We're one day closer to picking up our new little spiky friend! I can barely contain my excitement! Yesterday after taking the kids to school I came home and cleaned a bit. Then, TJ came over with good news that he MIGHT not have to move to Topeka and that his new job might be done entirely remotely in the future! We were so excited! We sat around and talked for a couple hours, then went to lunch and ran some errands together. He and I managed to find a storage bin that we think is going to work for Mint!
The research I've done typically says that 2 square feet is the bare minimum amount of space that they need. 3+ feet is better if you can get it. The bin I got is 3 ft x 1.5 ft, so she'll have 4.5 sq ft to run around in. I think that should work pretty well. TJ and I also found some cute fleece that I have begun to use to make bedding pads for her. We won't be able to use them right when we get her, but hopefully shortly after we get her we can get her little trained and then use the pads. After the kids went to bed last night I got to work! I began cutting up fleece and old towels and sewing them together. They feel like little blankets. And they are super cute! Adding the towel to the middle, with the fleece on both sides, makes it plenty heavy, so I think it will stay put in her cage pretty well. It will also be super nice to not have to buy as much litter, and to be able to machine wash her cage lining! I told Michael (or maybe it was Sis) that is was very similar to using cloth diapers. We're going to save plenty on not having to buy lots of wood chips. Finger crossed she litter trains easily! 🤞
It's going to be just like a little carpet!! I told Michael and Sis it was going to look like a hedgehog dorm room when all her goodies were in there! 🤣 I have to admit that my first couple of attempts here are obviously not the perfect size. Some issues I was running into were that the fleece was stretching and the towel wasn't. Also, I didn't have a great space to spread the fabric out and measure it well. I will get better! But for now, at least we have a little something to start with (once she's trained). I'm sure Avery will like picking out fleece as well once she knows about Mint and designing her "room" how she likes. 😊
The breeder also sent me new pictures of her yesterday! I have to say, I fell even more in love with her after seeing them!! I had originally also had my eye on a little boy hedgie named Ginseng. He wasn't as dark as Mint, more brown in his face, and more of a white mask above his eyes. He was very much the traditional hedgie coloring. But we decided to go with Mint instead. In the newest pictures we got of her, you can see more brown in her face, it's not all dark and black like I originally thought. You can see a distinct color difference between her black eyes and the brown in her face. Also, the white above her face seems a bit more pronounced now too. Michael thinks that their colors change a bit as they grow, similar to how Harlee's colors changed. She was almost entirely black and brown on her face when we got her as a puppy, but as she got older, the white became more prominent.
So I guess I better share the new pictures with you!!
So here is a picture of Mint with her litter-mates. Mint is the one on top, toward the right with her face showing. The breeder said she was really calm and relaxed last night and got a few pictures of just Mint as well.
Oh my goodness! Isn't she just the cutest?!?! She's obviously very calm with being handled, as she's not even attempting to roll into a ball! I asked if she was also comfortable being handled by kids. The breeder said that her kids handle her just as well as she does. Of course, I'm sure that her kids have been handling hedgies for most of their lives. I'm looking forward to having her here at home and letting the kids handle her and play with her. Even though she's available as early as next weekend, I didn't want to have to try to hide her from Avery any longer than I had to. Avery's birthday isn't until Monday, the 5th. I go to pick Mint up on the Thursday, the 1st. I'm already thinking I won't make it until Monday to give her to her. I'm hoping to make it till Saturday or Sunday, but I might end up giving her to Avery as early as Friday after school... We shall see...
Anyways, I'm so so excited about her! I'm still doing tons of research and planning! I can't wait for all of her stuff to get here. I need to take the log back to WalMart. I bought her a cute fleece hidey hole teepee thing on Etsy yesterday that I think she'll like better than the log. As the packages start coming in, I think her hole is really going to start taking shape! I'll post pictures along the way!
This is the hidey hole I ordered her!! I think she'll be nice and cozy in here! I should really learn how to make these things as well as the fun fleece tubes and such! She's is going to have a pretty tricked out home! I can't wait!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
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