Hedgehogs 3

Hedgehogs can be litter trained. There are a couple methods. One is to watch your hedgehog and move him to the litter box when you start to see some action happening. Then, reward. Another method is to actually pick up the droppings with a tissue (they're hard) and put them in the litter box. Eventually, your hedgehog will figure out that that is the place to go. Side note here: All hedgehogs poo when running on their wheel. You can't litter train them out of this. What you can do however, is put the wheel in the litter box so that any droppings that fall off the wheel fall into the box. This helps with the training too. Just be patient.
Hedgehogs do need baths every now and then, especially to clean off dirty feet. Simply run about and inch or two of warm water in the sink or tub and use tearfree shampoo to make it soapy. Gently wet the hedgie's back and scrub the quills with an old toothbrush. Feet can be scrubbed with the toothbrush too. Rinse and make sure the hedgehog is completly dry (towel) before putting back into cage to reduce chance of chill. Give a mealie to show what a good hedgie he was. After a bath is a good time to cuddle. Some hedgehogs like a bath, some think that it is water torture. It all depends on the hedgehog.

Always make sure there is a good vet in your area who knows how to treat hedgehogs. All hedgies should get a checkup when adopted and this is a good way to tell how experienced your vet is. Make sure he or she checks weight, checks for mites and other buggies, and looks in between quills and on ears for dry skin. It is also highly recommended that a stool sample be taken to test for parasites and anything else. There should be no sores on the hedgehog, the eyes should be bright with no discharge, the ears should not be tattered, breathing should be easy without wheezing, and the nose should be either dry or slightly moist but not runny. Though more serious problems need to be checked out by a vet, there are some things that are recognizable and can treated at home.
~Mites: By far, one of the most common problems, especially if the hedgehog is being kept in shavings instead of vellux or bedding like Carefresh. These are basically the fleas of the hedgehog world and are recognized a few ways. The hedgehog will be scratching a great deal and it's possible in some cases to part the quills and actually see the mites crawling around, especially check around the ears and between toes. A really accurate test is the "black t-shirt" test. Take a black shirt or piece of cloth and roll your hedgie up in it. Gently roll him around then let 'em loose. Look very carefully at the shirt. See those white flakes or spots? Those could be mites. Look even more carefully. If any of the white dots are moving, you have mites. If not, it's probably just dry skin. To treat mites, take your hedgie to the vet and get them to confirm then prescribe some meds. Also, make sure you keep your infested hedgie away from any other hedgehogs. This is also the reason any new animals should be quarintined for a week or two before introducing to your existing hedgehogs.
~Dry Skin: The test for this is the same as for mites. Again, you'll see the hedgehog scratching constantly. Also, ears may look dry and tattered. The remedy for this is easy. For immediate treatment, pop a vitamin E capsule with a needle and put a little on the hedgehog's back and work it into the skin. For longer term, make sure the diet is right (healthy from the inside out) and add a few drops of cod liver oil to the food a few days a week. This should get your hedgie feeling better.
~Green Droppings: This can be a very serious sign so you will want to get it checked out by a vet. The only exceptions would be if there has been extreme stress such as when your hedgehog is first brought home. Diet changes can also cause this. However, though in these cases it's usually nothing serious, get it checked out by a vet anyway.