Hazardous Igloo

Sorry about making so many posts, but this seemed pretty important.

I got a soft igloo recently at Petco a while back and, it seemed pretty good at first, Aiko tends to turn it over and sleep in the top part, every time I fix it he just does it again, so eventually I just let him use it that way, but I just went upstairs to go check on him, and it's a good thing I did, because I walked in and heard continuous huffing, so when I looked inside, I noticed one of his nails is stuck in a loose thread, and he was struggling to get it out. The thread was wrapped around him pretty tight, so I ended up having to hold his paw down, and cut the thread off using scissors, then I had to roll it off of him myself.

Lesson Learned: I better inspect his stuff quite a bit better after this little incident...

Oh and, here's the igloo I had http://www.petco.com/product/12203/Marshall-Pet-Ferret-Cozy-Igloo.aspx

Wow, I have not seen that igloo before but if I ever do, I wil stay away from it. I'm assuming you took the bad igloo out and hopefully replacing it with a better one.

Oh, of course, I'm getting rid of that thing, In fact, I'm getting rid of everything, I'm hoping to be ordering new supplies from The Hedgie Den sometime, (once I raise some money,that is) so I'm going to get a hard igloo, and get an igloo cover for it, and some liners, and hopefully a Flying Saucer Wheel, so, at least out of this I have an excuse to go hedgiehog shopping, but I just feel so bad for poor little Ike. :cry4:

Quill'd said:

Oh, of course, I'm getting rid of that thing, In fact, I'm getting rid of everything

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Did you get rid of the igloo yet? If not, take it back to Petco and get a refund! I used to work there, and they have a very open return policy. (Petsmart is the same way.) So, if you take it back and tell them what happened, I'm fairly positive they will give you store credit. Even if it's open, used, and you don't have a receipt...I've done this a few times at a few different stores and have never had a problem. If for some reason the cashier says they can't, ask to talk to a manager about the unsafe product that they sold you and I guarantee they will take it back (though I really don't think it would come to that.)

They probably won't give you cash, but you can use the credit to buy the safer plastic igloo.

Thanks for the heads up!

Oh wow that is very scary! I'm glad you were able to help him.

Where was he stuck? If I remember correctly, those igloos have exposed seams inside with an overlock stitch. That stitch can easily catch claws. It's the stitch you see on the inside of t-shirts and sweat shirts and has the threads that wrap over top of the cut edge. These seams are not hedgehog safe.

With fleece, some hedgehogs can get their claws caught in the fabric itself. If the nail if fine and curls under there is a risk. My Pebbles used to get caught frequently especially if her nails got a bit long. She had very fine nails, almost like a baby and the tip curled under.

One time a scream was heard all through our house. Everyone came running including cats wondering what it was. As I was running up the stairs I said it's a hedgehog. It was Pebbles. She was in her igloo trying to walk out of it and her blankie was coming with her, stuck to her nail. So, what does every diva do in a situation such as that.... they SCREAM! :lol:

Omigawsh. I almost bought that igloo last night! Thank goodness I didn't. Glad you got to your little one in time.

That is a good warning! I had the same problem with the Octo-Play octopus. It is made for ferrets, like the fleece igloo, but it was nice and soft. I stopped using it after Maserati got her toenails stuck in the threads. I guess ferret beds just aren't a good option for hedgies. You could probably make your own fleece igloo, though, and make sure the seams are on the outside. Or just use the plastic igloo with a cover.