a few questions (temperature, temperment)

[carlabeth]

I got my hedgehog, cheeky, 3 days ago. I have a few questions:

1. How would I know if he is cold?

2. I read that room temperature should be at least 70. I live in Minnesota and I know the tempeature in our home will fall below that at some point. what is a good way to keep the temp. warm enough for him?

3. I have been holding him for about 20-30 minutes each evening. I can get him to unball. He has licked and nipped at my hand. But the slightest movement causes him to roll up. He has practically rolled out of my hand when he huffs and puffs and jumps. Should I be holding him longer? Should I be leaving him alone more since this is a new environment? Could he die from fright?

4. I do have a worn shirt of mine which he uses to hide. It needs to be washed. Should I wait a bit or would giving him another shirt be ok? I don't want to make too mnay changes. I will need to change the bedding. I was told that the corn bedding was fine for him then read that it is not so I will have to make that change too.

5. I have a 5 & 7 year old son. Should I get cheeky used to my scent and then theirs?

I love my little cheeky and apprectiate any help.

[Nancy]

70F is too cool for hedgehogs. They require a temperature of at least 72-73 and some need as much as 77-78F.

If her is just bordering on being too cool he will be slightly wobbly on his feet, lethargic, not eating or eliminating as much as he should and his belly will feel slightly cool. Very often at this point they will be grumpier than normal.

If he is attempting hibernation, his belly will be cool and he will be in a rolled up unresponsive ball.

I'd bump the temperature up in the room he is in at least to 73F.

Hold him in a hedgie bag or under a small cloth. Keep the room quiet, with dim lights and talk softly too him. Sometimes leaving a radio on an easy listening station 24/7 gets them used to different sounds, voices and muffles daily noise in the house. :)

[Aqua-Net]

I live right along the WI/MN border (guess you could read that right above, huh? Too much Easter ham has put me in a stupor) and I use one of the Snuggle Safe disks.

As far as unballing, I'm a big fan of bribery. One of my girls does the whole ball-up when I first take her out, but a mealie under her nose normally pulls her out of it. Once she has taken the mealie, she feels pretty silly about balling up on me again like that. She'll just kinda partially ball-up and then another mealie comes her way. Also, I've found that since I'm somewhat of a fidget-er (my made-up word of the day) it helps if I place her beside me sometimes instead of on my lap.

Welcome to the wonderful world of hedgies! May I also recommend joining the Hedgehog Welfare Society's yahoo list? We have about 5-7 hedgies people in the area and get together sometimes. Plus, its a great resource to get in contact with local people to help hook you up with some of the more difficult to find hedgie supplies.

Krissa in Minnesconsin