Brand new mommy

[RupertsLand]

I have had my hedgie for about a week. I got him from a pet store after figuring enough was enough...he has been there for a year or more and I have been really wanting one longer then that. I was going to go to a breeder in my area but I see this poor overweight boy in there all the time! So instead of going to a breeder I get him.
When the lady went to get him out of the cage she sprayed him with water first because she said he liked it (do they?) and yeah it made him move around but to me it looked like it was to get away not because he liked it. She also uses a fishnet to get him out because he has balled up and is snorting like crazy. I also need to point out that they have asked me no questions to find out if I know anything about hedgies but the fact I provided them with high quality degus is good enough for them.
I have made progress with him in the last week, he no longer stays in a ball when I put my hand in the cage and and he quills settle back down very soon after I have disturbed him. I have had him walking arond on my couch and he seems to enjoy it. Touching him is getting easier and he is not as scared of it. I have put him near my computer and I will start talking to him and when I'm listening to music I will sing to him and he seems to like it (he must be tone deaf).
I am a little worried about how quick t opush him and things I should be doing to help him along. I have already gotten him better food and I have been mixing it with the stuff the pet store gave me (kitten food!)
Any help would be welcome By Rupert and I.

I will have pictures on here soon. I have already gone snap happy with them :laugh:

[Igelchen]

I have had my hedgie for about a week. I got him from a pet store after figuring enough was enough...he has been there for a year or more and I have been really wanting one longer then that. I was going to go to a breeder in my area but I see this poor overweight boy in there all the time! So instead of going to a breeder I get him.
When the lady went to get him out of the cage she sprayed him with water first because she said he liked it (do they?) and yeah it made him move around but to me it looked like it was to get away not because he liked it. She also uses a fishnet to get him out because he has balled up and is snorting like crazy. I also need to point out that they have asked me no questions to find out if I know anything about hedgies but the fact I provided them with high quality degus is good enough for them.
I have made progress with him in the last week, he no longer stays in a ball when I put my hand in the cage and and he quills settle back down very soon after I have disturbed him. I have had him walking arond on my couch and he seems to enjoy it. Touching him is getting easier and he is not as scared of it. I have put him near my computer and I will start talking to him and when I'm listening to music I will sing to him and he seems to like it (he must be tone deaf).
I am a little worried about how quick t opush him and things I should be doing to help him along. I have already gotten him better food and I have been mixing it with the stuff the pet store gave me (kitten food!)
Any help would be welcome By Rupert and I.

I will have pictures on here soon. I have already gone snap happy with them :laugh:


Congratulations to you and Rupert! It seems that you are both really lucky to have found each other. From what you are writing I can tell that he must be a sweet little guy and you are a great new hedgie mommy! :)

I got my baby boy Romeo about 6 weeks ago (I posted our story under "Hegie Talk") and he has been very outgoing and friendly from the beginning. Of course he was confused and a little scared the first few days in his new home but we have been handling him a lot from the first day and so he got used to us really quickly. He only balls up and huffs a little when I wake him up but hey, who can blame the little sleepy hat? :sleep: As soon as he realizes that it is me whe relaxes and let's me pick him up without problems. He does get scared and raises his quills if there are really loud sudden noises and quick movements that he does not expect but I think that most hedgies get startled by that. He likes it more and more every day when I pet him under his chin and on his belly or massage his little feet while he lays on the side. It's just so cute that I could do that with him the whole night (spoiled little baby!). I have to watch out that my husband does not get jealous soon! :laugh:

I think it's so great that you saved the little guy. It sound like they did not treat him well at all in this pet store. I can't believe that silly lady sprayed him with water. How awful! That makes me really :mad:! Why in the world would she think that he likes that! Would she like it if someone took a hose and sprayed cold water all over her face? I don't think so. She definitely deserves it! :angry:
If she treated him like that all the time then of course he is scared and balls up whenever she gets near him. No wonder she used a fishnet to get him out since she obivously does not know anything about hedgehogs. But even if you don't know anything about them, if you work in a pet store I would expect you to have some kind of understanding and affection for all animals and treat them in a kind way. I am so happy for Rupert that you got him away from that terrible place and that he now has a nice loving home. I am sure he loves you for just that alone already!

As for the help on how to handle him, I am a pretty new hedgie mommy as well so I am sure that there are a lot of people on that forum who can give you much better advice than I could. But in my opinion the most important thing is lots of love, cuddling and affection. I don't believe that there is a thing as pushing them too hard by handling them to much. Just pay attention to him and then you will find out very quickly what he likes and what not. Every hedgehog is different but I am convinced that in one regard they are all the same: The more loved they feel, the happier they are!

Let us know how everything is going and I can't wait to see some pictures of your little sweetie!

[HedgieMate]

Water spray and fish net!? I think it's a miracle Rupert didn't turn into a nasty human-hater or complete nervous wreck... I agree with Igelchen, Rupert is very fortunate that you found him. Sounds like he is already making great progress with you. I'm so happy for him that I feel like thanking you a million times on his behalf....

I'm also a new HH caregiver and can't offer much advice, but how fast/slow you introduce new changes depends on your hedgie, I think. Our Geoffrey is extremely skittish and can't adapt to new things easily (one can call him a slow learner, but I'm too much in love with him to use the adverse term), so we have to take things VERY slowly. For example, when we adopted him, he was on a poor diet (low-quality cat food and no mix). We introduced several high-quality kibbles right away, but it took Geoffrey at least 3 months before he even started to nibble on them. Took him another two months to decide he actually love the taste of CSFCLS, but he still insists on eating the low-quality kibble his previous owner was feeding him *sigh*...

Rupert seems to be much more adaptable than our Geoffrey. As long as you don't overwhelm him with many changes at one time, I think he would do just fine. Also, keep in mind that he could change his mind about something at any time, so don't write anything off just because he doesn't like it first time. You can wait for a while and then re-introduce it to see if he likes it. Good luck and, yes, photos would be great!

[RupertsLand]

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/2638/dscf09579rs.th.jpg (http://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf09579rs.jpg)
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[smtigger]

that is great that you got him, I hope he gets settled in soon and gets used to someone nice taking care of him now :)

I would print out some care info. and take back to the pet store in case they get another hedgehog in to sell. It would be awful if someone took her advice thinking they were doing something good for the hedgehog! It is a shame the breeder that sold it to the shop doesn't know what is going on, I bet they would stop selling to them.

[treva.]

Rupert is an awesome name. :)

It sounds like you're doing a great job with him and probably moving at just the right pace for him. I'd see keep on keepin on. Just pay attention to what kinds of things he likes to do with you and what times he's more open to being social, things like that.
For example, I usually pick Wolfgang up in the late evenings to hang out, and when he's just with me, he likes to just curl up on me and snooze while I rub his back. If Curtis (my other half) is around, Wolfgang likes to run over and burrow all over him (one time he was noticeably sad that Curtis wasn't around, it was very cute). We've also noticed that he's far more open to hanging out with us just after he's woken up at night; not so much in the mornings when he's very involved in whatever extremely important task he's assigned himself. He'll raise his quills at Curtis and sometimes get a little huffy, and with me he'll just stop and stare at me, like, "What do you want?! Can't you see I'm VERY BUSY?"

Just keep spending time with Rupert and observing him; you'll get to know his personality pretty quickly. Having a routine can be really helpful. If he knows when to expect you, he'll most likely be less huffy at that time.

Also, "snap happy" is a freaking great phrase. haha

[RupertsLand]

I have had Rupert out and its not really bad...not really great but we are getting better. I have a small worry though...when he is in the towle (he likes hiding in it for a while) he will bite on it and tug, he has even bitten my sweater (and my finger the first time I had him out) is it something I should be really concerned about? I don't know how to discourage this behavior. I have a god-daughter who really wants to meet Rupert "and hold him and cuddle him and how him lots of love cuz he hasn't gotten much"

[Nancy]

Biting, chewing and tugging on cloth and clothing is normal behaviour. They especially like the armpit area. Just becarefull that when he bites onto your clothes he doesn't accidently get skin. :)

[RupertsLand]

I had to order a wheel for Rupert...none of the pet stores in my area carried a big enough one to fit him (yes he is that big). So I re-did his cage tonight which I'm sure has been rather tramatic and it looks pretty good and gives him more room. The problem now is that he doesn't really know how to use it, he went on it but when it started to move he got scared! This could take awhile. One good thing about trying to get him to loose weight is the food, I bought Eukanuba Adult diet (which has 30% less fat then the chicken and rice or the same brand) and he likes it more then the kitten food the pet store said was the only thing he would eat. I mixed it at first because I didn't want to shock his poor little system and the next day when I went to change his food all the diet food had been eaten and the kitten food pushed to the side of his dish! :high5: I mixed it the next night and it was the same thing so I don't bother putting it in anymore.

On a sad note tonight, I found out one of my female degus had been pregnant but miscarried sometime this afternoon (my other female has a 4 week old litter). The mother seems to be doing fine eating, drinking and moving around but I'm still worried :(

[RupertsLand]

there is evidence that Rupert is using his wheel but its so quite I can't hear it (which is nice). I was told by the pet store he had gone to the vet the week before I got him and had his nails cliped but they still look long to me. Its been 3 weeks since he went and I'm wondering how often I should clip them and how long they are suppose to be? how do I know when to do it?
Thanks in advance!