# Frustrated Hedgie



## Dawn//Dusk (Jul 4, 2017)

My hedgie recently had surgery on one of his feet and I have been forced to take out his wheel so he doesn't get his feet dirty due to the risk of infection. 
I think the lack of his wheel is frustrating him and last night he pulled out the blanket from his bed, got everything wet by tipping over his water and was being very noisy (walking into and hitting the sides of his cage) this isn't regular behaviour from him and I think distracting him with any toys that won't hurt his feet or get them dirty may help. 
Any suggestions?


----------



## ArizonaHazelnut (Nov 16, 2016)

Get a little ball (found a solid, safe cat toy for mine) for him to push around, or maybe put an empty toilet paper roll in there. Those usually entertain my hedgehog (when she is in the mood, she more of an explorer than playful)! I think there is a sticky on enrichment on here that might be helpful to you as well! 

Good luck!


----------



## Dawn//Dusk (Jul 4, 2017)

Thank you! I will try a small ball but he seems to have no interest in toilet paper rolls ?


----------



## Lopi (Apr 11, 2017)

Stick a meal worm in the middle of the toilet paper roll. He'll probably become a lot more interested 

But make sure you cut the toilet paper roll, so that your hog can get it off his head. Otherwise if you aren't around or asleep, he'll get stuck. 

You're in for a treat if he takes to the roll, it's very amusing to watch them run around with it on their head. Often the second you take it off them, they stick their head right back in. It's funny.

Also if you have a shoe box, cut up some fleece and pile it in the shoe box with a few meal worms hidden among the fleece. This will kick their hunting instincts into overdrive, as in the wild they often burrow/dig to find tasty bugs to munch. It's what many people refer to as a dig box.

Toy cars sometimes provide entertainment as well, but when my hog actually destroyed one of her first wheels from over use, I stuck her in my hallway for hours every night with the hallway blocked off with a play pen. There was no where for her to get into trouble and nothing for her to get stuck in or hurt herself, and I put her blankets on the floor. This gave her a whole lot of space to run around and investigate her toys and hideout. It was a good temporary solution to not being able to use the wheel. Not sure if it would work for you, but an idea none the less.


----------



## Dawn//Dusk (Jul 4, 2017)

Lopi said:


> Stick a meal worm in the middle of the toilet paper roll. He'll probably become a lot more interested
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 sorry I hadn't seen this reply earlier, I often make play pens for my hedgies to run around in with a few toys for entertainment. He still wasn't moving very much for a while but eventually started to regain his strength and is now happily moving and playing with his toys  I did think of using the mealworm trick but he's actually overweight due do his lack of movement so we're laying off the mealies for a while haha ??


----------

