will look into the nutrient part. My wife feels a bit yucky with the mealworms. I can tell her to feed the baby eggs instead.

gaigene--having a hedgehog soon? I am using storage box now, not bad ^^ I am feeding RC also, my boy quite like it. ^^v I was also felt excited when I was preparing for my boy. Such an interesting thing.
bonai--Hihi...^^
empty_reg--Does hedgehog eat chicken boiled eggs? Could hedgehog eat hamster food? Coz my sis just bought me some hamster food, but still not here la, havent receive it yet

This post has been edited by K.s: Oct 6 2008, 09:23 PM