# Peeing Where She Sleeps



## CraftyRedPanda (Jan 5, 2013)

I recently purchased a new hedgie and she pees in her house where she sleeps, so she smells like urine all the time. So gross! Any suggestions for teaching her better bathroom habits? We tried a litter box, no luck with that. I don't mind her going on her wheel, but in her house?!
Also, off subject...is a daily oatmeal bath okay?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Pottying in their house isn't normal, usually...most animals won't go where they sleep. What's her cage environment like? Can you think of anything that might keep her from wanting to come out more than she has to? What's the cage temperature?

If it doesn't seem environmental-related, or health-related (does the pee look normal - a light yellow or clear color? Any blood? Does she seem to be in pain at all when she goes?), it might be that she prefers to be covered when pottying. Try putting in another igloo, maybe, and see if she chooses one to potty under & one to sleep in.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Is she a baby? How long have you had her? Sometimes when in a new home they will potty in bed until they are comfortable in their new home. Babies are more likely to do it, but adults do too sometimes.

If you've had her for a while and this is a new behaviour, then it could mean illness.


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## CraftyRedPanda (Jan 5, 2013)

She's a baby and also quilling, so perhaps that's it. Hopefully she will grow out of it. We've only had her less than a week, so she is still getting used to her home and us.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

My small friend would sometimes pee in his pigloo when he was a baby (notably when my co-keeper accidentally startled him); he's grown out of it. Before that, we just developed a compromise between "foot-bath" and "full bath" where I'd wet a toothbrush, and use that to rinse his quills during daily footh-baths. That way, I could get the pee off (and make him less-smelly) without drying his skin out with constant full baths.


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