Female with Male?

chinluver · 03-16-2005, 03:19 PM

How would it go with putting a male and female together? This would be a female that is about a year old and it would be a baby coming (in the future).
Would they be able to live together besides while the female has babies (and while she's getting a break)?

Thanks,
Corina

fertmom · 03-16-2005, 07:27 PM

No No No!!! First the female would most likely get pregnant and if she is over a year it could be dangerous for her, once females are a year old their pelvic bones fuse and they have very much difficulty delivering- may even require a c-section.
Secondly the stess of mating and having the male chase her around all the time is not good for her. If she is already pregnant and the male is in the cage she and probably he will have the babies for a snack. Seriously they will devour their young. Please separate them ASAP! Please do some reading and research before you decide to breed hedgehogs, there are so many dangers and things to know beforehand.
If you do decide to breed it should be with known pedigrees so you can hopefully avoid WHS and other genetic problems and it would be best to breed under a mentoring system. If you do your research and are serious about breeding for the betterment of the species (temperment, health etc) then I can recommend a breeder or two who would be willing to help answer questions and give advice.

Lois · 03-16-2005, 11:38 PM

Yes, Do not put the female with the male because you will have babies for sure! If you were to leave them together after she were to become pregnate the male would more then likely eat the babies after they are born. There is not even any thing for certain that the two females will get a long if you put them together. So are you willing to have three hedgehogs all in different cages? Thats something else to think about too. Please keep reading and learning about hedgehogs before you do any thing else further. They are not like other animals and do not adjust well to a room mate since they live by them selfs for the most part. Lois

chinluver · 03-25-2005, 05:55 PM

Fertmom--

Quote:

Please separate them ASAP!

I only have 1 hedgehog and was curious.

Thank you for your replies. I heard about them eating the babies and I was thinking maybe seperating about 10 days before she was due...

clearjade · 03-25-2005, 08:55 PM

Corina, I'm glad you are asking questions before going ahead with this arrangement. I don't have extensive knowledge about hedgies but what I do know is that they are solitary by nature and can be difficult to house together whether male or female.

fertmom · 03-26-2005, 10:19 AM

Oh, okay...glad you are asking first. Which hedgie do you have now, male or female?

Snow's mom · 03-27-2005, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinluver

Fertmom--

I only have 1 hedgehog and was curious.

Thank you for your replies. I heard about them eating the babies and I was thinking maybe seperating about 10 days before she was due...

Eating the babies is the least of your worries. If she is over a year old and this is her first litter it could kill her. Their pelvises start to fuse after a year old and they become unable to deliver.