Hmmm...Bath : Should I wait? And how to do it?

[Smoogy]

Hey!

So I've had Sonic for a week now. My home is his third home, and his first where there are no young kids to scare him. He is quite shy... poor guy!

He is still a little shy, and is only beginning to acknowledge us! Only today was he walking on my hands and not looking like he'd bite 'em off!

I don't know how it's supposed to feel, but by the look of it, he's never had a bath in his 3 years!!! 0.0 His tummy hair looks very greasy and isn't very soft, and his quills (only the ones over his head and his bum) have a bit of poop stuck to some.... Plus, his skin under the quills looks REALLY dry... I don't know if this is all normal?

I did a bit of research on HOW to bathe him... but I'm not sure if he's ready yet, and I don't know if he ever will...

Should I bathe him at all? Would it help him? Should I wait until he completely trusts me? I mean, he still rolls in a ball as soon as I pick him up, and hisses a bit every time i touch him... I don't know if it'd be SAFE to give him a bath... but he is QUITE dirty looking

What would you suggest?

Thanks!

~Sandra~

 

[Kalandra]

When to bathe a rescue is always a fun question to answer. I try to not bathe them for a while to allow them time to settle in, but I have had one or two now that really needed it sooner than later as they had filth that was caked to the skin.

Does he really need a bath? Does he smell dirty or is his quills dirty? Some hedgehogs are just extremely clean and do not really require a frequent bath. I have one here that is three years old and I can count the number of baths she's had on 1 hand. She is just an extremely clean hedgehog and grooms herself.

I prefer to wait for a week or two before giving them a bath. It gives me time to determine if they are really settling in or not. However keep in mind that a bath may scare him, especially if he has never had one.