Help please!!!

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Hedge

Member
Joined
May 4, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Wisconsin
I got a hedgehog about a week away. She's one and the last said she's nice and won't bite or anything. Well I've been taking her out of her cage at night for awhile but She never let's me pick her up. She huffs. Quills up and everything. Does the same when I put her back. I almost want to sell her and get a baby.
What's wrong with her and how can I make it better??
Help me please!!
 
Oh. Okay. That's pretty normal for a hedgie - especially one who has only been with you for a week! I have to run right now and will write more a bit later about picking up and setting back down. In the meanwhile, could you tell us what she's like when she's out of the cage with you? What time(s) of day you usually get her out & for how long?
 
Many hedgies react when they’re being picked up – anywhere from a light huffing to a rather huffy protest. You might think of it a bit like being woken up in the morning when you want to sleep in… All. The. Time. There are a few things you can do to help.

Before picking her up, give her lots of warning. Come into the room and talk to her, sing to her, let her know you’re there (she may huff at you in response – that’s fine). Take some time cleaning up her cage, changing out her water and food dishes, etc… (and she may huff at you for that too – which is also fine). From there, you’ll need to start working on how to best pick her up. It’ll take time for the two of you to figure out the preferred method. I’ll give you a few examples from my hedgies so you can get some ideas.

With Satin, I’d let her know I was there, she’d huff softly back at me as if saying “I’m here mommy!” Then she’d stand up, I’d slide my fingers underneath her belly, and away we’d go! It didn’t start that way though. When she first came home, as a baby, it was more challenging. She was tiny and she liked to sleep in the corner where I could just barely reach her. She’d quill up and I’d have to use my fingertips to gently roll this spikey little ball toward myself until I could scoop her up.

Bella is high-strung. It’s like she’s always on the lookout for the next threat. So when I enter the room, I hear huffing. See, she has to scare the bad stuff away. When I lift her hat (she likes to sleep under a hat mostly), I get huffed at. Usually, she is standing facing me… prepared to deal with whatever threat is about to come her way. So I can slip my fingers under her huffy self and pick her up. When she first came home, she was on super-duper trooper high alert. She wouldn’t fully unroll when any human was near. For the first 1.5 months, she only let us see two of four feet. Suffice it to say, she was a challenge to pick up. Huffy. Spikey. REALLY spikey. Sometimes, still, she’ll perceive a threat and return to super spike-a-tude. And that’s really hard to pick up. Some people will use a small fleece scrap to scoop up hedgies who are like this. I don’t bother with that, I just very gently cup my hands around said spikey ball and gently lift.

I have a feeling that, with her, she could live here several years and I’d still get huffed at. And, when it was time to go back into her cage after snuggle time, she’d still scramble out of my hands as if she couldn’t get away fast enough. Thing is, I don’t take it personally… it’s just her. It’s her personality. She’s anxious. Mostly, I feel sorry that she’s always on such high alert. It must be hard to live like that. I celebrate her breakthroughs – like when she finally let us see all 4 feet!

Marlee, though laid back, presents a challenge to pick up. She’s typically sleeping when I go to pick her up. When I lift off her igloo, she huffs. But stays in the exact same position she was in before – which is in a crescent shape with her feet tucked into the ring of a doughnut-shaped bed made for cats (into which her entire igloo is nested). So, for her, I’ve adopted a bit of a shovel method. I get my hand really low and slide it under her. I’m hoping we might work toward what I was able to do with Satin. Though she’s just 4 months old now… so we’ll see.

Long story short, do not be put off by your hedgie huffing at you or being difficult to pick up – especially at just one week in.
Do your best to think a bit from your hedgie’s perspective… everything that she knew to be true in the world just changed for her one week ago. Her schedule, the taste of her water, what it smells like in the home, who her humans are, what her humans smell like, sound like, etc… It’s a big change. Gosh, when Texie came home, he had mean greenies for about a month (mean greenies = green poop that is a sign that they are stressed out). Some adapt more quickly than others.
Help her out by making sure you have a routine so she knows what to expect and when.

And, please, let us know how it goes when she’s actually out during snuggletime. If that part is not going as anticipated, we may have some good ideas to help improve the experience for the two of you. With luck, an improved snuggletime should help translate to some good bonding and that bond will help with pick-up and return to cage time.
 
I usually try to get her out around 11 pm every night and usually for an hour. When she's out she's usually really good but she still huffs a little and spikes her quills but not as much as when she would be in her cage.
 
Out for an hour at 11 sounds good. It is completely normal for a hedgie to be more huffy and quilly during pickup than when hedgie is out of the cage. It's also normal for a hedgie to get a little huffy and quilly during snuggletime - particularly if there's an unexpected noise, movement, or change in light. Unexpected to her, that is. The pattern you're describing seems about normal. The fact that she's able to calm herself during out of cage/snuggletime is great! Especially at 1 week of coming to her new home.

When she is out, does she like to hide? Explore? Run?
 
Hedge said:
She loves to hide! She likes going under the blankets and exploring. I'm so happy that this is normal I was getting scaried I just wish she would warm up to me
She sounds like a normal hedgiegirl to me :)

It can take awhile for her to get used to being out and snuggling with you. I bet, if you're consistent, you'll see her looking more relaxed after a month. You can let her snuggle on you under a blanket. That way, she feels protected while she gets used to your scent, what you sound like when you talk, how you move, etc...

Most of mine really love(d) to nose their way up my sleeve and nap in the crook of my arm. If you have a loose long-sleeved shirt, you might offer her the opportunity to crawl up your arm and settle in for a good nap. Half of them liked to sit on my belly under the protection of my t-shirt. You could try something like that too.
 
My hedgie was super huffy and unsociable when I got her because she didn't get a lot of attention at her previous home, and there were lots of small children (so lots of loud noises!) there. I have had her for two years now and she is much better, but she always huffs when I pick her up. I slide one hand under her on each side and then sit her in my lap. She is used to my scent now so she will uncurl when she knows it's me. When I first started trying to get her used to me I would wrap her up (loosely so she could get out if she wanted) in a blanket with her head poking out and set her on my chest or in my lap while I watched tv or read a book or whatever. After awhile she realized I wasn't going to hurt her and started coming out to poke around. It sounds like she is doing great for not being with you very long. I'm sure if you give her more time to get to know you, you will end up with a sweet, friendly hedgehog.
 
I've currently got Rigby in my hoodie pocket, with a blanket on top of me & he's usually very comfortable there. Maybe your hedgie would also like a pocket to crawl through & sleep in. And! And it's awesome bc I can feel his tiny rise & falls of his body from breathing in my pocket. Anyway, it's adorable & a nice, calm bonding time for us. Eventually though, he will wake up from his 3rd nap on me & run around & explore under a blanket. That's pretty much how Rigby & I hang out. Exploring, naps & respawning him to a safe area if he gets too close to somewhere he won't get injured or lost. I just got him a month ago (he was 6mo already) & so far, he seems to love me back, it took him a little under a week to get used to me. Every hedgie is different. I'm not sure if any of that will help, but I love my baby boy & felt that I had to share our bonding methods. Also, he's a total fatass & will love me with a little bit of 100% human grade Chicken strip dog treats. I give him about a third of the size of a human nail size every time I want to play. I call for him, pop up his igloo (remove fleece scraps) & hand him a bit of a delicious (they're really not that bad tasting) treat before scooping him up & then we cuddle, explore & play.
 
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