Housekeeping

[Aushy]

As the title suggests, these are all housekeeping questions, not life-threatening, but good to know for a first time owner.

1. Certain feeding time, or do I leave food continuously out?

2. How often do I take him to the vet for a check-up?

3. How often do I clip his nails?

4. How often is 'bath time'?

5. How often do I give him worms?


And, that's about it. Thanks!

 

[ShutUpAndSmile]

1. Certain feeding time, or do I leave food continuously out?
You can free feed. Hedgehogs dont tend to overeat. If you see him starting to get fat then you can worry about restricting his diet.

2. How often do I take him to the vet for a check-up?
Usually once a few weeks after you get him. Then after once a year is typical. Some people like every six months.

3. How often do I clip his nails?
As you see needed. When they get long give them a little clip

4. How often is 'bath time'?
You can give foot baths as needed. But full baths try to keep to once a month.

5. How often do I give him worms?
Depending on his weight you can give a couple every day if you want.

 

[smhufflepuff]

As the title suggests, these are all housekeeping questions, not life-threatening, but good to know for a first time owner.

1. Certain feeding time, or do I leave food continuously out?
I free-feed mine - there's always food available. Each evening, I measure out 10g of food (some people count kibble piece by piece) and put it in Bella's bowl. She eats most of it over night so there's a little left in her dish by morning that she can snack on during the day if she wants to. At the end of the day, I toss the food I put in the night before and refill with a new 10g. Each hedgie is different though - I used to put in about 9g for Satin and 12g for Tex. If they ever managed to eat all their kibbles at night, I'd put in a few more g in the morning.


2. How often do I take him to the vet for a check-up?
I like to bring them in maybe about a week or so after they've been home with me so I have a sense of what's "normal." Then only on an as-needed basis.


3. How often do I clip his nails?
Depends on the hedgie and depends on which nail of which foot. The "big toe" nails on rear feet seem to grow fast than others. With Satin, it was every few days. Texie maybe once a week. The rest of the nails maybe once a week, once every two weeks, or less. We're still establishing a routine with Bella.


4. How often is 'bath time'?
As rarely as possible. Hedgies tend toward dry skin and, even with the best moisturizer (ie, oatmeal), baths tend to dry them out. So, if hedgie has turned into a mess through anointing, that would be a good time.
Most hedgies have this delightful way of pooping on their wheels and running through the poop so that, by morning, they have poopboots. You'll want to give a footbath - the water can be as low as 0.5 cm (just enough to cover the "boots"). And you may need to do that every single morning.


5. How often do I give him worms?
Depends on the hedgie. If he's on the fluffy side (overweight), I'd go with every few days. Else, you can give him mealworms every day. You'll figure out a good amount to feed based on how his tummy reacts.