# Suddenly grumpy hedgie? Puberty??



## elliep (Sep 15, 2016)

Hey all!

I got Oscar in September, he was 4months old at the time and I was told he hadn't been handled very much through his life as the old owner didn't have the time, though I was only told this when I went to pick him up.
He was a bit scared at first, but would settle down and enjoy cuddles. He only huffed when being woken up but never when out. He is taken out every night at 8pm-ish and either sleeps in his hut or in a blanket on my lap until I go to sleep at about 11pm. He eats (live mealworms, dry cat food) and drinks well, spends his nights running around and running on his wheel. 
He's about 7 months old now, and recently he's been getting more huffy, balling up and hissing at any movement/noise and generally seems to dislike being handled. He has quilled normally several times and was never this bad. He's bitten me on three occasions (twice because I smelled like orange, but today he balled up and trapped my fingers then bit me twice). He's also a lot more fidgety when he's out and last week, when he was out and allowed to explore, he climbed right back into his cage and went straight back to bed.
This behaviour just seems out of the blue! He acts fine otherwise and is perfectly happy when left to himself, eats fine still and uses his wheel every night. It's just being handled that he's taken a dislike to, despite no massive change in his routine. Is this a case of male hedgehog hormones running rampant during puberty? I don't plan on giving up on him because of this behaviour, but it's a lot more challenging trying to socialise with him, especially for my first hedgehog!


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## Bramble (Aug 16, 2016)

My Bramble is just over 5 months and has also recently started showing an aggressive streak: when he's frustrated he attacks and shakes his blankie like a dog trying to 'kill' a tug toy. I've also just summed it up to the male hedgie maturing process. 

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