Santa Quills

This is Wimbley's entry in the Carolina Storm Wheel Hedgehog Christmas Photo Contest!
Check out some of these other Christmas cuties!!!

Beware!

Wimbley's Bathtime

Wimbley gets a bath!

Wimbley the toe sucker

For Wimbley, this nightly ritual is the equivalent of sucking his thumb. He is such a grumpy little boy that I can't help but swoon when he shows off his baby side!

Good Farmer Wimbley

lil flower boy

if only he had gotten on a triple word score

Wild Wimbley Presents

Wimbley in the Great Outdoors!

Fun times in the dark!

Wimbley is growing up so fast! A week ago we passed his 3 month birthday! He is getting noticeably larger!

We're pretty sure he is done with his quilling as he is a lot calmer nowadays. For a while, he would pop and hiss at the slightest touch and itch constantly! I felt so bad for him! He was leaving heaps of quills all over the place!

Lately we've had a new routine with Wimbley. We put him on the bed and turn the light off. He is much more lively when we play like that. We leave the living room light on so we can still see but Wimbley likes the dark so he is hilarious to watch as he climbs, frolics, and throws himself all over the place. He is SOOOO adorable!

Wimbley's First Annual Check-up

Wimbley's first annual vet check-up was on the 17th. We took him to the North Country Animal Center. I was really excited to take him but I was worried about how he would act for his 2pm appointment. (Usually Wimbley sleeps until 8 or 9 at night before he is woken up).

Things started out okay. On the ride he was sniffing around and seemed his normal self, he was also fine for the vet tech while he was weighed (he has gained 78 grams!). He was a little grouchy but took a turn for the worse because as soon as the vet entered the room he refused to unball and quivered, popped, and hissed in the most vicious way I have ever seen! It was horrible!

The vet wasn't able to give him a full examination but she looked him over and answered some questions for me so it wasn't a total loss (the visit cost me $44 dollars because he is an exotic pet).

Overall it was ok. I was a little disappointed that Wimbley wasn't more well behaved during the visit but I want to make sure he's healthy! I'm really conscientious of his behavior, eating, and pooping patterns so I will know if something isn't normal. The vet said if they needed to really examine him, they have a small gas box they can put him in to sedate him. I hope I never have to see that!

Poor Wimbley was stressed from the day but at least I know he's a healthy and growing little boy!

Cilantro Anointing

Treats for Wimbley

This post is more about hedgehogs in general but a lot of people ask me what Wimbley can eat. His basic food is fancy cat food with protein mixed in but as far as snacking there are a lot of choices!

I found this fantastic list posted by LizardGirl on the Hedgehog Central Discussion Forum


Treats

Here is a partial list of acceptable treats to offer:
- Meats: (baked, boiled, browned or roasted) beef, chicken, duck, lamb, turkey
- Fish: most are fine except they can make your hedgie smell quite fishy
- Fruits: apple, banana, cantaloupe, cherry, cranberries, honeydew, papaya, peaches, pear, pumpkin, raspberries, squash, strawberry, watermelon, blueberries, kiwi
- Veggies: asparagus, broccoli, carrot, cilantro, corn, cucumber, green beans, green pepper, peas, spinach, sweet potato, turnip, zucchini
- Eggs: scrambled or hard boiled, no salt or pepper
- Baby food: all flavors should be fine, Gerber Baby meat sticks are very popular
- Wet cat food: choose one without by-products or unhealthy preservatives
- Cottage cheese: hedgies are lactose intolerant, but some like this in very small amounts.
- Insects

Some treats that are unacceptable to offer are:
- Anything citrus: oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, etc.
- Pineapple: the acid causes tiny abrasions in the mouth, which are painful.
- Most dried fruits: these can be choked on, and can get caught in the roof of the mouth.
- Raisins: besides the fact that they are dried fruit, grapes and raisins are toxic even in very small amounts.
- Avocados: toxicity unknown.
-Onions, garlic, chives: these contain poisonous sulfur compounds that are dangerous in large amounts.
- Human junk food: these are high in fat, salt, preservatives, and many other things bad for hedgies.
- Chocolate: same as for human junk food.
- Peanuts and other legumes: these can get caught in the roof of the mouth and are easily choked on.
- Pits and seeds: these can be toxic (depending on the fruit) and are a choking hazard.

So far Wimbley has tried and rejected: carrots, green peppers, and papaya treats.
He kind of tried some cilantro but after a bite he started annointing frantically rather than actually eating it.
His only treat that he seems to enjoy so far is mealworms.

Until next time... the quest for treats continues!

Quilling

Wimbley looks a little grumpy in this picture for a good reason.



The poor darling is quilling. It's like teething for babies, he is sore because his new quills are poking through his skin as they grow in! OUCH!

I've read a lot about it and knew that it was coming. He is going to be grumpy for a while but it's ok! After a couple weeks he will be back to his usual delightful self.

Up Close and Personal with Wimbley!

2 Months Old!

Wimbley is two months old today!! Even though I have had him for two weeks (I can't believe it's only been two weeks! I'm living in an absolute time warp!) he has changed SO much. His face is definitely darkening up quite a bit. His nose has gone from pink to brown. I'll have to put some pictures next to each other for comparison but I'm sure he has gotten bigger too!



My little boy is growing up!

Sleepy Wimbley

This is a picture I took last night with my cell phone!
Wimbley is sleeping cozily on my lap. He had his eyes closed and was stretched out so serenely! I was just sitting looking at him for so long. Once in a while he would open his eyes and look back at me. I just about melted!

Bath Time!

This is Wimbley in the bath.

He doesn't really like it yet but I've watched videos of hedgehogs swimmingly merrily in the water so I'm not sure if Wimbley will learn to like it or if he is just a weirdo who hates baths.

Too Much Sleep.

I've been a little worried about Wimbley because he has been really sluggish lately.

I did some research and came to the realization that I haven't been giving him enough "dark time". Because I stay up so late every night and don't shut the light off until 3:30am, he was only getting a few hours of dark time when he would come out and run on his wheel.

So I did an experiment this weekend. I had him out to play at around 8:30pm, he was really tired and wouldn't scamper around at all, but then I put him in his cage and shut the light off. While I did work out in the living room I could hear him running on his wheel and playing with his toilet paper rolls for hours!

The next night when I got him out, he was off the wall with energy!

So his sluggishness was definitely being caused by his dark deficiency! He will only stay awake for a while when the light is on so I need to make sure he gets enough dark time so he doesn't sleep himself into a stupor.

Good to know, eh?

Winning Combination!

I love playing the ukulele and I love Wimbley...

L.O.V.E.

Wimbley's anointing

See the list in the left hand column to see an up-to-date list of the items Wimbley has anointed with so far!

Wimbley's first video!

This is Wimbley!

I've been finding myself incessantly needing to update people about Wimbley's activities so I decided to create this blog as an outlet for my hedgehog obsession!