# Do hedgies get bored?



## Pandamom (May 23, 2014)

Just a weirdo question- do our little hedgie friends get sick and tired of the same cage set up and yearn for something different? Or do they like the same 'ol same 'oil with no changes? Kind of like when we humanoids rearrange furniture for a change or paint a room. Just wondering your thoughts....:grin:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I think it depends on the hedgehog. I could see some that are very active & curious possibly enjoying a little switch-up in what toys are in their cage or where things are. You can make things more fun for these hedgehogs by moving their food around, putting food in a few different bowls so they finish one bowl & have to forage around to find more, or by hiding treats in the cage.

There are hedgehogs that don't like change and can get stressed out though. They might eat less or trash their cage to show their displeasure with the change. Usually they're pretty clear about their messages. :lol: If you do want to give it a try with your hedgehog, try just one change at a time & see how your hedgie reacts. Make sure you keep an eye on running behavior and food eaten (especially if you split up food or move it around) to make sure they're still eating enough. I would also make sure you change things up mainly when the cage has been lived in for a couple days - slightly dirty bedding, so everything still smells like your hedgie. As long as everything smells like home still, that may help get a better reaction to having some of the toys or furniture switched up a bit. Changing things the same night you clean the whole cage could cause some panic, thinking their home is suddenly gone or moved.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Umm... oops? Good thing my kids are resilient....


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

:lol: Some are very tolerant to it, it really just depends! If anyone does already change things regularly and the hedgehog has no problem, obviously that's fine. I just know I've heard of a few hedgehogs that get very upset when anything is changed, even small things. Lily never minded my messing around with her cage either, I changed her furniture once in a while, added in new decorations, hid treats around, etc. She was easy-going in general though, I got lucky.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Now I'm wondering if that may be why Tiberius has been such a grump. He loves his new wheel and runs on it every night. But his attitude lately has been super grumpy. No cuddles, fight to get him out of the cage for pen time, random other challenges. And it's always worse right after cage cleanings. Plus I think Titan smell doesn't help.


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## Melanie G. (May 29, 2014)

I have two hedgehogs. I was feeling guilty that they were probably board with the same toys and cage set up. So I changed things up and got two very different responses.
Lucy didn't seem to mind too much. She moved the toys and I didn't notice any behaviour changes.
Gretta trashed her cage the first night and moved things around. She pulled out her blanket and moved it to the corner she usually sleeps in and slept there despite her igloo was in a different spot. She also took her other blanket and dumped it in her water dish. 
So, yeah, depends on the hedgehog.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Tiberius has moved as much of his fleece as he can and taken up semi permanent residence under his wheel. With the comfort wheel he would stay in one corner or the center of his cage. Now... sigh. Maybe I should give him his igloo back or something. Maybe he is feeling over exposed. But we took the igloos out ages ago, long before Titan came. At least he's bot bored. Just a super grump.


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## TikkiLink (Dec 4, 2013)

I thought my hedgie was becoming less and less active out of boredom. So I gave her a huge cage with lots of toys and a better wheel. After a short time she stopped running, so I switched up her cage arrangement every night. She still refuses to run except for maybe a few days out of every few weeks. Her running has never been all night every night, but at least when she was little it was for a couple hours most nights-- but she has gradually wheeled less and less to almost nothing and I'm very worried!


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

TikkiLink, I started a new thread about this very subject...come on over and discuss it.

LuLu likes to have her "things" remain in the same place, but she's curious about new things like baseball hats, paper bags, and new obstacles in her playpen. These things can be introduced, removed or moved around without issue but the basics need to stay. She gets confused easily and has the attention span of a cabbage


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