exercise and breeding?

Question
Hello, I have bought a nine week old(aprox)female normal colored hedgie, I've had her for four days and she is just great, she'll eat while I hold her and will readily unroll but hisses and puffs a lot which I think is normal? anyway she doesn thave an exercsie wheel yet... does she really need one? would a large rat exercise ball work for exploring out of the cage? it has come to my attention that there aren't many hedgehogs avalible around here, occasionly the pet stores have them(thats where I got her), I'd like to get a male and breed them for just one or two litters in the future, just as pets for myself... I'd keep most of the babys if not all(depends on litter size) and be sure the rest went to good caring homes without small children. I've done some reading on the breeding subeject and it seems they are about as hard to reproduce as hamsters, basicy the female goes into the males cage for a week and then she goes back into her cage from what I've read, the best time to breed them is six months is this correct? by the time I get the two month old male my female will be four months so the male will always be a little younger... would this work? if hes four months when shes six? anyways I'm wondering if the male were cinnimon, salt and peper(not the normal colored... a little paler) or albino... would some of the babys be that color? would it be possible for one litter to be fathered by one male an another fatherd by a different colored male? what are my chances of acctuly getting them to breed before her pelvic bones fuse? any extra info or web links would be great, thank you for your time.

Answer
Ok, you are asking a lot of questions. I cannot help you with the breeding since I have never breed them before. I just wouldn't feel comfortable if I could only parrot back information that could be wrong for all I know.

Hissing and puffing are normal. It is just a defense thing. It is great that she will unroll for you so soon. She must have been handled a lot at the pet store, which is usually not normal. You really shouldn't buy them from the pet store though. A breeder is always better, and they can answer your questions about breeding them yourself.

Order online a Wodent Whell (i think that is what it is called, it has been so long that I don't remember). It is a hedgehog wheel. Do not use a rat ball. It is not practical for your or the hedgehog. Hedgehogs tend to well relieve themselves while on the run. Would you want to run in your pee? Then it drips on your floor/carpet. They need a wheel or your hedgehog will go crazy. Trust me, i learned the hard way. The wodent wheels are the best. Hedgehogs can run miles in a night. They are a solid surface that is easy to clean and has these holes for the hedgehog to crawl in and out of. Also, keep in mind each hedgehog you have needs its own wheel, and if i remember correctly they kind of expensive.

You also need a huge living space, no smaller than like a 50 gallon (?) sterilte container. You know those big plasitc  storage containers. They are cheap and give the hedgehog some room to move. 10-20 gallons is entirely too small. Some breeders I know have a kiddie pool for their hedgehog to live in. Oh and toliet paper tubes split are a great toy. I would cut them in half and then half split it. You need to split a little because they will cram their heads in and it could become stuck. My hedgie loves them and gets upset if i take them away. She uses them to shovel her bedding where she wants it and loves to run with it on her nose.  It is a cheap and fun toy for them. They love huge tubes that they can crawl through too.

Do not breed your hedgehog too early. I do belive it is a 6 month wait. I used to want to breed but didn't want the responsibility of it, so do know a little, just not enough to trust my memory. Read up a lot on this, and check several sources. Email breeders, there are tons online. Good luck!