How am I doing? Should I Change anything?

[Shadoe]

Well, Its been hectic here. I got my Mr Snootz the day after I had surgery to remove 5 teeth so its been a tough go. I had to switch bedrooms (mine was too cold), then had to rearrange it yesterday. ITs a long room so I have my ferrets at the cooler end and my MrSnootz at the other end close to the heat vent. I keep a thermometer on top of his cage and its 70 to 72 constant so I think I have that covered.
He want eating so I read on Hedgehog cnetral to try rice cooked in chicken broth (unseasoned) and bits of Chicken. So I cooked for him. Last night he ate the chicken and some of the rice and a bit of Gerber baby food but is still ignoring the kibble he came with.
I gave is in his wheel and shuffling around all night now so I think he is becomming to feel safer in his new home.
I am handleing him at night letting him sit with me on my bed and he sometimes will uncurl after about 20 minutes but is very much like Squee that I have been reading about. (They coud be the same Hedgie!) Should I try during the day when I am on the comp to put him in a pouch and let him sit on my lap to sleep?
I so want to do whats best for him.
Shadoe

 

[GliderChillaLove]

I would say your doing everything right, I have found that carrying them around or being with them while theyre sleeping helps the bonding process along. Also if you let him sleep with an article of clothing that has your smell on it it could help him get used to you quicker.

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

It’s a good idea to put a used article of your clothing in your hedgie’s cage for ‎him to cuddle up and sleep in. It will get him used to your scent and hopefully lead to ‎him trusting you more. A shirt or large sock works well, he will probably tend to go ‎for something he can squeeze himself into, and feel comfortable. How long have ‎you had him? Sometimes it takes a few weeks for them to fully begin to trust you. ‎I’ve had one of my hedgies since the day he was old enough to be separated from ‎his mother, I’ve tried all the techniques, and he still doesn’t fully trust me, after ‎months of “bonding time”. I’ve heard stories of hedgies that “uncurled” right away ‎for new owners and loved them from that moment on. The time it takes for a ‎hedgie to bond with it’s owner is different for each individual one. They all have their ‎personalities, some may remain grumpy for the rest of their lives. ‎
Concerning the food, do you have mealworms? Try mixing these in with the ‎kibble and tell us what happens. This was posted a while ago, so hopefully you have ‎figured something out by now. If all else fails, mix a little bit of chicken in with his ‎kibble, and dribble some of the juices over the whole bowl, this may encourage him ‎to take a few bites, and probably finish the whole thing. Once he has it once, it’s very ‎likely that you will easily be able to take the chicken out and just feed him the kibble. ‎
It’s good that you are handling him at night, please continue to do this, and ‎with patience it will pay off, trust me. ‎
As far as letting him sleep on your lap, this may not be a good idea unless ‎your whole house is at a constant temperature. If his cage is at 70ish degrees, and ‎you move him through different rooms, to wherever your computer is, the changing ‎air temp around him isn’t the best for his immune system and will probably scare ‎him more than help. Just try the shirt/sock method, and you should have the same ‎results, as he’s sleeping in direct contact with something of yours, and getting your ‎scent. ‎
Good luck with your hedgie and please keep us updated =D

 

[charlie]

Has he started to eat his kibble? You may want to count his kibble at night to see how much he is eating. His food may be stale since he obviously still has an appetite. Also 70 may still be too cold for him. Some hedgies prefer warmer than 70 (which is a tad on the low side). A heat emitter found at most pet stores may be a good solution, though I fine it is best hooked up to a thermostat so that it comes on only as needed.

 

[Melissa]

I would agree that the temp is still too cold.. I had 2 hibernation attempts(2 hogs at the same time) the other night and the heat was on and the room temp was 75*

Also, for bonding time, any free time you have i.e computer time, reading, tv time, take that opportunity to bond.

 

[andraealynne]

Melissa, how can you tell when your hedgie is trying to hibernate?

 

[Kalandra]

There are several symptoms: cold stomach, lethargy, lack of appetite/drinking less, unable to uncurl, sudden onset of being wobbly, and unable to move are the major symptoms.

All of these require immediate action. The longer your hedgehog is attempting to hibernate the more likely they will become very sick. Our pet's immune systems become compromised when they are in this state.