So I have my 2 Texas rescues; Paddington and Snowberry. I thought Snow would turn out to be the ornery, kinda mean one, as Paddy was a bit quiet and just shy. It turns out to be the opposite. Snow is a very sweet and sociable hedgie, and Paddy, while a bit more prickly, is turning out to be just plain mean. If I have my hand on his back, or stroking him, he whips his head around and tries to bite me. He already bit the inside of my hand. Fingers can't be too close to his face, he just lunges at them with an open mouth. How can I discourage this behaviour? If I put food next to him, like chicken, turkey, he will not touch it or eat it at all. At one time I tried giving him a piece of turkey, and forget the meat, he went straight for my finger that was holding it instead. Should I just let him bite me and wait for him to let go so he can associate that his biting does not do anything or get a reaction?
Aggressive Hedgie
- Thread starter tacotac
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smhufflepuff
super-duper hedgiepig
Odd that he turned from quiet and shy to aggressive... is it possible he's reacting to a change in his environment or is feeling under the weather?
I think any experiment at letting one of my hedgies bite me on purpose would be pretty short lived (ouch!). Does he bite and let go? Or bite and hang on?
I think any experiment at letting one of my hedgies bite me on purpose would be pretty short lived (ouch!). Does he bite and let go? Or bite and hang on?
Courtney
... and the Dynamic Duo!
Is it possible that whatever you're doing is hurting him? He could have been injured somehow and stroking him causes pain.
It's also possible that he's just one of those hedgehog who would rather be left alone and not touched. My Cuda was like that... he would actively seek out fingers to bite and continued to do so for the first 2 years of his life. When he got sick (he had an allergic reaction to something, scratched until he had open welts and then was on medicine) and I took care of him, it was like something clicked in him. He realized I wasn't going to hurt him and the biting calmed down a bit... we actually went for over 6 months before he nipped me, which is huge when you compare it to the 5 or 6 bites I'd get in a ten minute span of time before.
Be patient, and let him learn to trust you. If he gets you, don't react... just do your best to wait quietly for him to let go.
It's also possible that he's just one of those hedgehog who would rather be left alone and not touched. My Cuda was like that... he would actively seek out fingers to bite and continued to do so for the first 2 years of his life. When he got sick (he had an allergic reaction to something, scratched until he had open welts and then was on medicine) and I took care of him, it was like something clicked in him. He realized I wasn't going to hurt him and the biting calmed down a bit... we actually went for over 6 months before he nipped me, which is huge when you compare it to the 5 or 6 bites I'd get in a ten minute span of time before.
Be patient, and let him learn to trust you. If he gets you, don't react... just do your best to wait quietly for him to let go.
