Bedding?

I recently got my first hedgie (Olie) from a family member who didn't have time for her. She was on a carefresh type bedding when I got her and did fine. When I got her a bigger cage, it came with a bag of Kaytee brand granule type bedding so I started using this in the main portion of the cage because it looks cleaner and put the carefresh in the litter pan since she is already used to going in that. After one day in the new bedding Olie seems to be itchy, is this a normal reaction to new bedding or could it be an allergy. Her skin appears normal but every half hour or so I can hear her scratching. Any thoughts?

A little scratching isn't abnormal. Sometimes they just get an itch, or a quill is out of place and they scratch to groom themselves. If she is just lazily scratching, and not frequently, I wouldn't worry much about it. If it becomes more frequent, it seems to be frantic scratching, then I'd take her to a veterinarian for a skin scraping.

You'll find that most of us prefer to use cage liners instead of particulate bedding. Particulate bedding is messy, it can be dusty, and can get stuck in sensitive areas (like eyes). Many of us use fleece cut to the size of the cage, or if you can sew, layered liners made of fleece and flannel (or corduroy).

thanks for the quick reply, I do plan on switching to fleece once I make it to a craft store to buy it and get it all assembled. And the scratching doesn't seem frantic so I will just keep an eye on her.

Oh you may also hear her scratching more just after she wakes up to be active for the night. Quite often I hear it coming from both of my girls when the lights go out and they are getting up for the evening. Its just part of their routine. Whether its quills need to be groomed, or them stretching, I don't know, but I've had several of the years do it.

Welcome to the forum.