# hedgehog not running as much? due to bedding change?



## MarleeG (Nov 14, 2013)

Hello, I have a four month old female hedgehog named daisy, and I have had her for about 2 months now. When my boyfriend and I originally got her, she had wood shavings for bedding (the safe kind, not cedar or anything like that!) but it was getting stuck to all of her toys and just generally making a mess everywhere. So I decided to switch her bedding to carefresh, however recently I noticed that she has not been running on her wheel. She is eating and drinking, although I would say she maybe is not eating as much. And I have found poop in the corner, but not on her wheel. Usually I will hear her running ,and I have not hear her at all lately. It's making me really worried :sad: 

Do you think that the bedding change could have had something to do with this? Have you ever experienced anything like this? do you think she will get over it?
I would really rather not switch back to the messy bedding unless really necessary!

Thanks in advance!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

How long ago did you switch bedding? Did she stop wheeling at the same time, or did she continue wheeling for a period of time after the bedding switch? 

What's the temperature in the cage, and do you have a heating set up? Does she get 12-14 hours of light on a regular schedule during the day? Has anything else in her environment changed (new smells/people/animals, etc.)?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

You can try dusting the wheel with a bit of flour to see if it has little hedgehog-footprints in the morning; she may have just gotten tidy.

Are your toenails trimmed? Mine gets very grumpy about running when his nails are too long.

Is the wheel less stable on the new bedding? You might need to secure it to the cage to make sure it doesn't feel wobbly or tippy to her.


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## MarleeG (Nov 14, 2013)

Lilysmommy said:


> How long ago did you switch bedding? Did she stop wheeling at the same time, or did she continue wheeling for a period of time after the bedding switch?
> 
> What's the temperature in the cage, and do you have a heating set up? Does she get 12-14 hours of light on a regular schedule during the day? Has anything else in her environment changed (new smells/people/animals, etc.)?


I switched the bedding about a week ago, and that seems to be about the time that the wheeling stopped. The temperature in her cage is kept around 75, and I have a CHE set up. As for the light, I keep them on all day, so yeah she gets a consistent amount of light. The bedding is the only change that I can think of, everything else has been pretty consistent.


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## MarleeG (Nov 14, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> You can try dusting the wheel with a bit of flour to see if it has little hedgehog-footprints in the morning; she may have just gotten tidy.
> 
> Are your toenails trimmed? Mine gets very grumpy about running when his nails are too long.
> 
> Is the wheel less stable on the new bedding? You might need to secure it to the cage to make sure it doesn't feel wobbly or tippy to her.


I will definitely try dusting the wheel! It would be wonderful if she wasn't making so many messes on her wheel! That would definitely not be a problem! I will try trimming her nails though, they aren't super long right now, but it could help. I think her wheel is pretty stable, so I'm not sure if that would be the issue.

Thanks for your advice


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