Hey Guys!

[kelmelatrocity]

Hey everyone, my names Kelsi and I'll be applying to get a Hedgehog from the Hedgehog Welfare Society soon. Until then, I plan on getting to know as much as I can.. I've looked into the FAQ, and I've been looking up quite a bit of Hedgie items but I wanted to hear what you guys think of certain products since I've heard good and bad about multiple things. I built my own cage over the weekend and I was wondering what you Hedgie owners think of it.

Its made out of wood, and I plan on adding a little railing to the ramp.. But I need to waterproof the wood. Is there any specific products that you've used personally or heard of that would be good for this? I've been looking into Olympic Water Guard, and I've also read that Hedgies don't really chew on wood so it shouldn't be a problem...

Also, just a few random questions to see what is best preferred..

Do you prefer bedding, or cage liner? can I make a cage liner from just cutting fleece to fit the cage and not many layers? If you use litter, what kind? I'm thinking about buying a flying saucer wheel.. How common to Hedgies use flying saucers over a running wheel? Is there any type of bedding/litter that you really don't recommend? (aside from clumping litter, I've researched that.) I've heard of people only feeding mealworms a few times a week, and other times once a day whenever you bring them out, and I know they're high in fat so I'm confused that one person can have no issues feeding it everyday yet another will highly recommend only a few times a week. I suppose this also depends on the Hedgehog.

Sorry if I'm flooding you guys with questions, I know half of the questions I asked are really either or but I want to know what people have experienced with either or and see what they prefer or what their Hedgehog preferred. I wanna be a good Hedgehog owner!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Nancy]

Welcome to CnH.

The cage needs some modification to be hedgie safe. First off, wood is not ideal to use as even sealed, it will be difficult to clean.

The loft and ramp is not hedgie safe and need to have a full height, non climbable wall around the outside of the loft and the side of the ramp. Not all hedgehogs will use a loft.

If possible, I'd go with another cube in size. 14" x 28" is just about the bare minimum size and by the time you get a suitable sized wheel in there, it doesn't leave much room.

A flying saucer will take up just about 1 whole cube in space. Many people use flying saucers. Some hedgehogs won't run on one. Myself and some other people have concerns about the angled running surface causing joint problems.

Liners are best and healthiest for the hedgehog.

 

[kelmelatrocity]

Welcome to CnH.

The cage needs some modification to be hedgie safe. First off, wood is not ideal to use as even sealed, it will be difficult to clean.

The loft and ramp is not hedgie safe and need to have a full height, non climbable wall around the outside of the loft and the side of the ramp. Not all hedgehogs will use a loft.

If possible, I'd go with another cube in size. 14" x 28" is just about the bare minimum size and by the time you get a suitable sized wheel in there, it doesn't leave much room.

A flying saucer will take up just about 1 whole cube in space. Many people use flying saucers. Some hedgehogs won't run on one. Myself and some other people have concerns about the angled running surface causing joint problems.

Liners are best and healthiest for the hedgehog.

The cage measured is 15" x 30" on the inside I believe. Is there any other problems with the wood other than it being difficult to clean? I have no issues upgrading the cage later on but I was hoping this one will last me a little while until I build a new one. Sort of a temporary cage I suppose. Would I be able to cut a hole in the wood siding and just add a cube to the other side if necessary?

 

[tunes]

The problem with wood is it absorbs stuff. It's going to absorb urine, if there are liquidy feces, if he/she spills their water. Wood is not a sanitary as a liner or a bottom to a cage. Why not just put plastic underneath that you can wipe down when it gets wet? I see quite a few hedgie people do that. Also, if you're not using shavings, and are using liners, there's no point to putting the wood pieces around the edge of the cage.

 

[kelmelatrocity]

The problem with wood is it absorbs stuff. It's going to absorb urine, if there are liquidy feces, if he/she spills their water. Wood is not a sanitary as a liner or a bottom to a cage. Why not just put plastic underneath that you can wipe down when it gets wet? I see quite a few hedgie people do that. Also, if you're not using shavings, and are using liners, there's no point to putting the wood pieces around the edge of the cage.

I put the wood pieces around the edge to keep it from trying to climb up the wiring of the cage, I wasn't really thinking about the bedding at that point. Will the wood still absorb urine/water if I put a water guard on it? When I was building the cage I didn't really think that I could just leave the bottom open and put a liner on it, typically when people have cages they have a bottom then a liner on top of it so I didn't really think about just leaving the bottom open. I was also thinking if I had a liner/bedding on top of the wood bottom I wouldn't have an issue with there being a ton of absorption problems with it. I also have a layer of plastic I can put on top of it.

 

[blondeangel]

when i constructed a c&c cage for my guinea pigs i used thick liners on the bottom of the cage. just ontop of the metal. it was super absorbent and never leaked below the metal onto the tile...worked fine for them. i also did liners in a superpet cage for my first hedgehog. that also worked fine-though now I use original soft yesterdays news as bedding.

i'm also not sure if its just my one youngest hedgie...but I have walked into my room at night with all the lights off to catch him scaling to the top of of his cage on the wires. he goes up and then scoots all the way to the other side of the cage. so i'd plan on keeping a full top on the cage not half. btw I have roughly a 5.5 inch deep pan and my smallest hedgie who fits in the palm of my hand, can still climb the cage.

as mentioned the cage sizing you have is fairly small. I had a temp cage I used for one of my hedgies that was roughly the size you have set up after his food dish, water bottle and medium igloo went into the cage there was room for slight movement but not even a wheel.

for me personally i'd never add a chemical (such as water guard) to wood then put any of my animals around it, let alone living on top of it. as small as hedgies are they do pee a nice size puddle as well as nice stinky and sometimes mushy poops. mine even like to decorate the size walls of their cage with some poops so to me, wood bottom/siding would just become gross quickly.

i feed mealworms on occasion, my little crew of three love them. my one fattie who refuses to run on a wheel (and therefore is a super fattie) gets very much limited treats though. they all enjoy their cat food just fine. i also have given canned cat food every now and again, a few large crickets here and there. but their main diet is a mix of natural low fat cat food.

 

[Kalandra]

One thing to think about is that you are offering a bare minimum of floor space. Once you add in a sleeping hut/bag, a wheel, food/water bowls, you will be reducing the floor space available. Hedgehogs should have at a minimum of 3 sq feet of floor space, and personally I believe that space should be uninterrupted, meaning you'll need additional space for "furniture." Without enough floor space you will likely find that your hedgehog will "destroy" its cage nightly. Meaning water bowls will be spilled, wheels pushed around etc.

As mentioned already, you'll need to fix the loft or remove it. As it is right now it is a fall hazard.

Another potential problem with the wood is that if you ever have a mite infestation you are not going to be able to disinfect that wood. Why not use coroplast?

 

[Melissa]

Will the wood still absorb urine/water if I put a water guard on it?

Already been answered.

The cage needs some modification to be hedgie safe. First off, wood is not ideal to use as even sealed, it will be difficult to clean.

For the bottom of the cage, why not put the panels on the bottom and just line it with thick liners. Thats what I have. Just a Big cube partially open to the top and a double layer of fleece on the bottom and then their liners on top. If they go under the liner they are still on top of the fleece.


Also, telling us that the cage is 2 extra inches on each side is not going to convince us that the cage is big enough. Plenty of us use this type of cage and we KNOW how big they are and what they measure and one panel by two is NOT big enough. Especially when you put in thick wood that is taking back your "inches" you gain with the space between the panels. You need to do this cage two by two panels AT LEAST. While me might still be able to entertain ourselve in rooms with lots of furnature and hardly any room simple minded animals can not. If you do some research these animals are known to run upwards 10+ miles a night on the wheel alone. That does not include the exploring space between the wheel and bed and dishes which you have left NO room for. The cage needs improvements all around.

If you are wanting to be a part of any hedgehog community like the HWS or others you need to show that ou are willing to work to improve things for your hedgehog rather than rationalize what you already did like the size (being 2 inches bigger) or asking if sealing it will work, AFTER its already been told to you that it wont.

 

[kelmelatrocity]

One thing to think about is that you are offering a bare minimum of floor space. Once you add in a sleeping hut/bag, a wheel, food/water bowls, you will be reducing the floor space available. Hedgehogs should have at a minimum of 3 sq feet of floor space, and personally I believe that space should be uninterrupted, meaning you'll need additional space for "furniture." Without enough floor space you will likely find that your hedgehog will "destroy" its cage nightly. Meaning water bowls will be spilled, wheels pushed around etc.

As mentioned already, you'll need to fix the loft or remove it. As it is right now it is a fall hazard.

Another potential problem with the wood is that if you ever have a mite infestation you are not going to be able to disinfect that wood. Why not use coroplast?

I was unaware that Hedgehogs will tear apart their cage for burrowing/typical scurrying at night outside of the wheel. I've heard of a few people saying their Hedgehogs are messy but I didn't know their cage situation.. As of right now I'm debating on keeping the loft or not, I've also never heard of coroplast? Can that be found at a hardware store like lowes/home depot? I can go check them out the next time I'm out.

Already been answered.




For the bottom of the cage, why not put the panels on the bottom and just line it with thick liners. Thats what I have. Just a Big cube partially open to the top and a double layer of fleece on the bottom and then their liners on top. If they go under the liner they are still on top of the fleece.


Also, telling us that the cage is 2 extra inches on each side is not going to convince us that the cage is big enough. Plenty of us use this type of cage and we KNOW how big they are and what they measure and one panel by two is NOT big enough. Especially when you put in thick wood that is taking back your "inches" you gain with the space between the panels. You need to do this cage two by two panels AT LEAST. While me might still be able to entertain ourselve in rooms with lots of furnature and hardly any room simple minded animals can not. If you do some research these animals are known to run upwards 10+ miles a night on the wheel alone. That does not include the exploring space between the wheel and bed and dishes which you have left NO room for. The cage needs improvements all around.

If you are wanting to be a part of any hedgehog community like the HWS or others you need to show that ou are willing to work to improve things for your hedgehog rather than rationalize what you already did like the size (being 2 inches bigger) or asking if sealing it will work, AFTER its already been told to you that it wont.

No need to be rude. The quote you gave me simply said "even when sealed it is difficult to clean." I assumed that meant difficult to manage because its heavier then a simple plastic, not that it would still absorb if sealed. I have been researching these animals for the past 5 days, I'm fully aware they like to run at night but I heard 5 or so miles is typical, not 10. I've been on countless websites for Hedgehogs, and everything says the opposite of each other. I've found Hedgehog starter kits from a breeder that were 20x16 cages, I came here for help on the subject not to be told I'm not willing to improve when I already stated that I want to upgrade the cage but was hoping that this one would be an OK starter cage since I already built it. If the bare minimum cage size is too small, then why is it the bare minimum if its not acceptable? I also already stated that I would be willing to add another square to the cage to add more space for it. Also, I didn't simply 'rationalize' the size of the cage, she told me the bare minimum size and I measured it roughly with a measurement stick to make sure it was not under that.