# Hedgie Taming



## Seasponges (Feb 26, 2013)

My hedgie is pretty tame and easily handled, but my only complaint is that whenever I attempt to have her out of her cage she begins to poop and pee wherever I have her. I'm not sure if it's that she's still sick or if it's the antibiotic I'm giving her, but there hasn't been a time I've had to clean her poop from myself or other areas. Any help of any sort? 
It might also be that I haven't had her long. I'm going on two weeks this Friday.


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

sh*t happens...put a towel on your lap


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

i guess i should elaborate better. that is not uncommon, we all get pooped on all the time...some hogs are worse than others. so have some towels designated for hedgehog time. note the plural. often they mess up one real bad and you need another :lol:


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

A hedgehog's favorite activity is pooping! Just put them in a separate container so they can poop and pee.


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## Seasponges (Feb 26, 2013)

jerseymike1126 said:


> sh*t happens...put a towel on your lap


Lol I assumed, it's just really excessive. I'll see her walk around and then bam a big ol poop either getting dragged or stepped on. I do use towels, it's just irritating at times


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## Hedgehogluvr386 (Jun 16, 2012)

When I got Thimble... he always pooped and peed on me at least once (mostly more) but after a little while he grew out of it


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## 1Rayne (Mar 3, 2013)

ok apparently I'm doing something wrong or I'm just not that loved but Tucker hasn't pooped or peed on me yet haha 
he does raise a stink (pardon the pun) if you dare put anything in the back corner of his cage thats where he tends to go so I don't argue with mother nature I buy 20 pound bags of fleece for 10 dollars so I just put a scrap piece there and just throw it out in the morning lol


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

Depending on the hog, it can get better. Reginald used to potty on Maggie regularly, but she started giving him "footbaths" after she pulled him out in the evening, and he does his business in there and is raring to go for activity time. Now he'll wait. It's been a while since she was pooped on.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Fear not OP, your hedgehog will soon have you fully tamed and trained to do her bidding.

One of her needs is to poop and pee. She will help train you on these matters. Pay attention to what she is saying - if you see her becoming fidgety, or her tail pop out in a "turkey's done" manner, or she assumes a wide-legged stance, she is telling you: "I'm about ready to poop/pee." It is then your job to get her to a good place to accomplish that task. Easiest solution I've found is to bring her litter box out during playtime and allow her to use it. That and hedgie wipes (ie, baby wipes) to deal with the messies when communication between the two of you isn't at 100%.


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

Hey 1Rayne, where do you live that you can buy 20 pounds of fleece for $10.00??


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## MrPinball (Feb 23, 2013)

Another thing that has helped us is to let Pinball have 5 minutes on his own after waking up. He'll usually eat, drink, poop and pee and then I take him out to play. 
Sometimes I will also let him run a few rounds on his wheel outside of the cage to 'clear out' his bum and then he's usually less likely to poop as much :lol: 

You just gotta keep a close eye on the butt and body language... :lol:


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Pay attention to learn when they "assume the position" lol you'll figure it out pretty quickly


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## 1Rayne (Mar 3, 2013)

I live in Alberta and I work for a distribution company


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## 1Rayne (Mar 3, 2013)

when can I expect mine to do fun things besides huff puff and play hide and seek? I'm assuming most of it is do to getting his big boy quills but dang you guys all seem to have these playful creatures I got a huffy hairbrush that doesn't want to be do anything but sleep eat and poop and leave quills for me to stab myself with *sighs*


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

If you got a hedgehog so that it will do "fun stuff" you're probably going to be rather disappointed. Most hedgehogs don't do "fun stuff". My excitement with Prim for today was that I got her out and let her run around the living room while I chased around after her too make sure she didn't get into anything (everything is pretty much hedgie proof but I'm paranoid lol). Usually she just sleeps in my lap while I'm on the computer or watching TV.


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

What do you mean by fun stuff? Reginald runs in his ball for hours on end, and we've recently got him into swimming, and if he's in the mood, he'll run around on the floor and climb on and around Maggie. He doesn't play fetch or anything, but he will follow her around while she walks around the house.


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## MrPinball (Feb 23, 2013)

I think it depends on what you mean by 'fun stuff'. Some "fun stuff" Pinball did recently:

- Pooped all over the place but not on me, yay!! :lol: 
- 3 times in one day, dragged the "potty paper towel" over to his water bowl, making it soak up all the water 
- stepped on top of his toy bunny and from there on he got on top of his house/igloo
- ran up and down my upper body a million times like he was wired on caffeine
- climbed onto my shoulders and tried to push my head away with his head (like he's trying to "dig under") and nose-kissed me! haha 
- let me rub his belly!! <3

I guess fun is in the eye of the hedgie-holder


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## 1Rayne (Mar 3, 2013)

seee thats exciting haha if I didn't go looking for him you would think I have an empty cage haha I clean his wheel every morning theres a few marks on it pull out this bathroom fill his food dish etc but he didn't mess up his cage besides bathroom duty in the corner everything is pretty much as I left it haha every couple days I seen he used his wheel until quilling went full blown now he doesn't use that as much did lastnight though I was a proud momma lol take him out his running around is running up to my shoulder to sleep lol oh he licks a lot when you pick him up haha 


I have a deaf boston terrier for fetch lol


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## MrPinball (Feb 23, 2013)

You are one lucky mama that he doesn't mess up his cage too much. Wait till the day when he turns everything upside down lol


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## 1Rayne (Mar 3, 2013)

I think this weekend I'm going to make a litter box for him any one that I found just wouldn't work in my setup so I'm going to buy a container cut it up sand the plastic so the edges are rounded  
then I have to get a dryer vent tube like I saw in some of the great set up page because the tank I have him in has a second floor already glued in but I haven't found a ramp he will use to go up there so its just wasted space  I put logos on that end he sleeps under the shelf that way its still like a hide  I have great cage ideas but I just have to see what works for him first  
I have a huge ferret nation cage in storage packed in its box I also have a 5foot long 2 foot wide 2 foot high glass tank sitting empty with a wire top I may glue in some shelves etc 

I want to wait for summer to do some scouting/ research first I saw someone has a wood cabinet they converted into a cage that is something I really am leaning towards so who ever you are I may be hitting you up with questions hahaha my sketches include gluing down tiles for easy clean up cutting out back at top for screened air flow etc still playing with ideas in my head on how I'm going to introduce a heated spot thinking the added shelf will contain it hmmm so many ideas hes gonna have to be renamed Prince Tucker lol


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

Instead of cutting and sanding plastic, you can use a soldering iron as a hot knif to melt your way through it, which will give it soft edges. Or you can cut it with a knife and then use a lighter to melt the edges enough not to be sharp.


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