Bath & behavior questions...

[femmefata1e]

My husband and I just adopted 'Spike' from a longtime friend who was no longer able to keep him. I've been doing some research online and was directed to these forums :)

I have a few questions after reading through some of the threads. First off, I see that a lot of owners bathe their hedgies. Could someone tell me how often and what to use?

Also, is it better for hedgies to live alone or with another hedgehog? I know that some animals prefer to have a 'friend', while others are better off by themselves. If it would be better for Spike, I will see about finding another hedgehog. What I do not want is babies, as I am not prepared, nor knowledgeable enough to care for them/raise them.

Any advice is appreciated! :hearts:

[Vincent]

Ahh, glad to see you registered! This is Bawloo off livejournal, by the way. :)

Bathe your hedgehog as often as they need it, but no more. When my boys get poopy feet from running on their wheels, I'll wash their feet off with a washcloth. I'll only give them a full bath (water up to their stomachs) once every month or two. Too many baths results in dry skin. Be careful what you use, too; the only things that are recommended are Johnson&Johnson baby shampoo, and oatmeal Aveeno body wash. I don't use anything, and just scrub their quills with a soft-bristle toothbrush in the warm water.

Spike needs to live alone. :) I have 2 (soon to be 3) boys, and each one has their own cage. Males fight with other males, and breed with females, and hedgehogs are solitary by nature.

[LunaMidnight]

I use Aveeno Oatmeal body wash (unscented) for my girls, and I only give them a bath when they really smell. And they get foot baths whenever they get really poopy feet. I just run warm water to cover their feet and scrub with a toothbrush. They hate me for it haha! :laugh:

Hedgehogs are solitary animals so they don't mind being alone. You can only keep 2 females together and even they might decide to fight. My girls don't really like each other all that much so they live in separate cages.

[herbiesmom]

I use unscented baby wipes to wipe the boys feet every day. Snow has to have a footie bath once a week as he gets poop caked sometimes that wont come off with the baby wipes. Then once a month I give them an allover bath with Aveeno oatmeal baby bath. It doesn't have much of a scent to bother them and does not seem to dry their skin.

[scythefwd]

I have found that bathing fiona every day or so helps calm her down when she is feeling especially grumpy. It is usually only a foot bath in very warm water. I also use vitamin e drops on her almost every day because she is quilling and it cant hurt. I am also a new owner and am glad you asked it... it was not something I had thought of.

[Vincent]

Scythefwd: daily footbaths are harmless, but try to avoid full-body baths more than once a month. Her skin will get flakey and dry, and it'll probably irritate her even more than quilling alone. Is there any other way to calm Fiona down? :)

[scythefwd]

unforunatly, not that I can find. I only do foot baths, about 1 inch of warm water. I keep it off her quills, but I do add vitamin e drops directly to her back. That helps with the irritation. Petting her from the mid of her back towards the tail works sometimes, but not always. I dont always give her a bath, just when she is very grumpy. That lasts just a couple of days, then its back to normal (ish). She is quilling, and new so I have to give her time to get used to us as well. She is also responding well to being held in a kagaroo pocket on a hoodie while bundled in her blanket for an hour or so. After that I can pull her out and she will only pop occasionaly and my lay her quills down (except for her visor)