New to Site and Hedgehogs

Kim67 · Nov 6, 2011

Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon this site by accident and I'm thrilled about it!

I'm about to aquire my first Hedgehog and have been doing alot of research to be sure I'm ready for the little one. The more I search the more confused I become.

What do I need?

Shavings? (Is Pine okay) Food? etc????

Any help at all would be great!!!! Thanks

Kim

tunes · Nov 6, 2011

Welcome to CnH.

Dragonflye · Nov 6, 2011

Hi Kim, welcome.

There is a FAQ link under the "New Hedgehog Owner Questions" of the hedgie section of the forum. I would start there and read, read, read. All of the basics are there. If you have any questions on those, feel free to ask away.

smhufflepuff · Nov 7, 2011

Welcome

Definitely take Dragonflye's suggesting on checking out the FAQ.

But as a quick answer to your question about pine... I wouldn't for a number of reasons: there can be various oils in pine that could affect your little one. You can get the kiln dried version to cut down on that risk. With any type of shavings, though, it's harder to keep track of your little one's health. Messy poops (green or no well-formed) can hide in the shavings, the lack of poop (constipation or blockage) might go unnoticed because you figure that there's hidden poop. Then there's the mess for both you and hedgie - shavings in hedgie's water dish... in hedgie's food dish. And the shavings have a way of migrating out of hedgie's area and all over the house. So, rather than shavings, many of us use fleece with our little ones. Helps keep things cleaner for both you and hedgie. And helps you spot if something's going awry.

Food: you'll want some high-quality cat kibbles - preferably a mix of a couple types.