# Hedgie Not Moving Much - Preferring to Hide



## Shadowthehedgehog (Dec 22, 2013)

Hey!! So I've had Shadow for 3 months, rescued her from a poor owner, and she has always been a friendly, curious and active hedgie!! However, lately she is preferring to hide in her castle. She rarely comes out, and when I tried coaxing her out she was very unfriendly, curling up and huffing at me. When she does come out, she does not seem to use her wheel anymore, and the past few days she has even started eating and drinking less. She is fine if I force her out 
(remove her castle for 30 minutes), she ate and I think drank, but no wheel or cuddles, and when I put the castle back, she went right back to hiding. The temperature is nice and warm, but not hot, and she has everything she needs. Why the sudden change? No unusual breathing either.

Also, can anyone tell me how to put an age to her? Her previous owners said she was just under a year, and that she had already been bred once, but that was early October. 

Please help.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

The reduction in consumption & activity make me wonder if she's starting to think about hibernating.

What's her lighting setup? Is she getting a solid 12-14 hours of light (10-12 hours dark)?

When you say her cage is nice and warm, can you monitor the exact temperature? Does it vary?

If not that, could she have a hidden injury? or the start of an illness? Our little prey animals are good at hiding problems, but such a significant change in behaviour sounds like something is up.

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry it's under not-so-fun conditions. If you haven't seen it, this book is a wonderful source of info.


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## Shadowthehedgehog (Dec 22, 2013)

Thanks!!! I wish it were better circumstances too.

I'm wondering if it is a light issue. I'm usually up rather late, and we moved her into my room when my brother came home from college, so maybe she is not quite used to that. I'll start putting a towel on her cage around 10, since sun rise is about 8am right now. 

I do have a thermometer, the temperature is a constant 74°. I used to have a space heater that heated the whole room, but my parents thought it would burn their house down. So I'm still getting used to regulating the lamp, as it is hard to heat the whole cage at a constant temperature with one lamp. So most of the cage is 74° but the corners farther away from the lamp may be slightly less. 

I put a mic near her cage last night, after I got her to eat a little, and when I listened this morning I can tell she did eat and drink more after I went to sleep. I'm thinking maybe a bath and some playtime may help as well, and maybe tampering with that lamp. I'll look her over for injuries when I give her a bath!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

You could get a second heat lamp if the cage is too big for one to heat. Is it a CHE (totally opaque, gives off no light) or a red heat bulb (gives off small amounts of light)? Some hedgehogs are really light-sensitive, and need total dark, so we use CHEs controlled by a thermostat to turn it on and off as needed to maintain temperature.

Bath and nail trim help with my little guy when he's not feeling like running -- I think he hates the feel of too-long nails on his wheel.

I hope the changes result in a more active hedgehog!


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## Haley (Nov 18, 2013)

My girl is a very fussy princess. If her wheel is not just how she likes it, with a very very slight tilt inwards, she will not run on it (although she will walk on it and I swear she gives me an annoyed look). 

She also has more and less active days. She was very sleepy for two days in a row, I almost started to worry, then last night she was extra active at playtime and ran quite a bit last night (based on poop on wheel and flung off wheel). She needed her liner changed for sure!

I love that you used a mic! I have thought of doing that but never have.


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