AboutLaurel Sedgwick Expertise Can answer care, health, & behavioral questions, as well as basic breeding questions. Can help questioner figure out if a hedgehog is the right pet for them.
Experience Have had hedgehogs since 2001 - 8 so far. I have no experience with non-weaned babies, and limited experience with breeding and with pregnant hedgehogs. I have had too much experience with WHS (Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome). I would rate myself "expert" at syringe-feeding, and as "advanced" at performing SubQs.
Organizations I am a Provisional Judge for the IHA (International Hedgehog Association), and run a rescue station for the HWS (Hedgehog Welfare Organization). I also belong to the HBA (Hedgehog Breeders' ssociation) and am USDA licensed.
Education/Credentials I read everything I can get my hands on. Have read the best of the books, Dawn's Wrobel's THE HEDGEHOG and Tig M-Burleson's THE HEDGEHOG primer. Have been a member of various online bulletin board groups since 2002. Have attended many hedgehog shows.
Question hi, my friend is a hedgehog breeder and they have about 11 girl hedgehogs and 1 boy, i dont know if there bad breeders or not. They breed a girl hedgehog, they wait until her babies are born and they do handle them properly but as soon as there weaned ( at 6 weeks old ) they give the mom hedgehog about 1-3 weeks break and they breed her again. Is this bad? I dont know if it is because m not a hedgehog breeder but I do visit and every time i go over there a hedgehog is having babies? they do have large cages, lots of treats and they all have weels and there all really friendly but i dont know if shes breeding them wrong? She keeps there cages really clean and they always have fresh water but i dont know if she should slow down on the breeding or not what do you think? Is breeding the females that soon bad for there reproductive system? do they get " worn out " ?
Answer Emily:
You are right to question the practices of your breeder friend. Most ethical breeders do not breed a female hedgehog more than twice in a YEAR. This means the female should be allowed to rest for 5-6 months before experiencing another pregnancy.
If your friend has been breeding for any length of time, I am surprised she continues to breed her females so quickly after they give birth. It is not only bad for the hedgehogs, but also not a wise move for the breeder. I would expect this practice to lead to illness in the females, an increase in cannibalism of the litters, and babies with decreased survival potential.
I also question the use of only one male for 11 females. For the standpoint of genetics, it is best to vary breeding stock as much as possible. The breeders I know are constantly loaning/borrowing males for stud to broaden the gene pool. This is esp. important since hedgehogs are prone to some terrible health problems, such as WHS (Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome) and cancer.
If possible, please recommend to your friend that she get in touch with other experienced breeders. There is a very good Yahoo! groups list called HedgehogBreedersAlliance.
If you would like to acquire a hedgehog yourself, I would suggest that you check into the breeders listed with the IHA (International Hedgehog Association). This is an easy Goggle. They have lots of information available, in additional to a list of USDA registed breeders.
Good luck! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
