advice on possible hedge quilling

[Chad]

My wife and I have a hedgehog named Appa who will be four months old as of today. About a week ago she started biting my wife when she was pulling Appa from her cage and just the other night she bit me a few different times. When she bit us neither one of us were petting her spines. Is it possible that she is getting her adult quills in or is she really grouchy? If this is the case, what is the best way to handle her when she avoids us like the plague or bites us? About how long can we expect the quilling to last? We have Appa in a Critter Nation cage so we couldn't approach from the top.

 

[Hammie]

That's very likely. This is a helpful article on quilling that doesn't give any bad advice (which is shocking) http://www.hedgehogheadquarters.com/secure/quilling.htm I don't think I would go for the whole vitamin e/olive oil treatments, though. The oatmeal bath should help. Also, treats! If I were quilling, I'd enjoy some rocky road ice cream, but she probably just wants some hard boiled egg or crickets...If you give her treats every once in a while when you take her out, it will be like a mystery as to whether or not she'll get one this time. Try holding her in a mini fleece blanket when you hold her so she has something to hide in if she wants to that's also very soft to be in.