# Causes of change in behavior and personality



## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi guys! Just wanna ask. What are all the possible reasons for a hedgie to change in behavior? One of the common reasons is pregnany but I'm3wondering if there's anything else that can cause a drastic change. Like from a mild mannered angel to a hissing and biting ball of terror kind of change? Thanks in advance.


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Quilling. 

Quilling is painful and most hedgehogs are grumpy during those weeks. Some hedgehogs stay grumpy after words.


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2012)

An injury or not feeling well in any way, can cause behavior changes sometimes it can be the first sign of a hedgehog who may be sick. Is there any other symptoms


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

Well at some point she had flaky skin but that had cleared up. Other change in behavior is the change in sleeping area, but now that I've changed her cage set-up, she's back to sleeping inside enclosed spaces.She also loves to escape at night and sleep in my bed and seems to be most agitated when I take her off my bed or return her to her cage. She also bites me when she finds me sleeping in the area she likes to sleep in but would ignore me if I sleep in any other part of the bed. Health wise, she has gained weight due to the addition of Royal Canin Kitten and Whiskas Chicken and Tuna wet cat food. Other than that she seems to be quite healthy.


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2012)

If she's escaping at night you need to secure her cage, with a lid that. Use ties to keep the lid on. It's not safe for her to be able to escape at night and wander freely, she could fall or eat something.

Others then that if your worried about pregnancy you need to set up a maternity cage for her cause if she has babies in her current set up it could be incredibly difficult


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

The container I have that has a lid is to small for her now. If I put her wheel in, she doesn't have leg space anymore. I remade her grid cage so that it's now 2 feet high. Hopefully she won't be able to scale that height anymore. I've given her a nesting box. Should I remove her toys? She gets really destructive in her cage without them.

Pic of the cage set-up








The one below the green pillow is her designated nesting box.


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

The two balls that you have with openings aren't safe. Hedgehogs can get their nose, feet or legs stuck. You'll want to remove those. 

Are all of the tubes cut down the middle? From the picture it only looks like 1 is. 

Is half of the cage raised up? It looks like it is. If it is, she could easily step off the edge wrong, and hurt or break a leg. 

What's that brown thing by the nesting box? Is it wood? Wood harbors mites. It also looks sharp, so it could be an eye poking hazard. 

What are the dimensions of your wheel, it looks too small. 


Increasing the height of the cage doesn't mean she won't escape, it just means she's going to have a longer fall. You should have something completely solid up the sides, at least 8". If she can escape, I'd do 14". Are you using paper right now? That might be easy to climb because she can feel the bars through it. Hedgehogs are good climbers, but not good at getting back down. She really doesn't have a lot of space to move around. You should have 2 square feet of space after everything is in the cage. 

Does she have her wheel all the time? She needs to have that at night.


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

The balls have been with them for 2 months now, never had a problem. They like pushing it around, they like the noise it makes. The holes in the big ball is big enough that feet and noses won't get stuck. The holes in the small ball is too small for them to put nose, feet, or legs in.

Yes all the smaller tubes have been cut n the middle, it wouldn't make sense just cutting one. 

Yes, at about an inch. I think Cookie can handle a little "height". If she was careless enough to tumble down from that height, rest assured that the whole cage is lined with foam underneath the liners so she'd have a really soft landing.

The wood's clean. It looks sharp in the pic but it really isn't It provides a tunnel for her to the nesting box.

It's 8 1/2 inch in diameter, bigger than the Carolina Storm Wheel I think. But I am planning to make a bigger one because Cookie's slowly outgrowing this one.

She has escaped 15" height walls. Not because she can spiderman up walls but because she's one smart cookie. She's very innovative with her escape plans. That's why I provided a 24" wall so that no matter how many stuff she piles up, she won't be able to reach the top. No that's not paper. That's felt. It's cloth. I used cloth instead of something more solid because I was prioritizing ventilation. And yes, I have watched her for 3 full hours after I placed her inside this new set-up to see if she'll be able to climb on them. No, she wasn't, she tried, she just kept slipping. And seriously? Not enough space to move around? That's a 2 ft x 4 ft enclosure, bigger than most hedgehog cages I've seen. I can sleep in there! Even with all the toys lying around, that is definitely enough floor space for one hedgehog.

And yes, she has her wheel 24/7. The only time I remove it is when I clean the wheel in the morning. Why n the world would I remove it? there's enough space for it inside.


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Just because an accident has happened yet, doesn't mean it won't it just means you've been lucky. If you read some more on this site you will see that balls must be solid. You can get solid balls with bells. Hedgehogs can and have gotten injuries from balls with holes.

No matter how soft the landing would be, that wouldn't prevent a break or a sprain if she landed on it the wrong way. An inch may look small to you, but when you take into account her own height it's a lot. About 1/3 or 1/2 of her height. That's like have a 5' human stepping down 2.5 feet constantly. Hedgehogs don't have good eye sight. She wouldn't slip from being careless, she would slip from poor eyesight.

That is not bigger than the CSW. The CSW is 12", the CSBW with 10.5".

Felt can catch toe nails, you have to be careful of that.

There should be 2 square feet (at least) of space *after* everything is in the cage.

I am offering you advice on how to make your cage safe for your hedgehog before she gets an injury. If you don't want to take that advice and wait until an injury does happen, that is up to you.


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

I appreciate the advice. It's the condescending tone of the post that really gets to me. I'm sorry I got offended and retaliated. I admit I have a problem dealing with authoritative people and I really do have quite a temper.

Let's agree to disagree on the balls. As you have said, it is my prerogative whether to take the advice or not. I consider myself warned and I am solely liable for any accidents that might incur in the future. For some reason, my hedgies don't enjoy solid balls as much. They didn't touch the one gave them before, although that one didn't make that much noise.

The height is softened by the liner so it's not even steep, it curves. the height of the base of the wheel from the floor is pretty much the same. By your argument, wheels should also be removed because they can fall off them and break/sprain their legs. I understand what you're concerned about, but isn't that a bit paranoid? hedgehogs are built to withstand a little fall. This is not to say that we should let them fall, of we course it is better to avoid the danger altogether. I am just saying that being worried about the 1 inch height is a little too much don't you think? I've seen cages with little ramps that don't have cover on the sides because it's not even that high. my hedgies love to climb over tunnels and paper rolls, they love climbing over the higher side of the litter pan instead on the low side, they love climbing on pillows, my laptop, the camera, me, their stuffed toys... If you are right then we should remove everything that is more than an inch high in the hedgies' cages. In the wild they climb over rocks, tree roots, fallen branches. It's part of their exercise. Cookie loves to climb on things and I think a little elevation wouldn't be so bad for her. I am just trying to break the monotony of the cage , especially since the little rascal gets really destructive in the cage when she's bored. But of course that is my personal opinion.

I'm sorry, I didn't understand the website, it said there that the wheel itself is 6 inches wide. But as I have said, the wheel's going to get upgraded as Cookie's outgrowing this one.

No fabric is incapable of catching really small sharp toenails I think. Even fleece has some kind of backing that holds the whole thing together. The ones I use for the perimeter is a little thin though so I am still watching how it will withstand Cookie and how much it will fray with her incessant scratching.

I know that you meant 2 square feet after everything's in. I was just making a point. The whole cage is really big, it now looks small because of all the stuff in it and you're looking at it through a picture but if you look at the actual thing, there are alot of free space. I measured it for good measure, there's at least 2.5 sq. ft. space in there, not counting the surface area of the stuff lying on the ground that she actually chooses to run on anyway. I think she loves to play "the floor is lava".

I understand that you are just trying to give an advice. But here is my advice though, if you will take it. You should sound more friendly and gentle especially when giving unsolicited advice. Sounding like "mom" won't get your point through. You might get really defensive audiences like me and things will get ugly.


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## Virtual_Rachel (Mar 23, 2012)

elithranielle said:


> I appreciate the advice. It's the condescending tone of the post that really gets to me. I'm sorry I got offended and retaliated. I admit I have a problem dealing with authoritative people and I really do have quite a temper.
> 
> Let's agree to disagree on the balls. As you have said, it is my prerogative whether to take the advice or not. I consider myself warned and I am solely liable for any accidents that might incur in the future. For some reason, my hedgies don't enjoy solid balls as much. They didn't touch the one gave them before, although that one didn't make that much noise.
> 
> ...


I was told by my breeder not to give them balls with holes in.

However, I'm puzzled as to what the issue is regarding the tiny ramp?! My cage has a level about 5 inches high (sloping ramp up) where her food is, and this gives her an extra space hidden away underneath it. She hasn't had any problems with it - she knows the set-up and slides down it. And this was the cage sold by her breeders (who are experienced breeders!). I think people can be far too paranoid - these are wild creatures who are pretty tough and have managed to survive for millions of years. I don't think a tiny ramp is going to kill them!


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2012)

well actually they havent exsisted for hundreds on years thay have actually been domesticated for a very short time, and the hedgehogs we have as pets now are actually a man made hybrid of 2 different kinds of hedgehog.

i will agree that in this case the ledge is miniscule and has almost zero risk. Ramps however to second levels really should be closed in, hedgehogs do have very poor depth perception and can walk off edges and get hurt,


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## Virtual_Rachel (Mar 23, 2012)

Lilyhogs said:


> well actually they havent exsisted for hundreds on years thay have actually been domesticated for a very short time, and the hedgehogs we have as pets now are actually a man made hybrid of 2 different kinds of hedgehog.
> 
> i will agree that in this case the ledge is miniscule and has almost zero risk. Ramps however to second levels really should be closed in, hedgehogs do have very poor depth perception and can walk off edges and get hurt,


Hedgehogs as a species have been evolving for millions of years. Of course we should try to prevent obvious dangers but I think people are being overly paranoid by saying an inch ramp is dangerous. Somehow these creatures survive in the wild (and our pet ones are not that distantly related!!).


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## Virtual_Rachel (Mar 23, 2012)

Lilyhogs said:


> well actually they havent exsisted for hundreds on years thay have actually been domesticated for a very short time, and the hedgehogs we have as pets now are actually a man made hybrid of 2 different kinds of hedgehog.
> 
> i will agree that in this case the ledge is miniscule and has almost zero risk. Ramps however to second levels really should be closed in, hedgehogs do have very poor depth perception and can walk off edges and get hurt,


(I seriously hope my hedgehog isn't 'man-made' anyway...!)


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## gogrnny1955 (Jul 6, 2011)

Well I will get taken to task on this post but I too agree we baby them too much.
I loved the cage set up and see no problem with it other 
than it would take me longer to clean than mine. :lol: 

My hedgehogs know where things are in their cages including items of different heights.
So far we have watched them climb up a bamboo hut and
loved playing on it until it finially fell apart and we tossed it.

I have a hedgie that is blind and can climb better than the seeing hedgies do.
She plays for hours on her wheel.
They are in my sight most all day everyday and in the same room where I sleep as well
so I watch them.

Also,since my nose in already in this thread now I also thought the first answer was like being
talked down to and was very uncomfortable with it.
You had some good things to consider but could say them more friendly and perhaps more kindly.
I'm no expert and never will claim to be, just putting my 2 cents worth in.
Now I'm going to duck and cover


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## Virtual_Rachel (Mar 23, 2012)

gogrnny1955 said:


> Well I will get taken to task on this post but I too agree we baby them too much.
> I loved the cage set up and see no problem with it other
> than it would take me longer to clean than mine. :lol:
> 
> ...


I agree. I'm new to the forum, so may be I've not been here long enough to criticise (!) :lol: , but as a new person, I was pretty surprised by the tone of those posts. I think there's a place to provide suggestions and advice, but not a condescending lecture telling the person that what they are doing is terrible. If the person's hedgehog has survived and is happy like this, they shouldn't be told what they're doing is unquestionably wrong and the hedgehog will die! They are more robust than people give them credit for - they're not fragile dolls.

I think it's easy to forget that these are essentially animals who have managed to survive for millions of years. Yes, as Lilyhogs said, they've only been domesticated relatively recently, but that is exactly the point - they didn't just appear suddenly in cages when humans decided to start breeding them, they managed in the wild for a very long time!


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## elithranielle (Apr 14, 2012)

Hmm.. I promised my friend that I will no longer get into arguments in here and just to let the tone issue slide, but since other people has already contributed their own thoughts, let me say mine on the matter. I think each hedgehog is unique in their own way, they have their own needs, their own traits and personalities. And its the task of their owners to learn how to deal with them best, and make sure that their hedgehog is happy the best that they can. There are certain guidelines we can follow, to assure the best is given to our little babies. It helps to hear the advice from other people, learn from their mistakes and be inspired by their stories. But at the end of the day, we know our own hedgehogs best. It is we, not others, who will know what needs to be done to keep the little rascals safe and happy. 

Give advice, share experiences, tell stories, teach information. But respect others, they are not little children that need to be scolded. We are not the same, so are our hedgehogs. If they love their hedgies, they will do what's best for them. Peace out.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Seriously folks, this is getting ridiculous that every thread is being turned into an argument. 

People tell of the risks and if the owner knows of those risks and chooses to use the item anyways, it is up to them. If their hedgehog gets injured because of it, then it's on their conscience. We are not going to fault anyone for stating the risks or safety level of an item. 

I think some people have issues with what people say to try and justify to themselves that they are right in using a product that carries risk. That's their choice and at the end of the day, each person has to make and live with their own decisions. 

I'm closing this thread as it has become pointless.


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