# Hyper Diving Hedgie & Licking Feet



## direwolf (Oct 11, 2012)

Agh I've posted too much today but my hedgie has been all sorts of nutty in the past hour. Since I woke her up 30 mins ago she has been running all over her cage, scrambling around and causing a ruckus. I decided to take her out and put her on my desk as I normally do. She usually plays with my mouse and the pens on my desk but tonight she was running around, trying to climb all over everything. She pooped a bit on my desk then at lightning speed she went right over the edge of the desk and onto the carpet before I could even react. I was sitting right in front of her too, but she somehow managed to completely miss me and jump to the ground. The fall was about 2 feet and she just went about running around right after she fell. I picked her up to make sure she is okay (while having a panic attack myself) but she was just squirmy and wanting to run around. She seems perfectly okay and didn't hurt herself as far as I can tell.

I did also notice that the pads of her feet looked worn down/scuffed (attached a picture, I managed to get her to lay down on my legs and flail her feet). They weren't like this last night and she doesn't currently have a wheel in her cage so I'm confused as to why this happened. She is currently licking/biting her feet (mostly licking). What in the world could have caused this? And what is up with her scurrying around at lightning speed and skittering off my desk?

Some info: I switched her from fleece to aspen since she was having very runny, stinky poop. She used to be on aspen except for last night so I don't think that could have irritated her. Her cage is a plastic bin and she does burrow a lot but I don't see how the plastic could cause her feet to become raw.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Do you mean she's always been on aspen, then you put her on liners for one night, then put her back on aspen? Just to clarify.

My first guess with the feet would be that she's either allergic to or irritated by the aspen. We have a girl who's very sensitive to it. We use aspen in our breeding bins and for the mama bins. Zombie was put in about a week or two ago with a male, onto aspen, and they both had to be switched to liners after the first day because she was nibbling her feet and a spot on her chest. I know dogs chewing on their feet is a sign of an allergy too. However, if she's always been on aspen, that wouldn't make sense. Still, if not the aspen, is there something else that might be an irritant? Maybe the detergent the liners were washed in? Since it's all four feet and you've seen her nibbling on them, it's almost definitely self-inflicted, which means there's something bothering her. I'd suggest giving her a bath to see if that can get rid of it, although now that the feet are sore she may keep trying to nibble/lick them regardless.

Overall it'd be better to address whatever might be causing her poop issues, and keep her on liners, instead of using the shavings.


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## direwolf (Oct 11, 2012)

The fleece liner was washed in regular detergent that I've always used to wash it with. The liner used to be left in her cage around her bed area since she likes to snuggle in it, but only last night did I actually use it as a liner and she ended up pooping on it so I removed it and put in aspen. So yes, exactly what you asked.

I don't really know what could be an irritant as everything has been exactly the same in her cage. I'll try to give her a bath and switch her back to the liner, as you suggested. Her poop issue has been diet changes, so as soon as the cottage cheese is out of her system, I'm hoping she will be okay. I've already gone back to her regular food.

I'm just so happy she didn't end up hurting herself from that fall! This little girl has given me so many near-heart attacks since I've gotten her.

Thank you for the advice!


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