# Deperate for Answers: Hedgehog Won't Stop Attacking Owner



## deltahedgie (Aug 27, 2014)

My partner and I adopted a 2 year old hedgehog about a month ago. She was part of a USDA certified breeding program, but turned out to be an unreliable mom. When we met her, she was cuddly, snuggly, and seemed genuinely comfortable being held (quills down, relaxed forehead, etc.) We've had her home a month now, regulate her day time/night time cycle, feed her the same premium cat food she received in her past home at at the same time daily, have set up her cage with plenty of places to hide and burrow, and we let her run around and explore every evening. (She seems to love to run around.) We have even tried letting her out at different times of the day.

The problem is that she literally won't ever stop biting. We've tried reinforcing good behavior with treats, but it just doesn't seem to work. We've also left shirts in her cage to allow her to get used to our smell. We have read everything we can find, and spoken with the breeder, who said she had never seen the behavior before. We know she is not annointing; but she simply will not stop biting. When she is out and not close enough to bite, she literally chases after us to bite us, and bites painfully hard (though we do our best not to react). She never appears to be stressed when biting, or as we call, attacking. Her quills are always down, and everything except her mouth seems to be relaxed. We are desperate to find answers to help our hedgie live a comfortable life, even if we aren't her favorite people ever. We just want to find a safe way to minimize the biting!


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Are you smokers? Painted nails? I've heard of some hedgies having weird triggers like that. Could be a body spray she doesn't like the smell of. Could be lots of things.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I know that Grace has had some problems with biting and she uses fleece as a deterrent. Hopefully she will see this and respond or you can try PMing her. Her username is gracefulchaos01.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Indeed. If you would pm me I can respond tomorrow after work. Im presently on my phone at the ER vet for my cat Panama and can't type well. But the fleece thing has worked very well.


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## deltahedgie (Aug 27, 2014)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond and help! We appreciate it greatly, and think we have found the answer.

We took our hedgie (Twinkle) to the vet this morning for a professional opinion. She told us that our poor hedgie looks very sick. The combination of her bizarre behavior and habits informed the vet that Twinkle likely has some sort of cancer affecting her neurological system deviating her patterns of behavior from "normal" or a "rough transition, and affecting her appetite, mobility, and level of self-awareness. Unfortunately, as new hedgehog owners, we were not able to see the warning signs since this is the only way we've ever known Twinkle. We are going to work with the breeder to ensure the remainder of Twinkle's time is spent well cared for and comfortable. We are devastated, but now only intend to focus on doing what we can to maximize Twinkle's quality of life for her days ahead.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm so sorry about the news. Thank you for being willing to give her the best life for the rest of what she has left.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Wow, that's discouraging news, but I'm happy to read you are focusing on her comfort and happiness in the future. I would still recommend the "fleece training" though I am quite sure your experience will be very different from mine. 
In essence, this is very easy: 
Buy fleece. Cut fleece into somewhat large hedgehog sized squares. Use fleece to hold hedgehog and protect hands and skin from teeth. If Twinkle is up for it, encourage her to bite the fleece. If she isn't, don't worry about it. My Gabriel is very aggressive and enjoys attacking the fleece and playing tug with it, shaking it, and making it his "kill". Basically my hedgehog thinks he's a large dog. 
Mostly for you I would use the fleece to keep Twinkle comfortable and both you and her safe as she goes through her changes. 
I wish you the best of luck.


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