# Dramatic Change in Hedgie Disposition- help



## Terry (Jul 2, 2010)

Hi everyone,
I have owned my Hedgehog, Gia for about 5 months. She was 1 year old when I adopted her. You were all so helpful when I first got her. I have taken all of your advice to heart and Gia has been doing well. But for the last 2 or 3 days she doesn't want to play, bites me and basically wants to go back in her cage. She is very grumpy. Do female hedgehogs go into heat? If so, how can I tell and would this change her disposition. Her disposition has changed dramatically. What could bet the problem? How would I know if she is too hot? I cannot come up with any reason for her change in behavior.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

*Re: Change in Hedgie disposition*

It might be quilling at that age, have you noticed any dropped quills appearing? If she is losing some quills just check to make sure she has new growth coming back in. My girl hedgie is a little over 4 months and has started losing some quills again a few nights ago. She is so social and friendly but the other day she was so mad she didn't want to be messed with so I had a heck of a time trying to get her out to clean. I didn't want to stress her but she's a messy girl and I couldn't leave her in the cage the way she made it. She hissed and was jumping at my hand she was so upset. After she was out and I looked at her skin and sure enough she had new spikes coming in. If your hedgie seems uncomfortable you could also try a shallow oatmeal bath to help soothe the skin. I fill mine up so its to the hedgies knee and then have some cups that I pour gently on her back keeping it away from face and ears. I've used Aveeno Oatmeal bath before and plain oatmeal and both have worked great for me. Hope the little guy feels better


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## Terry (Jul 2, 2010)

Gia is about 17 months old...so no quilling.
I don't think she is cold. Her belly feels warm, I use a 150 watt CHE. But she sleeps underneath her blanket. Could she be too hot? I have a digital therm. but I don't have a thermostat that turns it off and on


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Terry said:


> Gia is about 17 months old...so no quilling.
> I don't think she is cold. Her belly feels warm, I use a 150 watt CHE. But she sleeps underneath her blanket. Could she be too hot? I have a digital therm. but I don't have a thermostat that turns it off and on


If you have a CHE you HAVE to have a thermostat.
If you don't have a thermostat a CHE is too dangerous.


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## Terry (Jul 2, 2010)

Where is the best place to get one and what kind should I get?
Thanks


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Terry said:


> Where is the best place to get one and what kind should I get?
> Thanks


You can check petsmart.
I had to order mine online because pet stores around my area didn't have them.
A cheap and reliable one is the Reptitemp 500R from ZooMed which I bought online.

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/reptile- ... 49870.html

It cost around 40 dollars.

EDIT:
As for the question about whether female hedgies go into heat - they do not. They only begin ovulating in the presence of a male hedgehog.

Maybe it's the heat.

Have you noticed any difference in her diet/exercise level?
Usually if they are too hot they will eat less and exercise less as well.


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## Terry (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks. 
But what about her change in disposition. She doesn't wnat me to hold her, bites me, and just want to go back into her cage. She has been eating "Wellness Indoor" and drinking, but she is just not acting the same. Do you know if females hedgehogs go into "heat" like dogs and cats do. Do they have menstrual cycles? I have search this site, but can't find out anything on this subject?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Terry said:


> Thanks.
> But what about her change in disposition. She doesn't wnat me to hold her, bites me, and just want to go back into her cage. She has been eating "Wellness Indoor" and drinking, but she is just not acting the same. Do you know if females hedgehogs go into "heat" like dogs and cats do. Do they have menstrual cycles? I have search this site, but can't find out anything on this subject?


Hi Terry, sorry for not answering that.

I just edited my post to answer your question on the hedgies going into "heat" so take a look


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## Terry (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks for the new info.
No she has been eating the same amount and same food. Drinking water, and she was on her wheel going 90 miles an hour this morning at 6:00. She is just so grumpy and doesn't even like me to pet her. She has started quilling up when I try to pick her up.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Terry said:


> Thanks for the new info.
> No she has been eating the same amount and same food. Drinking water, and she was on her wheel going 90 miles an hour this morning at 6:00. She is just so grumpy and doesn't even like me to pet her. She has started quilling up when I try to pick her up.


Have you perhaps changed lotions or soaps? She may just be reacting to the foreign scent.

I went through something similar with my Kashi. Around 2 weeks ago he started randomly becoming very aggressive (lunging and biting me, huffing whenever I tried to pet him, etc). The best advice I can give you (if you've ruled out taht she's sick) is to keep handling her despite her aggressive behavior. If you put her back after she bites she's going to learn that if she bites you will leave her alone.

Kashi is still not nearly as friendly as he used to be, but he's getting there. He's a lot less huffy and lets me pet him (sometimes).


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