A Couple of New Owner Questions

Hi!

So, if all goes well I should be picking up my baby in a few days! I went shopping today and got the cage, food (the kind that the breeder is feeding it), a few toys, dishes, a cardboard tube made especially for small animals, and a bunch of fleece blankets. I have yet to get an igloo, and exercise wheel.
And of course, as a new mommy =) , I have a couple questions.

The cardboard tube (made especially for hedgehogs) I got says that its made with 'vegetable parchment', that is ideal for chewing. Are hedgies allowed to chew on cardboard/vegetable parchment?

Also, the big fleece blankets I got, am I allowed to cut them into appropriate sizes and just use them as lining? I will make sure there aren't any loose strings of course, but a layer of fleece on the bottom of the cage is fine, right?

I couldn't find any safe exercise wheels, so I am contemplating buying a bucket wheel of "Cake Walk". Is there by any chance a cheaper alternative, or is it maybe easier to make one yourself?

I couldn't find a good igloo; they were either WAY to big, or just too tiny. Is there a better alternative? Should I turn to buying one off of a website?

And finally, I also couldn't find a good litter box; what do you guys use for your cages? Where can I find a simple small box?

LOL, that was more then a couple of questions, but I'm scared of being unprepared!

Do you recommend anything else for a my new baby?

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this huge post!

Okay im going to try to answer these as best i can and i hope this helpss.
Okay. The cardboard tube i honestly have no idea! I don;t have one and i dont know anyone who does, but someone who has had them longer may know abit more about that
Id say as long as there are no strings, or anything the babies foot could get caught in that would be perfect. I do the same thing, except i tuck mine under ( i have a C&C cage)
The wheel.. uhm i use the Comfort wheel,, it was only about $25 and my babies love them! Someone that uses the "cake walk" wheel may be able to help you better on that.
as for the igloo i have the medium sized one. the one's made for guinea pigs. You can get one at petsmart, petco, petland and im sure other pet stores have them. They shouldn't be more then $15-16. but if you would like to make something, im sure other people on here could help you with that
and the litter box.. haha Ive tried 2-3 times to litter train my hedgies. and they just want to be complicated. some hedgehogs can be litter trained. so my advice on that would be " it depends on your hedgie".
and i so know what you mean about being unprepared. I was the same way. except i had like 10times the questions you asked. lol. I now have 3 hedgies and i am probly getting another one on wednesday.
as for the any other things you should get for your baby, I got a stuffed animal (hedgehog and a bear) for my cage. my babies like to curl up with them and sleep.
and you will want to get some kind of heat source. (heating pad, heat lamp) and also a scale so you can keep track of your babies weight to make sure they are in good health. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
Most people on this site are VERY helpful and very friendly.
Have lots of fun with your new baby and take lot's of pics. I can't wait to see your hedgiee :dance3:

Thanks for replying! I think I'll stop by pet smart and check out the igloos and some more toys!
Is it necessary to get a heating source, if my room is already a bit warmer then the breeder's house temp.? I did buy a heating pad just in case, but hopefully I won't need it.
urghh..I still don't know what o do about the wheels though! I think I'll ask the breeder, when I come to pick the hedgie up.

You thought that was a lot of questions? I've been asking my breeder a new question (or 2 or 3) every 3 days for the past 2 months LOL! BUT it so happens that I asked a lot of the same questions, or have already been to the store to check it out, and magically you're a Canuck like me so you have the same stores
1. I *think* the cardboard tube is fine, though as far as I've seen around the site, hedgies don't do much chewing on their cardboard tubes, mostly they just use them to hide in. Toilet paper tubes are fine for that.
2. Fleece makes a wonderful lining. If you can attach them to something even more absorbant, even better. Cut them slightly large in case they shrink in the wash, and like you said, make sure there's no fray, and you'll be good to go. Maybe save at least one for snuggling too, our little creatures are a big fan of that.
3. I have the "Giant 12" Comfort Wheel" too. Petsmart sells them for $24. Get yourself a free membership there and you'll get 10% off all your purchases.
4. Petsmart also has 2 sizes of igloo. The larger size looked just right and cost me $7 or so, whatever it was, it was no big expense!
5. There are 2 good options for litter boxes from what I can see. My breeder told me to get a cheap baking pan and put the wheel inside it, so I did. One of those big fancy dollar stores had one for $6. The other option I've seen lots of people use is a plastic corner litter box, designed for ferrets I think, no clue what that will cost, but I can almost guarantee that Petsmart will have it.
6. If your room is consistently between 74-78 degrees F, then you do not HAVE to get a big heat source, but you do have to at least have emergency supplies. Hand warmers are great, haven't found them yet but have heard Walmart has them. The heating pad is also enough even if your room is not warm enough, I'm more worried about the day the power goes out and that will no longer work.
7. Make sure to get litter for your litter box I know, stating the obvious right? Pet Valu had an almost normal size of pine shavings for about $10. Check Pet Valu for your food as well, they carry almost all the good brands and at really good prices.
I hope I'm not missing anything, but all my supplies are at my new place already so I can't paw through them to check. I am definitely more than happy to have "new mommy talk" with you any time, I'm the same nervous wreck about making sure I'm ready for this!

thank you StarstruckAngel, for your help!
I will definitely stop by petsmart on the way to pick my hedgie up from the breeders, and I will check out the igloos, comfort wheel, litter tray, and a play pen cage. The only reason I didn't buy a comfort wheel before hand was because I read that they are too difficult to clean, and they make too much noise.

I did get Royal Canin Kitten (the kind that they breeder feeds the hoglets) from PetValu already so food shouldn't be a problem.

The hedgehogs that the breeder raises are used to a temp. of 21Celcius at their home, and they have been like that for years. Since my house is a little warmer then that, I figure it should be ok. I also did buy hot water bottle (not a heating pad, like I said before), just in case.

thank you for the help!

Be careful of the 21 celcius advise. There are many so called breeders that will tell you they are fine at normal room temperatures just to sell hedgehogs. Then the new owner gets the baby home and finds out it isn't. This happens all the time and the owner has to scramble to get heating set up or in some cases have had to re-home the hedgehog because parents wouldn't allow heating.

That being said, there are some hedgehogs that are fine at 71F/21.66C. Most aren't though and it is best to assume when going into hedgehog ownership that you will need to provide an alternate heat source.

Comfort wheels are an okay wheel and can be made quieter by putting a bit of Vaseline on each end of the shaft. Bucket wheels are fairly easy to make if you have access to tools. Cakewalk wheels are awesome but the maker is having health issues at the moment so hold off on one of them until he is back in production.

Thank you Nancy!
I brought the hedgie home today!!!! He is an angel! SO tiny, and the most adorable creature I have ever seen. He even nibbled (my hands smelled like muffins) my hand my accident! =P He is cuddled up in my shirt sleeping in the cage right now. If I have some time tomorrow/today, I'll definitely put some pictures up.

I did have a long conversation with the breeder. He has been raising hedgehogs for over 20 years and literally knows almost everything about them. He has very many animals (including hedgehogs) and seems to extremely experienced. We talked about the temp. and he said that since my room is warmer then his house, the hedgie should be fine.

He did show me the wheel that his hedgies have used for years, and it's the kind that has the meshy wire bottom. He said that he has never had a hedgie paw fall through, because the holes are too small for that. I'm still thinking about buying a comfort wheel though..hmmm. Maybe I'll buy both?

I'm so happy/butterfly-ish right now! =)
Thank you for everyones help!

If your hedgehog's room is consistently at 72F, you will be fine most of the time. I had an apartment once that we kept at 72-74 all the time and the hedgehogs were ok most of the time. However there were incidents where we had to turn on a space heater because the winter temperatures and wind made it very hard to keep the house that warm. I'm in Michigan, depending on what part of Canada you are from I'm certain there should be some points during the winter that you will run into that as well.

You will also want a backup heat source. Should the power go out, you will need a source to keep your hedgehogs warm. Prepare for both of these now, before it becomes an emergency and is much more expensive to fix.

I dislike those metal mesh wheels. The holes in them are actually too large. I do use a mesh wheel. Its surface is craft canvas, which has much smaller holes. I also dislike comfort wheels. I find that they are very noisy. If you are handy at all, look for instructions on how to make yourself a nice bucket style running wheel with a skate bearing. You will be thankful for the quiet at night.