Only Five Weeks??

[kanne]

I bought my HH a week ago at a reptile show. The certificate they gave me said she was born 8/15/06 (I bought her 9/24) but she seems to be barely quilling, (as in she sheds 3-4 very fine white quills when I hold her) and fits in my hand. Basically she seems older than what they told me she was. However, she DOES sleep a ton- are there any other ways I can tell how old she is?

[freznow]

Eeek, that is way to young to be buying that hedgie. Earliest they are weaned is 6 weeks and then normally any one responsible or concerned enough would hold them for a week to see how they are doing... I'd expect that the birth certificate is correct, as they can start quilling I think as early as 5 weeks (?), though normally start at 6 or 7 weeks, and the size of every hog is different.

[Jeanette]

Well, aside from the fact that if you bought your hedgie from a source like that, odds are, they either lied bc they don't really remember when it was born or they are a bad breeder and actually sold you your hedgie at 5 weeks old.

The issue of quilling: My hedgehog, Spiny, really didn't quill so much. He may have lost as many as yours is. He was very progressive in loosing quills... it was never like he was a christmas tree, shaking and loosing large amount of needles...lol.

As for sleeping a ton... um... maybe you should read up a bit on hedgies,... hee hee...
they are noctournal. They will sleep during the day and be awake during the night.

I think that this website will be invaluable giving advice on how to care for your hedgie, seeing that the ppl you bought it from really didn't give you any good information.

Welcome! And if you have a question, post, post, post!!!

[Nancy]

She's probably going through her 5 week quilling. If she starts quilling again in a few weeks then she will then be going through her 8-12 week quilling. Keep track of her weight. Write everything down and in a few months you'll be able to get a fairly accurate idea of her age. Her birth certificate could be right but selling a 5 week old baby is horrendous. I'd dampen her kibble to make sure she is able to eat properly. :)

[kanne]

i know she sleeps during the day, but she seems to sleep a lot at night too. thats what i initially thought when i first got her, but you just think they know what they're doing- you know?

honestly i think she's probably older than what they told me. she is doing really well but from everything i've read about babies she seems to be pretty young. she's a good girl and definitely loves exploring! :)

[Jeanette]

I always thought that Spiny slept a lot during the night... but you can't be up for all hours watching him.
So, I put his house right near my bed and he woke me up a lot! lol.
I know that Spiny will only wheel during the night when the lights are off... he's such a scardy cat to come out when it's light.

[herbiesmom]

Herbie was born in February and came home with me in May so he was about 12 weeks old when I got him. He slept 20 hours or so a day but would get up at all hours of the day and night, eat, drink, play for about 20 minutes or so and then fall back to sleep. He settled into a more up at night, sleep during the day schedule between 4 and 5 months old. Snow is about 5 months old and he sleeps more during the day although he still gets up for a little bit when my son gets home at 3 pm.