Expectations when bringing your hedgehog home:
Remember when you bring your new hedgehog home for the first time they will go through a period of stress. Nothing about the new place will feel like home. They will have all new smells, sights and be on their own, sometimes for the first time since birth. It may take a week or 2 for your hedgehog to completely relax and settle into their new home. During this time as well they will be getting use to you and your routine. It is very critical during this time period to spend as much time with your hedgehog as possible. In doing so you will help comfort your new friend and in turn end up with a stronger bond. Some things you can do to help with bonding are place a shirt in their cage that smells like you. This will allow them to get use to your scent and realize that you will not hurt them or are a threat. Holding your hedgehog daily, even 2-3 times a day will keep your hedgehog well socialized and reiterate your bond. Hedgehogs will revert back to their natural shyness if not held frequently. If you get really busy and don’t have time to hold your hedgehog for a couple days you may find that when you go to hold them for the first time again they are a little more defensive. This is normal and most will settle down once held on a routine basis again. Another thing you may try to help with the bonding process is hand feed your hedgehog. Whether treats or food this will let the hedgehog know that you are not going to hurt them. Some may refuse to eat from your hand while others will have no problem. I will caution though after hand feeding over and over your hedgehog may associate your hand with food and develop a biting problem.
Food and water:
After bringing your hedgehog home it is not uncommon for the first night or 2 to see your hedgehog not eating very much. Keep in mind that stress is very high the first couple days. I tell people to feed your hedgehog about a tablespoon of the food that I provide. Count out how many pieces of cat food are in the tablespoon. Let them go overnight and then in the morning count what is left. As long as they eat something even if it is only one piece of cat food or 2, that’s better than nothing. Make sure to feed a couple days of just the food you receive before mixing in whatever food you decide to feed. Their food and water intake will increase overtime as they become more comfortable in their new home. All my hedgehogs are use to water bottles. If you don’t think they are drinking you can also offer them a dish of water for the first couple days. Make sure they know where the water is. If you still don’t think your hedgehog is drinking you can try soaking the cat food in water. This will guarantee that they get a least some water during every meal. Another option is to add 50% Gatorade to their water. You can try flavored and unflavored Gatorade to see which one your hedgehog likes. This is a good way to stimulate their drinking. If dehydration is suspected, you can try tenting their skin on their stomach to tell whether or not they are getting enough water. Tenting is when you pinch a small amount of skin and let go. It should spring right back. If delayed or the skin remains tented then the animal is dehydrated.
Green Poop:
Because your hedgehog will be stressed when introduced to their new environment it’s not uncommon for a hedgehog to develop green poop. Green poop or diarrhea is common for the first week or 2. Just make sure your hedgehog is eating and drinking. This is not something you need to be worried about and take your hedgehog to the vet for. Just monitor them for the first 2 weeks. If it persists then consider a vet visit as it may be something else.
Remember when you bring your new hedgehog home for the first time they will go through a period of stress. Nothing about the new place will feel like home. They will have all new smells, sights and be on their own, sometimes for the first time since birth. It may take a week or 2 for your hedgehog to completely relax and settle into their new home. During this time as well they will be getting use to you and your routine. It is very critical during this time period to spend as much time with your hedgehog as possible. In doing so you will help comfort your new friend and in turn end up with a stronger bond. Some things you can do to help with bonding are place a shirt in their cage that smells like you. This will allow them to get use to your scent and realize that you will not hurt them or are a threat. Holding your hedgehog daily, even 2-3 times a day will keep your hedgehog well socialized and reiterate your bond. Hedgehogs will revert back to their natural shyness if not held frequently. If you get really busy and don’t have time to hold your hedgehog for a couple days you may find that when you go to hold them for the first time again they are a little more defensive. This is normal and most will settle down once held on a routine basis again. Another thing you may try to help with the bonding process is hand feed your hedgehog. Whether treats or food this will let the hedgehog know that you are not going to hurt them. Some may refuse to eat from your hand while others will have no problem. I will caution though after hand feeding over and over your hedgehog may associate your hand with food and develop a biting problem.
Food and water:
After bringing your hedgehog home it is not uncommon for the first night or 2 to see your hedgehog not eating very much. Keep in mind that stress is very high the first couple days. I tell people to feed your hedgehog about a tablespoon of the food that I provide. Count out how many pieces of cat food are in the tablespoon. Let them go overnight and then in the morning count what is left. As long as they eat something even if it is only one piece of cat food or 2, that’s better than nothing. Make sure to feed a couple days of just the food you receive before mixing in whatever food you decide to feed. Their food and water intake will increase overtime as they become more comfortable in their new home. All my hedgehogs are use to water bottles. If you don’t think they are drinking you can also offer them a dish of water for the first couple days. Make sure they know where the water is. If you still don’t think your hedgehog is drinking you can try soaking the cat food in water. This will guarantee that they get a least some water during every meal. Another option is to add 50% Gatorade to their water. You can try flavored and unflavored Gatorade to see which one your hedgehog likes. This is a good way to stimulate their drinking. If dehydration is suspected, you can try tenting their skin on their stomach to tell whether or not they are getting enough water. Tenting is when you pinch a small amount of skin and let go. It should spring right back. If delayed or the skin remains tented then the animal is dehydrated.
Green Poop:
Because your hedgehog will be stressed when introduced to their new environment it’s not uncommon for a hedgehog to develop green poop. Green poop or diarrhea is common for the first week or 2. Just make sure your hedgehog is eating and drinking. This is not something you need to be worried about and take your hedgehog to the vet for. Just monitor them for the first 2 weeks. If it persists then consider a vet visit as it may be something else.
