Meet Flower!

[Vampira_666]

After many years of contemplating adding a new hedgehog to my family I finally took the plunge and did just that. I was a member of the site many years ago. (Some of you may remember me) & I owned a wonderful hedgehog named Marigold. When Marigold passed I decided I couldn't do it again and lose another "baby" so I opted to not get another hedgehog & to focus on raising my daughter. But my love for them & My daughter's new found love for them made me change my mind. So we started looking about 6 months ago for a new baby to add to the family. We had no luck and we're almost ready to give up our search but, That's when we found Flower (previously named Snowball). Flower comes from a family that could no longer care for her, & although she is quite the friendly girl her previous owners didn't know a whole lot about caring for her. I am very happy to have "rescued" her from her previous home. I did find out though that she was indeed housed with a male so I am watching her very closely for signs of pregnancy. (I am almost 100% positive at this point she is indeed pregnant as she is showing symptoms). They had her in cedar bedding, no hiding place, no wheel & on a cheap store brand cat food- We changed her bedding immediately & bathed her to wash any oils from her skin/fur, got her a nice big igloo & I'm very slowly adding in a better food & I've opted out for the wheel right now until we know for sure there won't be any babies. Flower is about 5-6 months old. My daughter Loves her to death <3 & decided the name flower was perfect for her "because she is as pretty as one"! I think I have babbled enough about her. I'm just very excited to have her & to get her into a better situation. So without further ado meet Flower:

 

[Kalandra]

Congratulations on the new hedgehog. She looks like she is a pretty social little girl already.

If you run into questions regarding pregnancy that you cannot find answers to, please don't hesitate to ask. Poor girl, at least she has a better home now to have her babies.

 

[Sandi]

Aww, look at that pretty face. Congratulations!

 

[cindyv3737]

She's lovely. Congratulations to both of you.

 

[shetland]

She is so beautiful! I am so glad she has a home where she will be loved and properly cared for.

 

[addictedtochins]

My goodness, what a beautiful hedgie Princess. Congratulations!

 

[Vampira_666]

Thanks everyone! She is settling in nicely & is a very sweet girl. My daughter LOVES her to death & wants to hold/play with her daily (my daughter is 4 years old BTW) No sign of babies yet although I still believe she might be pregnant. She has put on some weight in her midsection, Her teats are very prominent, she has been eating and especially drinking a lot more, & she is becoming a bit grumpier (so to speak), and huffing at me a bit more than she has been in the last few weeks, I also noticed she has been pulling all of her bedding into her igloo with her, so I cut up some fleece strips and put them in with her also! We are very happy & feel very blessed to have her as part of our family!

 

[Kalandra]

If she is pregnant, it doesn't sound like she may have much longer to go. Here is hoping that if she has babies, all goes well and she raises them like a champ.

 

[shetland]

If it happens, I am happy to know she is with family who will love them and care for them as they should be cared for.

 

[Vampira_666]

My suspicions were correct. Flower had babies last night soemtime. I noticed a bit of blood in the middle of her cage this morning & when she moved around in her igloo, I saw 4 tiny lil' hoglets! So far it looks like she is being a great mom, feeding them and protecting them. I always check on her in the mornings when I get up because her cage is on my dresser almost right beside my bed. Now that I know she has babies, I will be keeping my bedroom door closed and my daughter away from my room/her cage so she can have time with her babies! (Thankfully I am knowledgeable with breeding!)

 

[Kalandra]

Well congratulations. Looks like your family just got a lot bigger real fast! Keeping our quills crossed here that Flower continues to be a good momma.

I bet your daughter will be sad that she cannot see Flower for awhile

 

[addictedtochins]

Congratulations! Can't wait to see some pics!

 

[Vampira_666]

Flower is still being a wonderful momma & taking good care of her babies. I rarely hear their squeaks and when I do, it doesn't last long as momma is right there to attend to them! I was able to sneak a peak & a couple photos today while I was feeding her (I always have the camera handy). She heard me open her cage and was curious so she raised her head, then stood up, watched me very closely as I refilled her food dish & cleaned and refilled her water dish, and as soon as I closed the cage door she came rushing out , checked me out a bit & grabbed a bite to eat. (it seems she is fairly comfortable with my presence around). I took a few photos and she didn't seem bothered at all, just continued eating her kibbles, but I decided not to push it and left her be to finish her meal. There is definitely 4 of them and they look great. I am so proud of Flower for doing such a great job with these babies! I cannot wait to watch them grow!

 

[Kalandra]

They are fun to watch grow up, but they grow up so fast. Keep up the good work momma.

 

[Vampira_666]

Update...

Flower is doing a great job being a mommy! Her babies are almost 2 weeks old now! They are getting so big & are super cute!

Mommy doesn't seem to mind me being in and around her cage. When I am filling her food &/or water dish she comes out to see me & usually grabs a snack. I talk to her & tell her what a great job she is doing. & I'll usually check on the babies while I'm feeding her also. She is fine with me being in her nest and just looks at me & I talk to her and tell her what I am doing and she just goes back to eating! I'm so happy she is comfortable with me especially considering she has only been here about 2 months.

She had a dark coloured male & 3 albino females!!
here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure...because I know how much everyone LOVES pics!! (there's a picture of them all & one of each of them individually also)

 

[Kalandra]

Well that makes it easy to know what sex you are holding at least. They grow just too fast.

 

[zombiewoman]

Congratulations.