# Sometimes chill, sometimes neurotic? (Sorry, it's a bit long



## Amy_R (May 6, 2011)

Hello,

I have a very young female who happens to be absolutely nothing like any of my other hedgies, and I'm looking for opinions on how to help her relax.
She's my first truly outgoing hedge, as my others have all been super-shy balls of quills.

With the others, I started with just picking them up while they were in a ball, and placing them on a small blanket on my lap. I simply waited for them to feel comfortable. Some took 3-5 minutes, some took 20 minutes, and one boy in particular (Briar) seemed to take hours before unravelling. I did that 1-2 times a day, and just let them un-ball then wander for a moment before I put them back. They all eventually calmed down this way.

With my new little girl, Viral, it's a whole different story. She's the youngest I've ever had (picked her up at 6 weeks, had her for 1.5 weeks), as the others were rescues and an 8 month old pet store boy (that's Briar, the ball that lasted forever).

Anyways, she has a bunch of "sleepers" (little hedgie bags, I guess you guys call them), and she really loves them (surprised?). I usually take her out using the sleeper, and simply place her on my lap or chest. We hang out, just like I normally do. She's fantastic this way! She may huff and puff initially, but calms down super-quick, and never balls up.

She'll accept food from my fingers, and sometimes I can even scratch her chin and pet the side of her face (still working on that though). Sometimes she pokes her head out to look around, but mainly, she'll push and dig in her sleeper, get cozy, and go to sleep.

However, if she manages to get out of the bag, she's super-active. That's fine, but I have a husband who is really concerned about germy things (sigh... I know), so she has to stay on the hedgie blanket. I have to keep picking her up front the corner of the sheet to place her back on my lap. She HATES that. If she wasn't so darned fast, I wouldn't have to do that and scare the crap out of her every 10 seconds. She's not getting any better about this yet.

I have tried just handling her without the sleeper, and although she may ball initially, (like I said, she's rather brave) she comes out instantly. I would hardly call it a ball in the first place. But she does not want to be held at all. She squirms, fidgets, tries to run, and ocassionally eliminates (I deal with it, I don't freak out and drop her or put her back in her enclosure). It's almost impossible to hold her. I once tried to roll her gently onto her back to get her to ball for a moment, just to relax, and she would have none of it. No balling for this girl!

She gets so anxious about being held, that she hardly even takes the mealies as she's trying to get away. This little one will be awoken from deep slumber (I mean twitching, dreaming slumber) by the scent of a mealworm, but still, not when she's escaping.

Sigh... So now that I've gotten all that off my chest, thank you for having read this far. I know I haven't had her long. I realize that hedgehogs take time to get used to new people and situations (I am very patient, thanks to Briar). But she isn't afraid like the others, she just wants to go-go-go.
Do you think if I just continue with the sleeper, and having her nap on me, and ocassionally eat from my fingers while she's cozy in her bag, that she'll just magically someday stop running from me?

Any suggestions, opinions, words of encouragement, lol, would all be appreciated.

Thanks.
- Amy and Viral


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Oh! She's a cutie-pie!!

The first thing that came to my head was this...to make both her & your hubby happy, you could get a sheet, like a full size slat sheet & put it on your lap. That way she would have plenty of room to roam around without touching anything. You can get one for about $4 at walmart. Use it just for her & wash it with her hedgie bags. 
I hope that helps & works for you! You could als put her in something like a kiddie pool, but I would personally like to have her on me, running around.


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## Amy_R (May 6, 2011)

Thank you, PJM. I think she's cute too.

As for the blanket, that's what I'm doing. Thing is, she's so flippin fast, she's all over the place. She just won't sit on my lap unless she's in a bag. She has two speeds - asleep, and huh? Where'd she go?

I was contemplating making some kind of make-shift pen/fence thing to put around the perimeter of the blanket and myself, but I like to handle her while I'm on my bed, and I have a feeling that's just getting silly. :S


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

:lol: I thought you meant a small hedgie size blanket. Why don't you just get like a king size sheet & cover the whole top of the bed? (I was als thinking you were laying on the couch or recliner, I can see how the bed would be more difficult & why hubby doesn't want her crawling on the bedspread.)


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

You have an explorer!!! Coooooooooooool.  

Can you build a large pen - I used to use those closet shelves for C&C cages - and sit in it? She could wander everywhere, yet is still contained?? That's how I started with Snarf - I just sat with him in the pen...a LARGE pen. Then I got annoyed with setting it up and taking it down, so started just fencing off the livingroom (which I hedgie-proofed), so Snarf couldn't leave the room. But I don't worry about germs and Jamie certainly doesn't seem to know they exist  .


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## Amy_R (May 6, 2011)

Do you think she'd be silly enough to fall off? I mean, I do love my critters, but realistically, they don't always have the same common sense as us big critters.
I'm afraid to tell Josh, but this morning when I had her on the blanket during cage clean-up (our morning routine), I turned away for just a second - next thing I know, she's gone! She'd ran across the bed and was trying to get under Josh's pillows! Into the wash they went, in fear that his phobia may be valid.  

Haha, MissC, yes I do. And I love her already. I just wish I could slow those spindly legs down just a tad.


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## Amy_R (May 6, 2011)

Oh, and to clarify, it's been bed cuddles so far because our dog isn't completely used to her yet. She doesn't want to eat her, just play with her. But at 80lbs, and no sense of it, she can be a tad clumsy and rough at first.
So Viral stays off the floor until she's calmer, and until Eva (our Doberman) realizes she has to play like she does with the puppies.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

Is that a picture of her? She is ADORABLE! I just started with a sweet retired lady who is over 2 years old named Tiggy in the middle of Jan. What a gem she is. Soooooo layed back and a great teacher to new hog mommies!!! We bonded instantly and she and I just chill on the sofa all night long watching tv and snuggling.

Then just this Saturday I was given a one of hoglets from her first litter (the 11 year old grew tired of him when he would not unball!!!!) (word is out I adore hedgehogs!!!) Pippen is a hog of different color. Of course he is younger but still must be a little over 1 year old so not a baby. 
He is shy and I have to do everything slowly and calmly with him........... he LOVES to slam his helmet down on EVERYTHING!

A suggestion I have for you with your little scamper is what I have done - I bought a small toddler wadding pool with nice high sides - that makes for an excellent play pen. Since Tiggy is a girl and Pippin is a boy, they of course have to take turns for their play time. While one is in the play pen I cuddle the other . Tiggy much longer than Pippin. He is still worried about being held............ silly man - his mother could tell him a thing or two about relaxing!!!!

It gives them lots of room to run. I put a tube, so jingly ball and paper cup in there and after awhile I throw a worm in there for them to find.

Kathy


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

And you could even put the pool up on the bed to keep it away from the dogs. I suppose you could even sit in it if you wanted to. But if you do sit in a kiddi pool with a hedgehog on top of your bed, you would HAVE to post a picture. :lol:


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## Amy_R (May 6, 2011)

LOL
If that happens, I certainly will have pictures to post.
For now though, I think I will try giving her access to the whole bed (protected by the hedgehog-specified sheet), and see if she calms down when she realizes that the rest of the space is kinda boring, and that all the cool stuff is close to mom. *fingers crossed*
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.


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