Hello!

[ststepdown]

Hi! Im Cob, and I am a fairly longtime lurker and I have a ton of questions! I am hoping to get my first hedgehog on monday! I have been researching Hedgehogs since July, and was preparing to purchase one from a breeder, but then my older brother sent me a link to one that needed a home (for sale on craigslist no less...) and I contacted the person

Comments

[craze_176]

1. Adopting this guy 'undoes' the owners mistake of buying him from a petstore. He needs a home and potentially could end up in a shelter/rescue. It's one less creature that needs a home if you take him in. I also may be getting a hog from craigslist, but the owner turned out to be a customer of mine!

2. I would suggest slowly changing his food. His tummy will already be upset from the big life change.

3. Get the biggest cage you can! I have a c&c set up for my potential hedgie. Tanks cause respiratory illness due to the lack of airflow. Pet stores know NOTHING about good pet care, I wouldn't trust them with a pet rock. I went to one once and I as educating some people on the rats. I was telling them how I got my boys neutered and the store employee came and told them that "rats can't be spayed or neutered but they become infertile at 1.5 years anyway, so you can keep them together then." Um no. Rats can get pregnany up until they pass away from old age, which could be 4! I've also seen them hold degus up by the tips of their tails. That's a huuuge no-no with them because their tails detach as a defense mechanism!

[lobotomysoup]

Jesus shit pet stores are STUPID about rats!

[craze_176]

I know, eh! Those stories were from 2 different stores and at yet another store, I was looking at a hay holder for my guinea pigs (when I still had 2 :[ )and an employee asked about it. I guess I was feeling chatty so I told her what I was looking at and what for. Mistake-she started suggesting a bigger ROLL AROUND ball for them, so I could 'put them outside and they won't escape!'

Even though those balls are cruel for a nervous creature like a guinea pig, they have been known to break their backs and legs, and I know my pigs and know they won't run away when placed outside as they're too busy eating and I'm prepared in case they get spooked. The hay ball was about 6" across, did she REALLY think I was trying to stuff a 5lb guinea pig in there?! Haha Spike is a foot long!

[lobotomysoup]

We actually had an outdoors guinea pig. He wasn't caged in anyway, but still hung out in the back yard and came running every time we went outside.

They told me to put my rats in a ball and I was like Uh no. They know their names, they come to me. How about don't put your animal and the ground and ignore it?

I also got a "talking to" from a manager when they learned I was buying meal worms for them to eat. Rats don't eat meat of any kind! What? What the .. . They're omnivores. Yes but they don't eat meat.
:/ Please stop selling rats, you're a moron.

[craze_176]

I was also scolded for looking for mealworms for mine! And on my way out I saw an employee recommend this -HORRIBLE- food full of fillers, cancer causing preservatives, molasses, etc and said it was a really good food for them. Ugh.

Another time I told an employee one of their rats was in distress. It was a female, soaked in male pee, sitting on top a tube to escape, and obviously having an extremely hard time breathing. Her entire sides sucked in to breath and she lurched a lot. The guy said "Yeah I'll see if it's still doing that in a few hours and I'll take it out" When I continued to stare at the poor rat and then him, he finally took her out and separated her from the obnoxious males. I highly doubt she got vet care.

[lobotomysoup]

There is only one pet store that seems to know what they're saying in town. They make sure that its only females in the store.

[ststepdown]

The little rat girl that I have (I got her from someone who got her from a pet store...I have had rats before though)
was kept in a cage with 4 other boys, as the only female!
She was given to me because the first girl suspected she was pregnant, she must have only had Avery for 2 or 3 days before dumping her. :(

[ststepdown]

Well My brother has had rats, and I have lived with him ;)

[ststepdown]

Thanks for your input!
What do you suggest changing his food to? Thats pretty much the one thing I am still unclear about, what the best food to switch to would be. Opinions?

C&c? I will probably end up selling the tank on craigslist then. I will purchase a better cage tonight or tomorrow!

[craze_176]

Google c&c cages, they're cheap and amazing. I have a 2x6 grid (not feet, each grid is 14") cage for my guinea pig. A 2x3 is a good size for a hog but if you can, bigger is always better.

I have to do a little more reading on food but I have a local supplier of homemade hedgehog food here. It's a mix of high quality kibbles and supplements or something. A rescue makes it.

I read on the hedgie den that a mix of 2 or more high quality kibbles should be good, theres a list of them on the site. http://thehedgieden.webs.com/hedgehogcare.htm

[ststepdown]

Those are awesome! Is there any way to get them in stores? That 14$ shipping is rough for something as trivial as shipping (I sound cheap, I do not sacrifice animal health etc, but shipping, ill avoid it when I can ha) Or any 24 by 38 cage would be a good size?

Thanks for the link! I will be spending tonight finishing research about food!

[craze_176]

You either build them yourself or buy them online. :) They are really easy to make though. I wish I could get something like that for $14 shipping! I'm in Canada and it would probably cost me $50 shipping to buy one online, if I was lucky. But I'm handy so I've always built them. :)

Any nice open cage is fine but c&cs are the cheapest for the amount of space you get. I heard some hedgies need a lid for their c&c cage though!

[sterlingspider]

The coroplast can be annoying to source, but the cube walls are often available at your local big chain superstore type places.

[craze_176]

I just went to my sign shop and they sell full 4x8 sheets for $15! Good place to look for it.

[ststepdown]

and this is for the bottom? Coroplast? It isn't like a bin, is it like corrugated plastic that you cut and fold?

[craze_176]

Yep!