Baby Hedgehog is gone!

[Stevem24s]

My girlfriend and I bought a hedgehog about 2 months ago, his name is Humphrey? This is not the first hedgehog we have owned but our new hedgehog has provided us with our first experience with hoglets. We were told by the pet store the hog we purchased was a male. I had suspicions it was a female after the first few days of owning it. I never got the chance to really check to see Humphreys gender, he liked to ball up when you turned him on his back. Humphrey was gaining weight and we had taken him to the vet on several occasions for mite treatment. The vet never said anything about the hedgehogs gender. Nine days ago my girlfriend went to pull Humphrey out of the cage and when she lifted the towell he was curled up in she was shocked; Five baby hedgehogs! Humphrey is a female. She immediately covered them back up being careful not to touch them and we left them alone for 6 days, being sure she had plenty of food and water. The sixth day we decided to make sure everything was alright by taking a quick peek as she ate her food and got a drink of water. Everything seemed to be fine. One hedgehog was half the size of the others, a runt. He she was moving though so we assumed everything would be fine. A few days later we noticed a bad smell but were afraid to look and bother her and her babies. Later she used her litter box and the stool was huge w/ traces of blood. She is acting fine and runs on her wheel at night taking breaks to check on the little ones, but there is now only 4. Their is no sign of blood in the nest. The runt has dissapeared. We are sure she ate the runt and think it is because he did not survive. We are still worried about the others although she does seem to be a good mother. We have decided to leave her and the babies alone for the next few days or until it has reached two weeks since their birth. My question to anyone with advice is, How long should we wait to handle the babies and should we worry about the mother eating any of the remaining hoglets? It's killing us to sit here knowing there is nothing we can do. We are worried about how things will turn out. I know her eating the runt is a part of nature but it can be hard to deal with. Also, shouldn't the vet have noticed Humphrey was pregnant?

[paris26]

Welcome to the forums!
I'm not a breeder and I'm sure they will be on to offer you some insight. The first thing I would recommend is removing the wheel. Some hedgie moms have been known to take their hoglets on a midnight stroll and then end up hurting them or worse. I think it's 2 weeks typically before you handle the hoglets and give the cage a good cleaning but take your cues from Humphrey.
Has your vet ever seen hedgehogs before? That suprises me that your vet didn't double check the gender. My vet trusts my judgement when it comes to identifying the sex, but it is double checked as part of the exam.

[Nancy]

Hi
Well what a surprise. Congratulations and prayers that all goes well.

To answer some of your questions. No a vet may not have been able to tell she was pregnant. Sometimes there are no indications what ever.

Take her wheel out immediately. They will run on the wheel with a baby in their mouths and it usually ends up killing the baby.

I would leave the babies alone until they are at least 2-3 weeks old and then see how mom behaves. When she is out eating you could try picking up one of the babies for a quick look and then put him back. See how she is with that. The next night try it a bit longer. When you first start to handle them it is best to handle one at a time until mom is comfortable with that.

If the cage is getting smelly, when you feed and water her, grab a handful of the dirty shavings and replace it with clean. Next night grab another handful. Don't do a full cleaning until the babies are 4-5 weeks old or older as that can stress mom.

Good luck and keep us posted. :)

[bloane]

I agree with the advice you have already been given. :)
Also, there are some GREAT articles on hedgehog breeding and babies at www.hedgehogworld.com (http://www.hedgehogworld.com) as well as many other subjects on hedgehog care and ownership
Becca

[Stevem24s]

I want to thank everyone for their advice. I read your posts days ago but was unable to thank you all in a reply due to internet connection problems. Humphrey and the hoglets are doing just fine. I have removed the wheel. The hoglets are growing in size and we should be able to handle them soon. Thanks again. I'll post some pics for those interested when I get a chance.