Hedgehog introduction?

Question

ok, so we have had a boy hedgehog for a little while and we've been looking to get him a girlfriend and today we found one and she is the tinest and sweetest thing ever.So we brought her home and decided to introduce her to our other hedgehog, who is now almost 6 months old. So we put them in the yad to gether and kept and eye on them and Pickles our other hedgie started squeaking and would not take his face out of her but, (lol),,,, but this sqeaking kinda freaked me out a little and I know it was coming from him but is that just cuz he's excited?? or what??

Answer 1

Congratulations on the new addition, I would advise that you keep the two separated. The squeaking sound is what males do during courtship when they are looking to breed. Hedgehog babies are very difficult to raise, especially for young mothers. Make sure that they have their own cages and no more interaction with one another. Hedgies can be very quick little creatures to do the deed when you are not looking ;)

Since they were together, for now you should assume that she is pregnant. Pregnancy at a young age is detrimental to the health of a growing hedgehog and can have lifelong adverse health affects and even cause death if the mother has birthing complications. The mother will sometimes panic and as a result, cannibalize the litter.

The gestation period is around 35 days, but can be as little as 30 and as much as 50. You should prepare her just in case so that she is as comfortable as possible if she does indeed give birth. Get her some food with a higher fat and protein content and feed it as a mix so you can help to get her healthy as possible. Carrying a litter requires a lot of extra nutrients and a typical hedgehog diet will not provide this, especially if the mother is still growing herself.

At the 25 day mark, you should move her cage to a quiet part of the house, like a spare bedroom, bathroom or closet. She still needs the regular 12 hour light/12 hour dark cycle, but should have more peace and quiet and only have someone come in to change her food and water every night and do some spot cleaning when necessary.

If and when she gives birth, you will be able to tell. You will probably be able to hear little peeps coming from inside the nest box. Try your best not to peek and do not touch the babies. If you come in and find a baby outside the nest, use a spoon to carefully move them back inside with the mother.

Start research so you will be prepared for anything that may happen. If you don't already have a vet, find one now that will be able to work with you.

Best of luck!

Good luck!