One missing baby

Haii there,

I never intended to breed my female hedgehog. My male hedgehog (Huffster) found his way into her cage one night & that was it. He had been escaping a lot days before that. I knew he couldn't get into the female's cage if I seperated the cage. However, my mum didn't know he could climb & ended up putting the two cages next to each other.

My female hedgehog (Chubster) gave birth on August 1st, exactly 35 days after it happened. What time- I don't know.
I didn't even know she had given birth until I saw her stepping on a pinkish 'blob' as she emerged from her hide-box.

Safe to say, I was shocked because I didn't hear any squeaking.

I lured her out with mealworms again & peeked through the side of the box to see how many babies she had. I counted 2 at first. On the second day, I checked & saw 3. Note that I never disturbed the nest as I just peeked in for a few seconds while I distract the mum with mealworms.

On the third day today, I noticed one baby seperated from the other two. This baby was inside the hide-box, near the door.
I waited a few hours to see if mum took it back inside.
I went back & it was not there anymore.
It wasn't with the other two babies either.
Maybe I didn't see it (because I don't peek very long nor have a clear view of the hedgies) or maybe Mum cannibalised it?

I will check again tomorrow as I feed Chubster.
If I do find that missing baby hedgehog, should I scoop it up with a spoon & put it back into the hide-box?

I found that missing baby. It's buried under some bedding & not moving as far as I know.
It's dead, isn't it?

I haven't touched the nest at all.

Im sorry this happened to you My guess would be that the hoglet is dead, however I cannot see it so I can't really say for sure, but no movement, warmth or breathing would indicate death. There may have been something wrong with the hoglet which is why mom abandoned it. Its hard to see and deal with, but its part of hedgehog breeding.

You're doing the right thing by not touching the nest and I would recommend not disturbing mom at all, which includes luring her out with mealworms and then peeking into the nest. I know thats hard, but its the safest for the hoglets. Just refill moms water and food as usually and then leave her completely alone.
Good luck with the other two hoglets!

I was thinking the same thing as well. I saw her step on the little thing once or twice before this.

Okay then. I'll stop feeding here mealworms for the time being.
Thank you!

Since the possibly-dead hoglet is stil inside the nest, I can't remove it without touching the nest. Should I just leave it in there then? D:

Hmmm taking it out of the nest - I would say yes, take it out with a spoon - if you can catch a time with your mama hedgie is not in the nest, like when she decides to eat so that you are not stressing her out.

I would still give her mealworms and other supplemental food to increase her calories for nursing, but just don't lure her away from her babies

Thanks for the valuable advice!
I've done plenty of research but nothing prepares you for the practical bit, does it?

I checked on the babies one last time this morning because I was worried after I couldn't see any of them yesterday night. I won't peek anymore after this till the critical period is over.
I found all 3 babies, still in one piece. One was inside, it's alive. Another two, I didn't have to peek to find as they're lying at the door (still inside the box), side by side. One's moving. Another wasn't.
Does this mean they're rejects?
Or mum just moves them around?
We don't really know, do we?

All 3 look pretty big to me so looks like Chubster's being a good momma for now.

I am personally only on my second litter and yes no amount of reading can fully prepare one for breeding hedgehogs! I am definately no expert.

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for whether or not your other two hoglets are rejects or not. My mama hedgie keeps all her hoglets gathered up inside the nest - in a bit of a pig pile. She did this for her first litter and she is doing it again with the five she has now. However, for her first litter it took her a couple of days to get the hang of it - she gave birth to them all over the cage and when I found her she only had one inside her nest - I moved the other two by her with stripes of fleece from inside the cage and after that she didn't let them out of her sight. Hedgehogs are touchy little creatures.

Good luck with your little ones - I hope they all make it!