Her Name Is Lola (Yeah, Like the Showgirl)

[Lolashewas]

Yesterday I purchased my very first hedgie. (Petcetera is the devil, by the way!)

It was in part on impulse (don't start yelling yet!), because I had no Idea that they even had Hedgies there! I was astonished and appalled at the total LACK OF KNOWLEDGE the "Livestock Manager" had in his charges, and I soon discovered that I knew more about the little critters than he did!

I had been researching and reading and asking around for quite some time now, and was quite confident that I already had everything I needed at home to take her right away.

She came from a tank with another hog, (a male) after sexing them both, I patiently explained to the guy how to determine gender, how young they can breed, and of course, that they are ACTUALLY SOLITARY CREATURES! He was wowed, (I'm sure he forgot all of it as soon as I stopped talking).

From what I could wheedle out of him, the male was only 7 weeks old, and the female (might be about) 10 weeks. So, in about a month, I'll know whether I got a true package deal!

I heard from one of the other employees that several of the Hedgies over the last month had been returned by people who had changed their minds. If Lola was really pregnant, I couldn't bear the thought of someone buying her and not wanting/knowing how to deal with babies, nor could I stand the thought of leaving her there with those nincompoops (I could have used other words :laugh: ).

I immediately noticed that the male had a poor temperment, he would pop and charge at me, and when I picked him up (with gloves thank goodness) he was biting. While Lola wasn't initially impressed with being handled, she quickly unrolled to look and sniff at me, and allowed me to examine her.

So, last night, after my munchkin was in bed (too young yet to be introduced) I brought Lola out onto my bed to meet the kitty ("Lucah Bazooka"), who was fascinated and wanted more than anything to just play. Not daunted at all by the quills, she patted and sniffed, and eventually Lola stopped rolling up when touched, but continued to bumble along exploring, offering only some froehead quills and a hiss to the cat. She even relaxed enough to look right up at her and allow Lucah to touch noses with her.

She had had a big enough day, so i returned her to her Sterilite home (awaiting modification), where she happily curled up under a cotton rag and went to sleep.

This morning, much to my amusement, I discovered that she had burrowed right under her water dish and thought that was a fine place to sleep! She totally ignores the plastic coffee-can I made a hut out of, but I do see that the TP tube had been moved and nibbled.

Near as I can tell, she's either Chocolate or Salt and Pepper (the colors are so close!), weighs about 3/4 lb, and when unrolled is about 6'' long.
Bright black beady eyes, soft well shaped ears, strong quills, (healthy)wet nose... Her stool is a bit greenish, but I'm sure that will clear up once she settles in to her new home and diet. I was surprised and laughed at how LONG their tongues are! Like a miniature giraffe heh hee!

I can hardly wait until tonight's playtime!

QUESTION(s) The following, SEEM like okay treats, (in small amounts of course), if anyone can tell me if they're ok to offer....
Natural Peanut Butter (not the pasteurised kind)
Dried bananna chips
Cheese
fresh veggies
Cat treats (like whiska's temptations)...

Also, I remembered that the Hampsters I had years ago LOVED polyester stuffing for nesting, they never tried to eat it...I might answer my own question by saying it might get stuck in her quills.

ANYWAY, I'm so glad to have found this forum, and will get some pictures up ASAP so you can all meet Lola! :D

[HedgePigLove]

Hello and welcome! I'm glad that you've gotten Lola out of a bad situation. You might want to go back to the store with your contact information and some hedgie caresheets (let me know if you need the link to those, as I'll have to find it) and let the people there know that you're available to talk to new hedgie owners who're having trouble with their purchase and to help the store staff - it's a good thing to do to help the little ones.

About your food questions:
- Natural Peanut Butter: well, I had a rat choke on pb (it got stuck in their mouth) and ended-up performing mouth-to-mouth on the little girl (after cleaning out her mouth and throat with a q-tip, I seem to recall). So I'd say no, but that's just based on what happened with my rat.

- Dried Banana Chips: I can't see any problem with these, but I'd go with fresh bananas, myself (some hedgies love them, some are indifferent, lots like to anoint with them).

- Cheese: try very small amounts of cottage cheese to start with. I can't recall what others' have said about cheese and hedgie diets.

- Fresh Veggies: Go for it, in very small amounts. My kids like peas.

- Cat treats: In very small amounts these are okay, but look for stuff that's high in protein and low in fat, whenever possible.

Get her a wheel, if she doesn't already have one ... oh, but she might be preggers, so you wouldn't want for her to have one if she's about to have babies ... ask one of the breeders here about when to give Lola a wheel.

Also, you're going to want to provide her with a place to have the hoglets, in case she is with child - a pigloo is a good starting place, with strips of fleece that she can use to make into a nest.

What kind of bedding are you using? And what's her primary diet?

My cats are bewhildered by the hedgies - one ignores them completely, the other is curious and "pats" the hedgies and then gets scared and runs away. Go figure.

[kaiteedyd]

If you post some pictures we could help identify the color. Besides that pics are mandatory. :)

Polyester bedding would just get nasty real fast. I would suggest something like fleece.

Treats I've found the work well are crickets, chicken or turkey baby food, sometimes cottage cheese and yogurt drops.

I don't like the idea of dried bananas. Maybe if you break them down into tiny pieces.

I also shy away from peanut butter. No scientific reason here, I just think its a bad idea.

[Nancy]

Hi and welcome to you and Lola. Cute name by the way. :)
Where in Canada are you? I am in Kingston, Ontario.

I wouldn't give peanut butter either simply because it is so sticky and I can envision the exact senario that Laura described with her rat.

Polyester stuffing would be dangerous for all animals and not only would it get caught in quills it would also get wrapped around tiny toes. I wouldn't use it.

Sounds like Lola's going to be spoiled. :)

[Love4Hedgies]

I would persoanlly stay away from dried bananas or any dried fruit b/c it could get stuck. The treats people mentioned on here are great.

So glad Lola is in a loving home! Can't wait to see pictures!! :)

[Lolashewas]

Yes, she's a darling for sure! I made her a carrier out of one of those soft-sided cooler sacks, and we went on a short adventure to meet my Dad and StepMom, who were TOTALLY GaGa for her! I let her out on the front lawn for a few minutes (it's still really too cold for outside play), and she made an impressive show of burrowing under a log and getting all dirty. She's actually a fair bit smaller than I told you (now that she's not all quills!)Maybe closer to 4 inches, and a half pound. Just a baby!

Her current digs (which I'm upgrading tonight) consist of a 15 gal transparent Sterilite tub, Kild Dried pine shavings ( i haven't decided yet whether i like those), a cotton rag that she seems very fond of, and a plastic Folgers coffee can with a big hole in the side (she could care less about this and prefers to burrow under the rag).

Tonight I'll move her into a 30gal rubbermaid chest, which will have to do till Friday when I can get out and see what there is. I'm not too concerned about getting a wheel right away, as I intend to have her out for at least an hour every evening to explore and play. I would do more, but there's not much time during the day- My little boy has just turned 18 months, and is just too young to understand that Lola ISNT a kitty! The kitty on the other hand, beleives she is a baby, and that all things under 3' tall must also be a baby. She is very affetionate and curious, and Lola seems to be the same way.

I'm digging around for an empty ice-cream pail that I'M SURE I have around here SOMEWHERE! That, I'm sure will make a good nest for her and her "maybe babies". As for nesting material, I have tons of scrap flannel (used to sew PJ's for the Rug Rat) and can add that anytime now that it's occurred to me! (Thanks everyone for the awesome tips!)

As for treats, I think I'll wait and pick her up some mealworms... Better safe than sorry! (I do have some fresh bananna and yogurt, we'll try those when her poop gets a little more normal).

BTW, I'm from Penticton BC (Soon relocating to Prince George)... My Grandad lives in ON though, way North in Carnarvon...

Thanks again for all the "Welcomes" and great ideas!
I'll post again soon.