Yeah! Healthy babies!

[ChinsRI]

My chocolate girl, Penny, gave birth to a litter of 5 hoglets on Thursday evening, and they all seem to be healthy and growing. :hearts: I have a nice nest box with a door/opening on one side, and a hinged lid. Once a day or so I have lured mom out with a few smelly "can o crickets." While she contently munches away I get to peek! All seems to be going well. One hoglet fell out of the nest when mom rearranged things the first night, but I spooned it back in, and we haven't had any further problems. This is the first litter we have ever had. Dad is an Albino. I don't know anything about hedgehog genetics. I was wondering, will we get a mix of Albino and Chocolates, or are there more possiblities? There are at least 3 pink and one darker one, I'm not sure about the fifth. They are always kind of piled up when I see them. Hopefully I have resized my pics a good size. I would love some info/feedback on color, and also, when will I be able to tell sex? Thanks!

[illinidairychic]

Aww they are very cute, and it's very exciting that it's your first litter. Albinos will stay pink and they won't get any pigment to them as they get older. Usually by about a week you should have an idea of which ones are getting darker and which ones are staying the same. My first litter had two albinos and one dark one. If you look at the pictures on my website you can see that by day 5 the one was noticible darker then the other two. As far as sexing the hoglets, you can usually tell at 2 wks when you can begin to hold them. The males will have a little bump that his higher up on their bellies and the girls will have their bump right at the tail and there will be a slit in it. Sometimes it's easy to tell and some times you have to check a few times to make sure. I've heard people that have thought they had one sex and it turned out to be the other. Any way congrates on your little ones!!!! they are adorable :)

[CTChin]

Sue, they are awesome looking. 5 babies!? What a nice surprise.

Why oh why won't my husband let me have one?? :dunno:

[ChinsRI]

Well, they are very quiet little pets. Maybe we can sneak one in someday. ;) I'm so excited that Penny is being such a good mom! Looks like I have to wait a bit longer to see if more of them will turn out dark.

[x_maddy]

Aw congrats !! Next time I`m in Rhode Island I will definately come visit you. I didn`t know you had hedgehogs too !!!!! Congratulations on a healthy, adorable litter. =]

[stacys_mommy]

Congrats!! Aww they are very cute..
Lisa & Stacy

[lil22]

congrats to you!! :)

[Elmer Atté]

Absolutely gorgeous... Oh, I'm so jealous....!!!

Hope things keep going well :-)

[Love4Hedgies]

VERY cute! Keep the pictures coming (when it's safe)! :D

[ChinsRI]

Thanks for all the comments! They are all still doing great. I'm so pleased! For fun, I'm going to take pics every few days I think. Penny doesn't mind, as long as she has some treats in her bowl at the time. She's getting to be like a puppy dog. She knows I don't bother her unless I am giving her treats, so she is starting to come when I call her-LOL. So far there are two dark ones, that I assume will be chocolate. The chocolates are my favorite, and I'm hoping to keep a female, so I hope I get a female chocolate! More pics coming soon. Don't tell Penny I said so, but I think they are very funny looking! :neener: Oh, by the way, I've heard mixed things. Is it safe to hold them for a minute or two at 2wks, or do I have to wait until 3 wks?