Hand feeding
You will be required to become the surrogate mother in the event that the biological mother does not want her infants or attempts to harm them. It is not advisable to hand feed the newborns because doing so will not help them become more tame. It is not true that a hedgehog raised by humans will be friendlier than one that was raised by its mother during the first six weeks of its life.
Even if you provide the very best care and attention to the babies that you are hand-feeding, a significant number of them will not survive. There are instances when they are just unable to put up a fight.
Here are the important steps to respect :
- Put the infants into a compact container, such as a shoe box, for instance. Make use of a large number of coverings in order to maintain the warmth and to create a cozy environment.
- You are going to require an additional source of heating for your infants. They have a propensity to become quite cold very quickly.
Food to use :
The milk that should be used is either goat milk or the milk that is used to replace the milk that is given to kittens. You could try adding a little bit of camomile tea to your meal to assist with digestion.
You are going to require a syringe in order to feed the mixture.
How to feed a baby hedgehog:
Keep the infant in the palm of one hand. Place his head on the crook of your thumb. In this manner, the warmth of your palm will be transferred to the infant. Put the syringe to his mouth and slowly let some of the mixture to fall out. Don’t try to shove the syringe down his throat against his will. Just be patient and watch what happens. If it appears that the infant is not going to drink, slowly apply pressure to the mouth with the syringe. He should just open his mouth and allow a few droplets in. Please hold off on giving him any more for a few minutes.
The quantity :
Don’t lose sight of the fact that babies’ intestines are extremely immature and delicate. If you give him an excessive amount of food, it will have the same impact as if you did not give him any food at all. He will perish. Make it a point to give him at least two or three mouthfuls of drink. The newborn needs to be fed every two hours or whenever they start crying, whichever comes first. They won’t require as often feedings during the day as they become older, so don’t worry about that. One thing that should be brought up is the fact that you have to get up even in the middle of the night.
How to stimulate the digestive system :
After the mother has finished feeding her children, she would lick their stomachs to encourage digestion. You are going to have to take on the responsibility of doing it on your own because she is not there to help. Beginning at the baby’s chin and working your way all the way down to his anus, give the baby’s stomach a gentle massage with your finger or a damp Q-tip. After each meal, repeat this approximately 20 to 30 times. It is a sign that you are not doing it correctly if you see that the digestive system is becoming darker or if you feel that the belly is becoming more rigid. You might try massaging for a longer period of time or using slightly greater pressure.
The excrements :
If you breastfeed or bottle feed your infant, the color of their feces will be green. Don’t freak out; this is actually a positive omen. When the patient begins eating solid food, everything will return to its previous state.
Weaning:
When the babies are 3 weeks old, they will begin to get their first few teeth. It is the ideal moment to begin exposing them to different kinds of food. Combine the dry food formula for a kitten with some warm water in a bowl. It will become more pliable, making it simpler for the infants to consume. You can get the youngsters used to the new food by leaving some food inside the cage for them to find. It is imperative that you keep providing them milk. They should be able to move on to dry food and eat on their own when they are between 5 and 6 weeks old.
Growth stages
- A new arrival:
Spines are not present in infants at birth. They are present, but are covered up by a membrane for the time being. After being born, they will need a few hours to develop the microscopic white spines on their bodies. In addition, the eyes are closed, and they have a highly pink coloration.
- At 1 week old:
When the infants are hungry, you can tell by the cries that they make. Even without fur, they have a unique appearance. Their eyes and ears remain covered at this time.
- At 2 week old:
You will be able to determine the sex by the time the second week is up. Those individuals who have a belly button are of the male gender. Their adult spines are emerging one by one, and their ears have at long last opened. The sounds of the infants are more audible to you now, despite the fact that you still hear them frequently. The beginnings of the fur are beginning to emerge, but there is not yet enough to cover the full body. When you take them in your hands, they will try to lick you and will most likely anoint themselves with their own secretion when they succeed.
- At 2 1/2 week old:
The eyes are gradually starting to open. The animals no longer appear to be naked because their fur is beginning to thicken. They begin to become more aware of their environment and make feeble attempts to walk, but they don’t have much luck.
- At 3 week old:
They resemble tiny hedgehogs at this point in their development. They are walking much better today, and they are thrilled to be able to explore their new home. They are drawn to the fresh scents, and they adore coating themselves in that white foam. They also have the ability to roll up into a ball with ease.
- At 4 week old:
They have now developed into miniature copies of their mother. They walk pretty well, and if you tried to pick them up, they would wriggle and wriggle all over the place. You can begin to consider weaning them at this point.
- At 5 & 6 week old:
It is expected that the infants will be able to feed and comfort themselves. At long last, Mommy gets the chance to catch up on some much-needed shuteye.
- At 8 week old:
If you want to avoid any unpleasant surprises, you must remember to keep the males and females in different areas.
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