Finding Fleece, Eating Worms, and Growing Up

As I've mentioned before I bed my hedgehog on fleece liners instead of shavings or pellets. Fleece is safe (no loose threads), soft, and inexpensive. It also comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Light colors are the best to use because that way you can keep an eye out for unpleasantness such as blood, diarrhea, and discolored urine.

Anyway, I am slowly building up my stock of fleece, which means that I don't have to do laundry quite so often, and that Phinneus (not that he cares in the least) has prettier patterns in his cage. Yesterday I found two fleece throws at St. Vinny's which had obviously been baby blankets in another life. One said, "Just Hatched". Matt sweetly purchased them for me and I took them home and promptly cut off the hemming (to avoid the dangers of loose threads) and gave them to Phin. He loves them. I found him burrowed deep between the top layer and the bottom; snug as a bug in a rug, you might say. This is one way to find inexpensive fleece. Another, more obvious way, is to find it on sale at fabric stores. Today I read an HHC forum post about this unusual money saving fleece solution: buying a Snuggie *shudder* and cutting it up. I am not sure of the size of the forum poster's cage, but apparently the Snuggie produced two liners. The pockets can be cut up into strips and put in a box or other shelter to make a cozy snoozing place for a hedgie. Snuggies run in the neighborhood of $4.99 so this is quite the deal! Now I just have to bring myself to buy a Snuggie....

First time owners usually buy a supply of mealworms with which to spoil their hedgehog. On every hedgie website and in every forum there are tons of owners talking about "mealies are the best treats" and "my hedgehog cannot get enough mealworms!", and so the new owners expect to win their pet's trust with some tasty worm treats. This is not the case, oftentimes. Phinneus would completely ignore his mealworms for months! I thought the things had died in the refrigerator from being in there so long. Not the case! (We put a "dead" worm in Phin's bowl and left it, hoping he would find it and feast. Instead I found a live worm crawling around and went to pieces). So to new owners, you must just have some patience. Your hedgehog will come around...eventually. If you keep offering the worms then one of these days the little insectivore will take a taste and then a gobble and then look for more. Now Phinneus loves his mealies! Even when he is grumpiest and feeling dangerous he will be civil enough the eat some worms :)

Finally, I think my hedgehog is going through his teenage years? He will have dramatic mood swings from night to night. One night he will be sweet and cuddly. The next he will be a vicious little thing, just waiting for my fingers to draw too close to his jaws. He will pop and hiss and make touching him a dangerous thing. Sometimes this angry stage lasts for days and I am convinced that he hates me! Then, like this morning, I wake up and find my little baby back again. Ah if only the old saying could be applied to him, "May you one day be blessed with teenagers of your own." But I hear hedgehogs make poor fathers.

Party Animal

Phineus's wheel has become unbearably loud. To deal with this (and in order to sleep) I have moved his bin into another room at night. I guess this gave him license to really party it up. When I went in to check on him this morning I found the poopy wheel, litter scattered everywhere except in the litter pan, poop in the food dish, and a grumpus in the fleece. He seems to be suffering some sort of hangover as he is quite irate this evening and cuddle time has turned into towel prison because I won't let him go and he won't let me pet him. So, he sits grumpily in a towel. Oh well.

Gummy Grin

I snapped this photo yesterday when I took Phinneus to the park. I was feeding him some of his favorite treats, mealworms, and I ended up with this ridiculously adorable photo! I just wanted to share his gummy grin with everyone :)

Weight and Size

Since there has been a thread going on the HHC forums about the weight and size of everyone's hedgehogs, I thought I might as well share mine on here too. There isn't a set average size for hedgehogs because, like people, each one is different. They have assorted diets and food preferences, exercise, mobility, and access to space. However it is important that they can ball up all the way and that they can move unassisted. Here are Phinneus's stats:

Age: 5 months

Weight: 293 grams

Diet: Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken, Blue Spa Select Mature, Wellness Kitten Food, and treats such as chicken, mealies, and fish.

Notes: Phin loves to run on his wheel every night. He is also an avid explorer and get his workout running around the floor.

Fiend

Phinneus is a fiend. He always knows just how to wedge himself into tight places I cannot easily reach and cop a squat. He knows just how to ball up so that I literally have to drag him out and then hurriedly clean up the icky mess. He also knows how to win me back by existing as a prince among hedgehogs.

Manic Panic

So the night before last Phinneus was without a wheel. Circumstances involving me not being at home and his wheel being forgotten....*sigh*. I was worried when I realized that he didn't have it and I wondered what kind of havoc he would wreak in it's absence. Then when I got home from work yesterday evening it seemed that all was well. Phin was under his liner again, but there wasn't the mass destruction I had envisaged. I have heard of other people's hedgehogs throwing tantrums and behaving strangely when their precious wheels are taken away; these are energetic creatures who need their exercise during their nightly activities.

But, as I say, I saw no damage. Then I took Phinneus out and realized that he was going to take his frustration out on me. He was in a dangerous mood. He popped and quilled up whenever I tried to touch his fur, any sound or movement caused him to ball up, and he seemed...well...bitey. He has never bitten me before (he had a few exploratory nibbles in the past, but they were harmless and there was no aggressiveness) but I could tell that he would now if I made one wrong move. I put him in his towel hoping he would calm down, but no cigar. Cuddle time was short. This morning he was less bitey and aggressive, but he scuttled around at top speed like a maniac. He wouldn't stand for petting and just wanted to run and hide in a dark place. I hope he calms down.

I had hoped to feed him some baby food via syringing it into his mouth in order to get him more nutrition. I went to target looking for syringes and lo and behold I explained to the pharmacy girl what I needed (something to feed baby food to a critter is what I said) and she gave me varying sizes of syringes for FREE! I love Target. But, seeing as Phin is in a dangerous mood, I figured it would be poor timing for me to hold him down and force food down his throat.

What A Weirdo

Hedgehogs are known to do strange things. Usually Phinneus conks out after an eventful night under his fleece blankies, next to his hidey-log. In the past, when he was at Matt's apartment and the temperature was scorching, he would crawl under his fleece liner to lie against the cool plastic. Well last night he did that too, except for he went one step further and made himself deeply and hopelessly embedded in the paper towel lining. I had to dig to find him and then tear at the paper towel in order to pick him up. Needless to say, he was not best pleased.

In other news, I have fallen for a teeny tiny albino girl from a pet store. This is forbidden love, as I promised myself not to buy another hedgehog from a pet store. However...this little sweetheart is way too young to be separated from her mother, is sporting wounds on her front legs, and seems to have a smelly case of the runs. She is housed with a male, so that worries me too. There is a good chance that this itty bitty girl is pregnant, and if so she faces complications due to her youth. She seems very sweet for all that, and I would love to bring her home and show her the TLC she deserves. My sensible half knows that this is highly irresponsible, and too much of a financial burden. I also lack the space to house her properly. I love my Phinneus, and I wouldn't want to take any love or resources away from him. That said, I still spend half my waking hours on the verge of marching into the pet store and scooping the little hoglet girl right up. She needs help!

Constant Vigilance

This is an important reminder for all hedgehog owners: Hedgehogs have poor eyesight, depth perception, and spacial awareness! They will wander to the edge of "cliffs" (cabinets, boxes, furniture, etc) and fall right off not even having known they were in danger. Even a short fall can cause internal damage, so should your hedgehog be unfortunate enough to take tumble be sure to watch for warning signs like lethargy, bloody stools, bruising, and lack of appetite. Everyone makes mistakes with their pets, but in order to avoid this one just keep you hedgie on the ground, or be hyper vigilant when s/he is around the edges of things. In the wise words of Mad Eye Moody, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

In Phinneus news, Phin has been super cuddly, which leads me to wonder if he's buttering me up for something...

Badass Hedgehog

I stumbled on this clip of a badass hedgehog vs. scorpion fight that was apperently part of the Speed of Life series. This along the same lines as Blue Planet and Planet Earth. It's nice to see the hedgehog featured as a serious animal for once. They're not huge and clawed like lions, but to scorpions they represent death and doom. Now to me, a scorpion represents death a doom, but for a hedgehog they are just tasty morsels....so I'd say it's time to give the wild hedgehog's their due.

Timed Daylight

I have set Phinneus up on a light timer schedule, as it is important that he have 12-14 hours of daylight. Without this time he may attempt to hibernate, as lack of sunlight triggers winter instincts. I picked up a $5 outdoor light timer from Target (it can be used for any lights, as long as they can plug into the outlet on the timer) and set up a lamp with a "daylight" ligh tbulb. He now has simulated daylight from 9 am to 9 pm. I realized that with school approaching I would be busy with work, classes, and everything else in a college student's life, so this way I don't have to be so neurotic about stopping him to turn lights on an off. I must say it's a little bit thrilling when 9:00 shines around the light magically change.

Tattoos and Irascible Hedgehogs

Well here is how the heating status stands: after going to considerable trouble and expense to set up a heating system for my dear Phinneus I found that he did not care for it. This is probably because I, not being highly affluent, opted to buy a heat bulb for now, which gives off red light. Apparently Phinneus can detect redlight, and since he will not go about his nightly activities unless he is in complete darkness I woke up this morning to a clean wheel, sleeping hedgehog, and a pooped-on food dish. I assumed that last part was a present to me. What I have learned: that Phin is one of those hogs that not only doesn't like light, but also one which can tolerate cooler temperatures- such as the mid 70's. So I returned the bulb, and I will wait for a while until I buy a CHE.

Now for the more exciting news- I GOT MY HEDGEHOG TATTOO TODAY. I went to have it done by tattoo artist Jon Bass and I am so pleased with his work! He made the hedgehog fierce, which I initially was suprised at, but which I like. Now I have a fierce guardian hedgehog on my shoulder. This piece of ink is the first of what will eventually be a sleeve (a full arm tattoo). As it heals, I shall let arm hedgehog meet Phinneus hedgehog.

CHE

Today I am going to look for a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) setup at some pet places around town. I've done some research online, asked a few questions oh Hedgehog Central, and now I just need to finagle myself the best deal. CHE setups are expensive and can be dangerous if the proper precautions aren't taken. Since Phinneus lives in a Sterilite bin I obviously can just clip the CHE (which requires a porcelain lamp which won't melt, and a thermostat so you don't burn your hedgie up) onto the side. It's going to take some rearranging and figuring out. In the coming winter months I can't always guarantee that there will be enough heat to keep Phin in the safe temperature range. This safe range, by the way, is about 75-85 degrees. This way, no matter where Phin is, I can make sure he is at a safe temperature...also that way I don't have to constantly live at that temperature myself :)

Tattoo!

Today I went to Tailor Made Tattoo and made an appointment for August 10 to get a hedgehog tattoo! I had picked out two designs from Hugh Warwick's book The Hedgehog's Dilemma (check it out here) and the plan was one hedgie for each shoulder. I went down, got an estimate, and decided that my funds would allow me to get one tattoo for now, and I would just have to save the other for a later paycheck. I'm so excited! Tattoos are incredibly addictive and this will be my fourth. I like to think of my shoulder hedgies as hedgehog guardians; stone lions sit outside of libraries, and inked hedgehogs sit on either side of me.

Animal House

I have temporarily moved Phinneus to Matt's house until I move on Saturday so that he is safely out of the way until I can settle him into our new digs. Pherb is there too, so now the House of Matt could be appropriately termed "Animal House" what with there being two cats, five frogs, two bettas, one pleco, one hedgehog, and one hamster. I snapped a few shots of Phinneus this morning with my camera on digital macro and was pleasantly surprised. *See flickr photosteam*

So while Phin is at Matt's I like to have his tank sitting out in the living room where he can get a breeze from the fans and I can keep an eye on him. Unfortunately this means moving him into cat territory. Rodrigo the Ever Sneaky and Michevious likes to climb into the tank to get at Phin's food, which is cat food. Now, Rodrigo is a food hog, and will not be deterred in the slightest when I yell loudly, chase after him, throw him in the bathroom and squirt him with water as punishment. Currently Matt has Phin on the radiator (don't worry, it's off so there's no chance of melting plastic or over heating) and has removed anything that might be used to climb on in order to reach it. Also, the cats are locked in Matt's roommate's room (sort of in disgrace, the sneaky bastards).

Phinneus himself has slept through the whole ordeal, except for at one point when he was stepped on by the cat. The cat, by the way, seems to be oblivious to Phin's presence and only notices the cat food. The other cat, Murray, seems to have picked on on the whole "consequences of your actions" notion and mostly steers clear. Keeping him away from Pherb is a different matter, however...

Trip To The Vet

Today was trip to the vet #2 because I convinced myself that Phinneus was wormy. I also wanted to make sure he wasn't having a raging case of mites or anything...so mostly this was an expensive way to assuage my hypochondriac fears. The vet said he was at a good weight (295 g), looked healthy, and sounded healthy. She did the fecal sample and found nothing, which doesn't rule out worms %100 but was good to do anyway. Then she gave me a choice of doing a skin scraping- literally scraping a layer of skin off akin to a slight abrasion- and looking for mites, or going ahead with a Revolution Kitten/Puppy treatment without the scrape. I chose to just do the Revolution, partly because of finances, and partly because not only would it get rid of mites but the vet said it would also kill internal parasites. Unfortunately there is no market for hedgehog drugs and no medical research done, so most of the medication they receive is kitten medication meted out in smaller doses. This means that they cannot be totally sure of the effects. I was told to keep an eye on Phin on the way home in case he became lethargic (which I found annoyingly vague because he's a sleeping hedgehog during the day!) which would indicate a negative reaction. In that case I was to rinse off the rest of the medication...and hope for the best? Again, annoyingly vague. Anyway, no negative reaction and hopefully one healthier hedgehog.

Phinneus and Pherb

This is the story of how a hamster fell into my lap. Yesterday my boyfriend (Matt) forgot that it was Saturday and so we went to move his car so he wouldn't get a ticket. When we moved it we saw a rummage sale, and at that rummage sale Matt spotted a critter cage. I tried to walk away, I even got a few feet past the driveway, but then I turned around and went to investigate. They were selling a perfect little cage (the kind with a plastic bottom and a wire top) complete with wheel, water bottle, and tiny igloo. It was all $5. From the moment I saw the tiny igloo, I was sold. So then I went on craigslist, found an appealing ad, and had the deal sealed within an hour and half, via smart phone. I made the deal while I was in a movie theater seeing Inception, actually. After the movie Matt, his dad, and I stopped and picked up the hamster, who I have named Pherb, after the cartoon Phineas and Ferb. He is a Winter White Russian which means that he will change his colors to a white and grey pattern in the winter, and then back again to grey and black in the summer. I have informed Phin that he has a brother/hamster, and likewise for Pherb, but I am keeping the two strictly apart. Pherb is a sweet little tuft of grey and black fur, who currently has Matt completely smitten with him. They are cuddling together as I write this.

In less adorable news, I found what I suspect to be a worm (Ack! Nooo! Arrrgh! Blaaarf!) on Phinneus's wheel and so I am going to call and get him a vet appointment to get a fecal sample and a check-up asap. For anyone considering owning a hedgehog it is important to remember A) to have a rainy day-vet fund and B) any pocket money you have saved up for something special (i.e. a trip or someone's birthday) WILL be spent on the hedgehog.

Phinneus was extra-cuddly tonight. Snuggle bug :)