# Still nervous about picking up my hedgie



## IrisTheFaerie (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm still new at bonding with my hedgie, Jimmie at this point. Every night, around 8 or 9 I will scoop him up with my shirt and have him lay in my lap for about an hour while I'm on my computer before I put him back in. Each time I sweep him up, he gets huffy and I always wait until he's calm before I put him back. Usually he's okay after I sweep him up and I know it's going to take a while before he's comfortable with me. 

He's about a year and a half old and has jumped not just from one home, but another home as well. A boy owned him since he was 4 months old until about two weeks ago, a family bought the little guy and had him for a week before I realized he wasn't a match. I found him on Craigslist and purchased him from this family. I know that he is still trying to adjust from being thrown from so many places, so I'm being as slow as I can be with him.

I want to sweep him up with my hands after I pick him up with my t-shirt but each time I want to do it, he's gets huffy and perks up (which I expect him to do) but I'm wondering if I should wait until he's more comfortable within my lap before I do this or just learn to deal with the pain and pick him up :shock: I'm avoiding using gloves at all cost to make sure he's used to my scent and I always use the same t-shirt that I first used to get him used to my scent when I brought him home and then lay that on my lap and let him curl up and sleep on there or just explore. 

The other thing I'm worried about is heating. The set up I have is that if I needed to, I could get a heating pad into the cage underneath the lining no problem. The problem with that he is next to the vent in my room and he likes to go inbetween any sort of fabric, whether it be the t-shirt I gave him to use or the old lining (which was a towel) that he would hide underneath each day. I've also put shirts and the same towel above his cage to help keep the cold air from my fan away from him.

Sorry if this is such a long post, I still feel even after researching, I'm still a little lost on what to do.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

You'll get used to the prickle. If you're nervous because of the feel of the quills (which admittedly isn't the most pleasant, especially when they're prickled up), it's something you'll feel less as you just continue to do it. Sometimes there'll be a little left-over tingly feeling, too. Just like your hedgehog will get used to being handled by you, you'll get used to the physical feeling, and be less bothered by it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you're uncertain about picking them up, they can tell. If your hold is awkward, nervous, etc., it will cause the hedgehog to be less at ease in your hands - thus keeping him prickled up and huffy for longer.

My boyfriend and I have visited our breeder twice to spend some time with our new boy (who we'll be picking up tomorrow). My boyfriend, Nick, had a hedgehog several years ago and is accustomed to picking them up and handling them, whereas the first visit was my first time ever handling a hedgehog. It was obvious from how the baby hedgehogs acted; they became comfortable and unballed more quickly when in Nick's hands, and would stay huffy while in mine. The same baby would be quickly acting curious and crawling up Nick's sleeve, and then remain a huffy ball the whole time while in my hands. As I got used to how to hold them, and more comfortable with it, they relaxed also.

The way I was told to do it, by Nick and the breeder, is to make it a scooping motion. Curl your fingers around under the stomach, where it's soft, and do it in one smooth, confident motion. Once the hedgehog is in your hands, your grip should be loose, not restraining. And when you do get prickled, which is inevitable, it's better to not jerk away or recoil from it, because that reaction can make them nervous and huffy all over again.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

I know this may seem like a terribly dumb question and I apologize because I have never owned a hedgehog. But do their quills actually hurt or do they just feel different at first?


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

If you get a quill going the right way, they can draw blood.
When they're calm, it's like petting a hair brush.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh. So it should only hurt if you rub the quills toward their head?


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## CarlaB (Nov 16, 2011)

Ramenstien - the problem is, when hedgies are nervous or startled (a lot of the time especially when you first get them), they puff up their quills- each quill has it's own little muscle so they each go in different 
Directions creating an impenetrable quill barrier- lol. When they're balled up and defensive the quills 
All poke out. I liken it to holding a moving cactus. They also huff and "pop" (kind of jump around in circles 
with their quills sticking out trying to stab whatever it is that's trying to pick them up (or eat them). When they get 
used to being picked up they will keep thir quills flat when they pop, but at first they are on the defensive and
keep them poked out- the forehead quills are the longest and usually if I get stabbed it's by one of those quills. 

I'm used to handling Spike now and he is getting better about putting his quills down. It is kind of scary at first
But once you get used to it you figure out how they're going to react and it gets easier to handle them. I think 
the most important thing is to keep trying to handle them even when they're huffy and poppy so they know you
are "safe" and aren't going to hurt them.


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## Ausage (Jan 5, 2012)

We have had Greyson for about 4 months now. I have never used a shirt or cloth to pick him up. One thing I do is to give him a good chance to smell my hand before I actually reach to lift him. Surprises startle a hedgehog and a startled hedgehog is a ball of sharp spikes. We use Apsen shavings as bedding and if he is sleeping I will scoop right under him so I am picking him up on a layer of shavings. After he wakes, then I move him from hand to hand so the shaving fall back into the cage. I will also hand feed him several pieces of kibble whenever I take him out of the cage so he will associate being pick up and my ordour with food is coming.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh alright then. That makes since. I guess, before I get one, I am just trying to figure out whether or not I'm going to have to have band aids on hand every time I pick it up. Lol.


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## IrisTheFaerie (Jan 1, 2012)

I have tried to get him used to my hands but every time I try, he huffs. I know it's because he's not used to my scent and I did try to pick him up before with my hands. I just wish to get over my fear of being hurt more than anything I think :lol:


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## Tania (Jan 7, 2012)

When I went to the breeder to pick up my hoglet last week, I was so nervous that my palms were all sweaty. He DID not want to be held. I went to the washroom and washed my hands and after leaving him on my lap I relaxed, then he relaxed and then everything went smoothly. Hasn't balled up since.
Make sure you are as relaxed as possible so that you don't have sweaty, nervous hands. They rely on smell and I guess sweat does not exude confidence


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## IrisTheFaerie (Jan 1, 2012)

Each time I get him out of the cage, I make sure I'm calm and not stressed at the time. I've been able to sweep him up a couple of times with my hands once I get him out with my shirt and it's been working out good. Though I thought that a little bit of sweat is okay for them since they could get your scent better. I never actually knew that o.o That will help me out much more once I get him out again tomorrow!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Honestly, some hogs are just more cranky than others. :lol: I have had my hog for 8 months and I almost always have to take her out of her cage using her blankie. She is always more cranky when I wake her up before I take her out. When I walk into the room she's in, I say hello in a normal speaking voice. It usually sounds like this - Me: "Hi Milly! Time to wake up!" Milly: "HUFFFFFTTTTTT!!!!!!!" Then I go into the storage area under her cage and get her fleece and some of the stuff she interacts with during play time. I'll poke whatever she happens to be sleeping in/under (whether it's her igloo, a piece of fleece, or her cloth hideaway thing) to make sure she is up and knows I'm there. If I see her moving around, I'll put my hand near her face so she can smell me. (Careful with that - even if they recognize your voice, they might charge toward your hand with their visor quills poked up) If she is still huffy and jumpy (which is the case 90% of the time), I just use fleece to pick her up out of the cage.

After a few minutes, it's like that lightbulb goes off in her head and she practically says, "Oh. It's just you! Sorry for the grumpiness, but I was sleeping before you charged into my cage!"

Also - moxieberry recommended you use the scooping motion with your fingers under the belly. Don't do it this way - that's asking to get your fingers trapped if the hog decides to ball up. I either lay one hand down in front of my hog and one hand back by her bottom and scoop her up that way, or I do it the "scooping water" way - palms facing each other, thumbs up, then use the pinky side of my hands to put under her and pick her up.

Their quills are intimidating. Don't feel bad - after that first initial poke, we become much more cautious. It's natural to be nervous about it. We all just have to conquer that nervousness and go in there and get 'er done! That's the best way to do it, I've learned. Don't stand there wondering how best to go about picking them up... just reach in and do it. If you get poked, you get poked. Don't give up.  But! I do agree that you notice it less and less the more you handle a hedgehog, which was a relief for me, haha.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

It probably depends on the hedgehog what method of picking them up is best. The method of scooping your hand under the belly is how my boyfriend picked up his first hedgehog all the time, for the several years that he owned him. It also has worked fine with handling my new baby boy, and a handful of other hedgehogs that I had the pleasure of interacting with when we visited the breeder. When you come in with your hand from the side, which scoops your fingers from one side to the other across/under the belly, it puts the hedgehog comfortably in your palm and, if they do try to curl up, your hand is more in contact with the soft belly than the quills. It actually discourages them from balling up fully, if they're trying to do so. Hanhan27, it may not be your preferred method for picking up your hedgehog, but I see no reason at all for you to tell someone to not do it that way - there is nothing inherently /wrong/ with the method that I recommended. Whether it works or not for a specific hedgehog is something else entirely, but in my experience, it's a commonly used and generally effective method. :]


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Moxie, I definitely did not mean to offend you in any way with what I said, and I'm under the impression that I did. It's wonderful that throughout your time as a hog owner you haven't been in the painful position of having a finger or two stuck in an angry hedgie quill ball! :lol: Let me tell ya, I learned real quick to keep my fingers out of harm's way. I do apologize for my wording - there is no "right" way to pick up a hedgehog, I was just trying to make it clear to the already nervous OP that picking up a hog with your fingers under the hog instead of the sides of your hands can end up with your fingers inside a ball of quills. This was by far the most painful thing I've dealt with during my 8 months with Milly, as 2 of my fingers were rolled up into her ball and when I tried to pull them out, she got more scared and balled up harder. 

Since the OP said more than once that their hog reacts badly when being picked up, I just figured I'd let them know that the fingers-under-the-hog approach wouldn't be the best idea for them and their hog... For those of us with hogs who don't huff, pop, and ball up, the fingers under the tummy method works just fine (and we get to touch the soft tummy hair!  ).


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Remember to reach not from directly on top of him, but from the side. Hedgies are prey animals, so if you reach from up top, it makes them very nervous (kinda like a bird swooping in to grab them). I find it helps a lot if you let them know that your hands/blanket are next to them, so that they can have a sniff before you grab them. I'm in the process of training Kashi to climb up onto my palm on his own.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Hanhan, no worries! Not offended, I just found it strange that you would advise the OP against a method that I've seen as being commonly used and effective. Maybe my description wasn't clear though? I didn't mean tucking the fingertips in against the belly, but a scooping motion of the fingers from one side to the other across the stomach. It puts the hand (palm usually, though my Ares is still small, so half the time it's the flats of the fingers) against the stomach. Doesn't work if they're already balled up, but once you have part of your hand flat to their belly, it discourages balling up and makes it kind of difficult for them to curl all the way, and it also keeps your hand more away from the quills. This works just as well if you use both hands, bringing them together under the stomach. I wish I could say Ares doesn't huff/pop/ball up, and that's probably true 75% of the time, but he's proven to be very grumpy if woken from a nap, haha. Regardless, for me this method works when he's relaxed and also when he's prickly and grumpy and prone to balling. As long as he's not already /in/ a ball, in which case, I just grab him up in his favorite blankie and snuggle him into my lap until he chills out.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

:lol: yes, I definitely pictured your description incorrectly! I think you're talking about the cupping motion that I was talking about too... Like laying your hands down palm up on either side of hedgie and scooping them into the cup shape your hands make? 

Gotta love the communication barriers we encounter online!


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## Daleo (Jun 1, 2011)

You kinda have to know how a hedgie reacts. Scoop under him/her and try not to get your fingers caught in their underside if they ball up more. At that point roll them on their back and they should unball. Hedgies hate being on their backs. After this my Lillian is usually aware that it's just me and is less nervous. 

You have to be confident and deliberate in your movements. Don't worry about the quils. They will feel uncomfortable but grin and bear it because there is nothing you can do to make it better. 

Btw I've never had quils draw blood. Just barely goes in the epidermis.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

hanhan27 said:


> :lol: yes, I definitely pictured your description incorrectly! I think you're talking about the cupping motion that I was talking about too... Like laying your hands down palm up on either side of hedgie and scooping them into the cup shape your hands make?
> 
> Gotta love the communication barriers we encounter online!


Haha, no kidding! :]

And yeah, pretty much. I'm used to doing it one-handed since Ares is still so small, so my hand (which is small as far as hands go) is more than enough to hold across his belly with by fingertips curling up at one side and the heel of my palm at the other side. Whether it can easily be done one-handed with an adult hedgehog would probably depend on the size of the hedgehog, and the size of the person's hands, and how squirmy or cooperative the hedgehog decides to be. But as long as you cradle under the stomach (fingers flat, not curled up and poking the tummy), the scooping method is generally a very comfortable one for them and for us.


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## IrisTheFaerie (Jan 1, 2012)

So it seems that I'm more comfortable with picking him up more these days, even with my hands (slowly) though each time I try to show him my hands so he's not so scared, he still huffs each time he seems them. He'll walk onto my arm if I'm holding him but if I try to hold him with my hands sometimes he'll either stay still and move around a bit or he'll be moving around like crazy. I know it will take a while for him to still adjust with seeing my hands but each time I try to slowly introduce him to my hands, he huffs >: I even try my best to wash my hands (since I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and I try to get rid of their scent before I pick him up). He still huffs with me picking him up with my shirt but he'll recover faster from it each time and be rolling out a bit each time I put him down.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm glad it's getting better for you! He'll gradually react less and less to it, but in the meantime, try not to take it 'personally'. Consider how big your hands are compared to him (big!) - it makes sense that he might be intimidated by them coming near him, and when he gives a momentary huff, it's at least partially as a reflex reaction to that. As for the squirming or being unsettled in your grip, try bringing him in against your chest while holding him, instead of holding him out away from your body. Having the 'wall' of your chest there will help a lot to make him feel more secure.


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