hedgie toys?

[GuidoTheHedgie]

my girls love their wheel, but nothing else seems to get their attention.

they're always either sleeping in their bag or igloo, running on the wheel, or eating.

i've given them tubes, cat toys, and small stuffed animals.

they dont seem to want to play with anything.

im just concerned that they might be getting bored.



what do your hedgies like to play with?
:hmmm:

 

[Rachael0911]

My hedgie pretty much wheels and that's it. She does have a stuffed purple elephant (a gift from her Hedgie friend, Lucy) that she occassionally drags around, otherwise she's not interested in much else. It just might be their personality. Also, they may be playing with things at night and you just aren't aware of it.

 

[StarstruckAngel]

I think it's common for them not to be very interested in toys. Mine sniffed at and pushed around the toys I gave her on the first day, but she hasn't touched them since. Hedgies are big on sleep, and wheels are the next best thing apparently

 

[smhufflepuff]

Agreed... Mine isn't terribly big on any of her toys. Sometimes I find they've been moved around her house when I check on her in the mornings. But she doesn't play with much of anything. Wheels, snuggles, eats, poos, and sleeps are her main activities.

Knowing this, I just leave a couple toys in her house so there IS something there IF she becomes interested/bored and wants to do something other than her regular routine.

For kicks, you can try an upside-down lightweight plastic bowl and watch your hedgie become a turtle. I know there was someone on the boards whose hedgie pretty much adopted a bowl as his/her outfit... I think the behavior earned that hedgie the name "Turtle."

 

[GuidoTheHedgie]

i just gave them an old bowl, and an empty oatmeal container.

we shall see if they like it.

 

[Kalandra]

Take a look at their personality and try to find toys that fit well. I wrote an article for the IHA News a few years ago that describe possible toy ideas (based on personality) that are "recycled." Meaning items that are fairly commonly found in households. You can find it on my website at: http://mihog.org/cages/recycle.phtml It may give you some ideas of things to try without costing anything.

There are some hedgehogs that like to run and run is all they want to do. For those a good running wheel is what keeps them "sane."

BTW, Turtle was my hedgehog. Was a baby born to my first hedgehog. He had a little pink cereal bowl that he adored. He used to walk around his cage with it on his back. He would eat with it as well. You'd see his head pop out to get a piece of kibble and he'd "pop" back in to eat it. He even once tried to get it on his running wheel with him but it didn't work out for him. I can't find an image on my website of him and his bowl at the moment. But here he is with another item he loved. He used to play soccer with a jingle bell ball (he'd kick it around to make noise) .

 

[GuidoTheHedgie]

thanks everyone for the answers.

ive noticed them pushing around the cat ball,
and they are LOVING the oatmeal container i put in there.

i woke up last night and when i looked in the cage cheezit was in the container and it was just a rollin back and forth. i think she enjoyed her self. :]

 

[kitty-kat-kazoo]

Haha that's SO cute. Lol my little Squee LOVES his truck. It's got an open back for him to sit in, but he much prefers going underneath it then walking around with it on his back... I guess he's a boy playing with his cars?

 

[Kalandra]

I found the image of Turtle. I thought I would share since it came up. He used to even walk around with it at time when he had run of my bedroom time. For this image I was sitting watching this little pink bowl move around my floor with the camera in front of it. I tapped the floor in front of him and look what popped out!

Sometimes you just have to keep trying different things to find something that they really like.

 

[beanjelly]

Be careful with the cat toys. I remember hearing about hedgies getting their teeth stuck on the toys and not being able to get the off a while back. I think it was this type (specifically, the green one on the left or the red/yellow one in the middle):

http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_ProductList_PC_productlist_Nav_210_N_23+101+30+4294964787.aspx

Does anyone else remember this...may have been from back in the CnQ days?

 

[Nancy]

I posted about it on CnQ after a friend of mines hedgie got her lower jaw caught in one. It had to be cut off her jaw and it did serious damage to her.

It was this one with the long slits.

http://www.americanesuperstore.com/lnvt15814.html

 

[Kalandra]

Yes it totally depends on the cat ball. The ones I use with the hedgehogs are completely solid. I have also tried the foam style balls (no bell) and had mixed results. They work well with hedgehogs that like to push the ball around, but are horrible with hedgehogs that like to pick things up and pack them around (the foam will start to come off).

I've also made small cloth balls (plus cubes), which work great with my hedgehog who likes to pack them around her cage (no worries of her ingesting foam). I actually find all three of my hedgehogs snuggled in their beds with their cloth cubes. They love their cuddle buddies.