# Getting Use To Noises?



## simply_claire (Apr 28, 2011)

I've had my hedgehog Damien for about a year and half now. Everytime I take him out I notice he seems startled (or spikes up) at like almost every noise possible. For example if I take him out of his cage and put him on the floor next to me he's all fine but if I get up and he hears the carpet creak, he spikes up quick. Or if he's running on his wheel at night and I happen to come in my room (very quietly) he jumps off his wheel and goes back into his igloo. He's use to hearing my fan on at night and maybe the tv on while he sleeps in my lap but that's about it. I know to some extent it's completly normal for a hedgehog to jump or be startled at some noises, but I just wanted to make him more relaxed and use to some noises. My room is always quiet throughtout the whole day, so I'm sure that doesn't help get him use to anything but pure silence.
Is there some advice to help him get use to noises? 
I know him being comfortable with his surroundings plays a factor in whether he's startled. And I don't mean to say I just want him to stop huffing and jumping completly, because all hedgehogs do this when scared. 
Any advice or tips? I was thinking maybe letting my radio play throughout the day in my bedroom so that he could be use to hearing noise around him? 
Thanks!


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

It's normal hedgehog behaviors. Some are scaredy hogs that just don't like noises. Don't forget that they are prey animals and that any kind of noise could be a predator.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I've heard of people playing a radio. My hedgie lived beside my budgie and they could be quite loud at times but he totally got used it (the pet store he lived in for two years before I got him also had budgies near his cage).


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

We have a radio in the hedgehog room. It's not on constantly, but a good amount of time during the day. We also never avoid things that would produce loud noises when we have them out, including TV, video games, vacuum, the dogs barking, etc. The best way to desensitize any animal is to expose them frequently to a lot of different kinds of noise, as well as regular household noise. A few of ours will have a small prickle reaction if they're startled by it, but that's it. Taking your hedgehog out of the house on trips to the store or whatever is a great way to get them used to that sort of thing too.


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