Found a Hedgehog, what do?! - General

He's sleeping now. He rolls up under a part of the towel and sleeps under there. It's cute.

[QUOTE=br4ww;30131097]Ohh, also; where I live most Hedgehogs are domesticated and shit so, if it sounds weird well... they do it here.[/QUOTE] Well, it is Canada after all.

name it tails :downs: No but seriously, name it Ezhik after that one user who always has his avatar as a hedgehog on here.

I used to have a hedgehog, he died a few months ago. They're pretty easy to take care of, try and get actual hedgehog food if you can. They can live off of cat food but I only gave him cat food when I had no more hedgehog food (usually only for a day, not very often).

get some mice, otters and squirrels, build them a fort, then release the ferrets and name it disco kid

Don't let him near any mad scientists.

My friend had one, all it did was sleep and eat but it was still adorable as hell.

I still have a question, what should I put on the bottom of his tank? Should I just leave it as is (towels) or what?

Before I moved to Australia I always got pissed off about how I'd never see a single fucking hedgehog ALL YEAR. Then, come bonfire night, we'd inevitably shine a torch into the small gaps that formed under the bonfire before we lit it and there'd be like entire fucking families of hedgehogs just chilling out under there. We'd have to spend like an hour digging around in there with gloved hands pulling something like two-dozen fucking hedgehogs out before we could light that sucker on fire. Fucking hedgehogs.

what does a hedgehog eat, by the way? cant really tell with the pics

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[QUOTE=Ryuken;30131245]what does a hedgehog eat, by the way? cant really tell with the pics[/QUOTE] From the information I'm getting, I can feed him low-fat cat food or just Hedgehog food, as well as vegetables and mealworms. In the picture, he has 2-3 carrots and some dog food. I seriously wasn't prepared for him..

I've had 2 pet hedgehogs, which gave birth to 3 little baby hedgehogs. They can be very friendly if you hold them every day. First thing you should do is get some cat food. [url]http://di1-3.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/90/5d/4e/104516087-260x260-0-0_Iams+Iams+ProActive+Health+Premium+Cat+Food+Origin.jpg[/url] That's the kind I used to feed them. It's shown to cause problems in hedgehogs if they don't get excercise, however. Which leads me to my next point: Buy it a wheel. Hedgehogs LOVE to run on wheels, and it keeps them from getting fat. Also, try and make sure the hedgehog isn't too cold. It's possible it will attempt to hibernate, though I'm not quite sure it'll be such a huge problem since you found the hedgehog. Oh, and if you ever lose the hedgehog (don't ask) look in warm places, like behind your computer (again, don't ask). As for the bottom of the tank, get some Aspen Shavings. Hedgehogs can be allergic to other shavings and can get respiratory problems if you don't use Aspen Shavings. Plus, hedgehogs like to dig down and warm themselves up by burrowing in the shavings.

Now some more info: - If you live in a place where it's cold (:canada:), you might want to invest 20$ into an infrared lamp to give him some more heat during the winter - You have to wash them every once in a while, depending on their skin. First check if it's flakey (raise a few of it's spikes when it's relaxed). If it is, wash it every month and a half. If it isn't, you can wash it every 3/4 weeks, usually when it smells. Wash it with baby soap and don't make the water too deep, they know how to swim but they get tired quickly. - It's normal if they lose spikes every once in a while, as long as it doesn't lose too many in 1 spot - When they try some new food or if they feel threated, they'll make some kind of white foam and coat themselves with it, it's perfectly normal but don't touch it it fucking hurts. - I've already said it but... they run incredibly fast. And sometimes they charge with that white shit on their spikes :byodood: - They can usually find 1 spot to shit and piss in, make one under its wheel with a bin of some kind (I used a pie foil) and fill it with some cat litter. Not clay though, the newspaper one - They LOVE cat toys. - Once it gets used to you, it'll even turn itself over for you to rub its belly :3: PM me if you get any trouble, I'll gladly help you. I miss my hedgehog...

[QUOTE=br4ww;30131228]I still have a question, what should I put on the bottom of his tank? Should I just leave it as is (towels) or what?[/QUOTE] If you get shavings make sure they are aspen, other ones will give him respiratory problems afaik.

dawwww

Don't do anything mean to him Op, or i will find you... :colbert:

[QUOTE=ze beaver;30131289]Now some more info: - You have to wash them every once in a while, depending on their skin. First check if it's flakey (raise a few of it's spikes when it's relaxed). If it is, wash it every month and a half. If it isn't, you can wash it every 3/4 weeks, usually when it smells. Wash it with baby soap and don't make the water too deep, they know how to swim but they get tired quickly. - When they try some new food or if they feel threated, they'll make some kind of white foam and coat themselves with it, it's perfectly normal but don't touch it it fucking hurts. - They can usually find 1 spot to shit and piss in, make one under its wheel with a bin of some kind (I used a pie foil) and fill it with some cat litter. Not clay though, the newspaper one [/QUOTE] Just wanted to make a few comments on these. -If your hedgehog doesn't like baths, try giving it a shower. I used to have one hedgehog that would always try to stick its face in the water, so I gave it a shower instead. -From what I've learned about this is that it's called "self-anointing". I don't believe they do it when they're scared. They usually do it when encountering a new smell. It's unknown why exactly they do it (possibly for camouflauge or maybe they just like the smell). -Litter boxes are a good idea, but definitely be careful if you're gonna put some in. I'd suggest watching to see if the hedgehog tries to eat the litter, that could cause problems. For a little bonus information: Hedgehogs love to poo in water, so be careful when giving them a bath. Don't try to put your finger inside the hedgehog's ball. It hurts. Mount a water bottle to the side of the cage. Also, get a good, sturdy place to put its food. Hedgehogs love to knock things over. Be careful with putting things that have loose cloths, that stuff can tangle around their legs and amputate. If the hedgehog bites you (which it will only do if it's EXTREMELY threatened), blow in its face. It'll irritate it. I've seen it mentioned before, but give it a toilet paper tube. Also, hedgehogs have very bad sight. They make up for it in smell and hearing, so don't yell around your hedgehog. OH AND DEFINITELY DO NOT FEED IT GRAPES.

Tomorrow I'll go out and get him a wheel, some cat food, fresh fruits and vegetables, cat toys and aspen shavings. I'll update the thread with more pictures, if you guys want :buddy:. Thanks for all the info, too, guys. :love:

Convert it to communism. [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Meme crap" - Starpluck))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=br4ww;30131424]Tomorrow I'll go out and get him a wheel, some cat food, fresh fruits and vegetables, cat toys and aspen shavings. I'll update the thread with more pictures, if you guys want :buddy:.[/QUOTE] Sounds good, I miss my hedgehogs already, but they were getting too much to handle. If you ever plan to get into breeding them, know that I sold every single one of mine for 200 bucks each. Oh, also, don't get some small baby wheel. Get the largest size available, or the hedgie can end up with back problems. Oh, and feel free to ask any questions you have, I went through a 2 month phase where I researched hedgehogs because I wanted one so bad.

Recolor it.

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[QUOTE=zach34;30131415] -From what I've learned about this is that it's called "self-anointing". I don't believe they do it when they're scared. They usually do it when encountering a new smell. It's unknown why exactly they do it (possibly for camouflauge or maybe they just like the smell). [/QUOTE] Well a book I read said it was about protecting itself from the toxins that could be in the food v:v:v Mine covered itself in it when it first saw my dog, the poor thing went to put it's nose on the spikes covered with it...

[QUOTE=hula whoop;30131456]you SHOULD probably get a proper cage too, ask your mom for some help if your short on cash.[/QUOTE] Proper cages aren't a good thing. They love to climb up the sides and try to escape, plus they can get hurt on the sides. The best place for a hedgehog is a large aquarium.

[QUOTE=br4ww;30131130]He's sleeping now. He rolls up under a part of the towel and sleeps under there. It's cute.[/QUOTE] Quickly, stuff rings up his ass to make him stronger.

[QUOTE=hula whoop;30131456]you SHOULD probably get a proper cage too, ask your mom for some help if your short on cash.[/QUOTE] Will do, maybe not tomorrow but I plan on doing it. EDIT: I don't know anymore. CAGE or AQUARIUM?

[QUOTE=br4ww;30131424]Tomorrow I'll go out and get him a wheel, some cat food, fresh fruits and vegetables, cat toys and aspen shavings. I'll update the thread with more pictures, if you guys want :buddy:. Thanks for all the info, too, guys. :love:[/QUOTE] Don't forget to give it some insects, live crickets or worms. They love to chase them :3: Don't pick up worms from your garden though, if you're treating it for weeds and stuff or if your neighbors are doing it. Silk worms, butter worms (not too many, else he'll get fat very quickly) or Goliath worms (don't try cutting them, just don't.).

[QUOTE=zach34;30131473]Proper cages aren't a good thing. They love to climb up the sides and try to escape, plus they can get hurt on the sides. The best place for a hedgehog is a large aquarium.[/QUOTE] seriously? all of the people I've talked to said they need a cage (a couple of my friends have one/work in pet stores). But what you said makes sense. wouldn't the same logic apply to a hamster though?

[QUOTE=ze beaver;30131466]Well a book I read said it was about protecting itself from the toxins that could be in the food v:v:v Mine covered itself in it when it first saw my dog, the poor thing went to put it's nose on the spikes covered with it...[/QUOTE] Strange, I also recall another possible reason being so that it would actually spread the potential toxins on its spikes so that it'd be more deadly. [editline]30th May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=hula whoop;30131495]seriously? all of the people I've talked to said they need a cage (a couple of my friends have one/work in pet stores). But what you said makes sense. wouldn't the same logic apply to a hamster though?[/QUOTE] I can honestly say I've only ever heard that barred cages are bad. I guess the same logic would apply to hamsters, but hamsters are more resilient creatures, plus they won't get stuck inbetween the bars. Also, OP, do you know what gender it is?