# Dilly Hedgigan Prickles!



## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Just thought I'd share a couple photos of my hedgehog Dilly, just got her back from being paired up with a male for three weeks. Hopefully she took and will be delighting me with some hoglets in a few weeks! 
Just grabbed a kitchen scale and weighed her at 343g, gonna weigh her again in a week or so and see if she's gaining weight. So excited! The male she was paired with was just a little younger than preferred, so it's possible he wasn't up to the task and she'll get paired with a more... experienced... man. Hahah

(Don't mind the fact that she's missing the top of her ear and possibly some tips of her spine tips, one of the rats decided they don't like her and bully her if I have them out at the same time. They no longer get to be out at the same time, clearly.)


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

How are hedgehogs personality and intelligence compared to rats? What positive trait do hedgehogs have that rats don't? Are they affectionate? I thought about getting a hedgehog in the past. Thanks


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Gribouilli said:


> How are hedgehogs personality and intelligence compared to rats? What positive trait do hedgehogs have that rats don't? Are they affectionate? I thought about getting a hedgehog in the past. Thanks


So very different, I find that hedgies are far more independent than a rat. They are more likely to not be affectionate, than to be affectionate. They take quite some time to bond with you, and their affectionate moments are likely to just be curled up napping in a blanket on your lap. You will get poked, and huffed and puffed at, and I think they prefer sleeping or running on their wheel or around your room than playing with you. I have been able to get her to go after a little string a few times after she's relaxed if I dangle it around in front of her, other than that I don't think I've ever had her actually play with me, though I know that some enjoy to push around little toys.
As for intelligence? Hmm.. I don't think they're up there with rats! I don't really know what to say regarding their intelligence. 
I think the only positive thing about them compared to rats is that they are lower maintenance, I don't think they have a positive trait that rats don't have.
They're just interesting, not cuddly but I like them. Their faces are so cute, and I actually find their attitudes to not be a problem. It's very rewarding to get them to come out to you and bond with you. Though do lots of research if you are interested in getting one, a lot of people find they aren't what they expected.

Now, I'm not an expert! I've had Dilly for a little under a year, so I don't know everything, just what she has taught me.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Just a couple more I took just now. It's so difficult to take photos of her because she's either in a ball or she never stops moving!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Tried to weigh when I took her out yesterday, but she wouldn't stay still. She was nice and still tonight though! I weighed her at 353g tonight, so unless I screwed up Sunday night, she has gained 10g! Keep it up, Dills.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Thanks for telling me how they differ from rats. I thought about getting a hedgehog, but I belueved rats would be better suited for me


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

No problem! That's all just how my experience with Dilly has been, but I don't really think any are actually "cuddly". Some people say their little spikes don't hurt, but they totally do! It's sometimes difficult to take her out for her time out because I'm generally waking her up, so she's all balled up and huffing at me. Lol


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## abratforarat (Jan 12, 2014)

She. Is. So. Darn. Cute.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Will you put pics of the baby(ies)? I sure hope so. She is a cutie


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

As soon as I'm able to, I totally will! When she has them, I have to leave her be for at least two weeks, even the smallest amount of stress could cause her to kill them, so she'll need to be stress free for a couple weeks! So yeah, assuming the pregnancy took, and all goes well with the babies, there will most definitely be pictures! ^-^ 
Probably gonna try and take some more photos when I take her out and weigh her tonight.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Dangit! It must have been the fact that she was kind of still in a ball when I weighed her lastnight, but she's only 341g tonight! Clearly she did not gain 10g. *rolls eyes* Average gestation is 35 days, could be longer, could be shorter, but I counted from the day she was first put in with the male for that three weeks and I believe that is around the seventeenth that she'll give birth if she is pregnant. Otherwise it could be three weeks from the seventeenth if she and the boy didn't do the do until later on in their pairing. I guess we'll see! There's always the more experienced male if the pregnancy didn't take!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Forgot a photo. Enjoying some yummy mealworms!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Do you give mealworms to your ratties too? I heard they love those as a treat.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Occasionally, yeah. Usually it's the waxworms I share with them, though. I try to give as much as I can to Dilly, though, seeing as she is more of an insectivore than the rats, and because I have so many rats I'd have to get loot's of mealworms/waxworms. Lol The rats get so many other snacks, so I don't think they mind too much, ahah.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

She's fluctuating just above 340g, I assumed at first that since she gained weight then lost weight that she might not be pregnant, but I read that someone's hedgehog lost weight when she bred her, then gained only the weight she had lost and still had babies! So I still have hope.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Here's some photos of Dilly. No babies, unfortunately. I went away for a few days, took out her wheel before I left just in case she had them, come home and she lost 20g! It's possible she had them when I was gone and she, uh, ate them.. or the pregnancy just didn't take. Highly unlikely, but another possibility is that she just hasn't had them yet. I've noticed that without the wheel she is less active and so she doesn't eat as much, which my account for the weight loss. Who knows, if in a couple weeks nothing happens, we may try again, it might work better if the male came to my place, so that way there's no stress of transfer on Dilly.
Don't mistake that third photo for love... lol. She lured me in to tell me to screw off with her teeth.


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