Personality or Depressed?

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innovation

New member
Joined
Jan 7, 2014
Messages
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Location
Where the wind takes me
Hello all. I am new here and decided to make an account so I can chat amongst everyone and talk about hedgies.

I know all hedgehogs have their own personalities. Some like to cuddle, some like to explore. My little boy, Mochiron, only seems to sleep. When I get up at 7 am he is sleeping, when I come home at 5pm he is sleeping, and when I go to bed at 12 he is sleeping. I know he comes out at night and runs and eats (I've heard him sometimes, and seen it rarely). When I read about other hedgies who have play time I worry because when I take Mochiron out he just runs for cover hides. When I wake him up when I get home from work he sits still in my hands for a couple minutes, then starts climbing towards me, down my arms and eventually starts moving around so much I have to place him on my couch where he again, runs for cover behind a pillow. If I am sitting down and I place him on my lap he either runs for the pillow, or likes to crawl into the pocket of my hoodie and sleep there.

Basically he is always hiding. If there is a light on in the house he is sleeping. He is 6 months old and this behavior is constant. He has a very nice fine full head of quills and body of fur. He has a healthy appetite and his droppings look the same constantly. I can hold him no problem and pet his quills no problem. I can hold him in a ball easy until he decides he doesn't want to be a ball anymore.

So I am not sure, is my hedgie depressed, or is his personality one where he just likes to lounge around and sleep and hide? Any thoughts on the matter?
 
Hmmm... he sounds a lot like a normal 6-month old hedgehog to me. It's great that he'll crawl into your hoodie pocket. Shows he trusts you. I'd offer him different things to try out where you and your snugglebug could "interact." Instead of your pocket, offer him your sleeve and see if he'll go up there. Or try the edge of your shirt and see if he'll sit (sprawl out) on your belly for his naps.

Since he also seems to have a bit of an explorer side, you could see if there's anything else he'd like to explore in a structured way. You could put his favorite food in various places and see if he'll go for it or if he'll just run and hide. For example, I used to have this plastic dump truck toy that was intended for kids of a preschool to kindergarten age to play with. I put that out and put my hedgie's favorite food (mealworms) in it. A few times, we had to help her find the mealies in the truck bed. Then she got into it on her own. Then we started getting creative and put mealies in the truck bed and under the truck. Eventually, she figured out there are yummies there too! She was very food-driven, though. I have another who will only eat under the strict cover of darkness when no humans are anywhere near. With her, we just hold her and sing quietly.
 
As i sat down to read your reply I almost had a heart attack. My hedgie was gone! He had run away and I had no idea how. The walls of his box are huge and he can't climb over his fence. I was so upset I thought someone had come into my apartment and taken him. I checked my living room and he wasn't there. Turns out he had gotten out of his box/living area and walked all the way to my room and was sleeping in a pile of my stuff. I was so scared. I guess this makes it a fact that he likes to explore.

He has gone up my sleeve before to hide (quills in the underarm are very ticklish).

If he sounds like a normal 6 months hedgie then that is good for me. As this is my first real pet i'm not really sure how has he ages. Sometimes I see posts about hedgie lives that make me think that he is an old man, but I forget he is just a baby still.
 
I guess he can scale those walls you thought he couldn't. It's amazing how far they can stretch! Sounds like time to recheck his walls and make things escape-proof. Does he have a wheel in his home to burn off energy and keep him healthy?
 
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