WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A HIBERNATION ATTEMPT
A hibernation attempt can be scary to witness, it can often lead to panic and everything we have learnt about how to warm our hedgehog back up can often tend to fly out of our minds. Hopefully this guide will help you.
Signs of hibernation:
Cold tummy
Balling up and not moving/huffing
What to do next:
DON'T put them in water to try and warm them up
DON'T leave them under a heat source or on a heat mat as they are unable to leave the heat resulting in burns
DO put your hedgehog under your clothes and next to your skin to provide body warmth
DO wrap something warm (not hot) around you both to preserve heat, a towel warmed in the tumble dryer is one way of doing this, alternatively wrapping a blanket around you to keep heat in is fine
DO make sure the hedgehog can breath whilst you are warming them
DO use warmth instead of hot heat. You want to do this slowly rather than fast to prevent shock
DO keep them there until they start to wiggle and become fed up with forced heat cuddles
DO take them to a vet if they have not started to come round within 1 hour
DO offer food and water once they have come round fully
DO make sure the temperature in their cage is bumped up a couple of degrees higher than what they normally have as another attempt soon after is not uncommon
How to help prevent a hibernation attempt:
DO make sure they have an adequate heat source to ensure the WHOLE cage's ambient temperature is heated to around 74-77 degrees (some prefer a little cooler, some a little warmer). Please see our heating guide on the best type of set up to achieve this. The admins of this group advocate the use of Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE) as the best type of heat source to use
DO ensure there are no major temperature fluctuations and the heat is constant and consistent with no hot or cold spots
DO have a thermometer in the cage to ensure the CHE and thermostat are working correctly and maintaining the correct temperature
DO have a back up source in case of power cuts. Hand warmers that work by chemical reaction are a good one to have to hand as these require no power source to work