# Communicating with a hedgehog?



## ohaiwaldo (Aug 14, 2011)

Hi there HC! I'm a brand new hedgehog owner and for the past while I've been doing some serious, constant reading on hedgehogs. I've been fascinated with them all my life and I finally was able to get one. I'd planned to go to a breeder but my plans fell through so I wound up going against rule one and going to the pet shop. He was the only one there, but he seemed quite happy and content and the woman who owned the place was very thorough with her interrogation of me to be sure he'd be in a safe, good environment. Audley came home with me last weekend and I know it's way too early to get discouraged about having a clicking pincushion for a pet. What I wanted to ask was how you guys all learned to communicate with your first hedgehogs. Each one is different from what I've read and heard, they all have their own personalities, likes and dislikes. How did you get to figure out how to make your hedgie happy? How long was it before you felt like you two were establishing some sort of connection? Are there any tips you guys can give me on how to get to know Audley?

If he puffs up at me when I go to bring him out for cuddles and curls up in my shirt and pokes me for the rest of his little life, I'll still love him. That's probably because I know I'd be the same way if it wasn't socially unacceptable to pierce people with tiny needles just for annoying you. Anyway, I just wanted to know about all of your experiences with your hedgies, how you learned hedgie lingo and what advice you would have for the devoted chef(because I already know he owns me more than I own him). Thanks in advance, everyone! <3

- Willow


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

That kind of understanding and patience you have is the mark of a great hedgehog owner, in my personal opinion! 

Unfortunately, there is no spoken or written language we share with our quilly friends, so we can't really interview them for their likes and dislikes. I myself learned about my hedgie pretty much through trial-and-trial.  Simply, through experiences over time, I learned little things about him. Like, if I set him in my lap when I'm sitting, he will lay still for the most part and let me pet him, but he will usually be jumpier than when I let him lay in my arm and pet him there. I found that when I pick him up, he becomes most comfortable quickly if I hold him up to my tummy. Carlos will not eat or show any interest in live insects like many hedgehogs do, but the first time I offered him a freezedried mealworm, he chomped it right from between my fingers, and chomps every one I've given him since.

Basically, learning your individual hedgehog's language just takes time and patience and handling. And like learning any foreign language, you have to 'listen' to his reactions to what you do, and 'study' his habits. And also, it's wise to remember that after time and handling, your hedgehog will learn that you are a bringer of good, and not harm. He'll probably come out of his shell more when he realizes that, especially if he seemed to have a good disposition when you first met him in his home environment. 

All that said, if you're going to be making posts here on Hedgehog Central, we're gonna want pictures!  I wanna see Audley!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I completely agree with everything Salt and Extra Pepper said, especially about the pictures!

I was trying to copy what I heard everyone else do with their hedgies and I got disappointed that Harvey wasn't liking what I was doing.  He didn't want me to pet him, he didn't want to explore outside, he didn't want to sit in my lap. I just stopped trying to push him into liking things and decided to pay attention to what he likes. Just like when you're in a relationship with someone. They say they don't like something, so you try to respect their wishes and relate to them in a different way. The only problem is that you speak a different language than your hedgie. 

I'm just going to reiterate what everyone else will say and tell you that it takes patients, time and you need to study his reactions. Go very slow and don't overstress the little guy with too much at once.

After I decided that I couldn't force Harvey into anything, I went back to basics and just put him in a cuddle bag and talked softly to him. He hissed at first, so progress was when he stopped hissing when I talked, then he stopped hissing when I held him in his hedgie bag. Then when I would look inside, he would look back at me under his visor. Then I would sit and talk with him while he was sitting on a pillow on my lap. (My actual lap just made him want to explore for some reason.) He was looking me in the eye and not curling into a ball when I talked. Then I was able to rest my hand on top of him (he hissed at first, but after he figured out I wasn't going to hurt him, he allowed it). Then I could pet his rump, NOT HIS HEAD -- he was very clear about that in the form of a bite on my finger.  OUCH! I won't try that again for a long, long time.

If he bites or hisses, don't put him away right away, they associate those behaviors with getting to go to their safe cage.

All of these little, tiny steps took a long, long, long time. I got Harvey from a pet store too, before I knew anything about hedgies (I still don't know much). :roll: I just know some stuff about Harvey. Anyway, he wasn't socialized well because he sat in a cage all the time.

It was very, very, very slow. Overwhelming him with too much at once just made him revert to huffing and puffing all the time. When you start working with your hedgie you can read their body language. They can and will communicate their dislikes as well as their LOVE and APPRECIATION for what you are doing and how patient you are being.

Those rewards are worth waiting for!

Also, I used meal worms and crickets as rewards for good behavior. Now when I get him out of his cage and talk to him, he starts licking his lips. I at least trained him to expect treats, if nothing else. :lol: 

Best of luck. Now.....where are those pictures?


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## ohaiwaldo (Aug 14, 2011)

So far it seems like what Audley likes is to hang out in his house, to run on his wheel and putz around and do whatever he does until I poke my head in. Then he pretends he was just about to go to bed, but really if he was staying up a bit longer he sure would love to play! Every day he's a little bit slower to crawl back into bed when I come in to see him. Today he gave me a pretty good chomp(I read that if you're jumpy, they'll get jumpy so I just took it like a man and blew on him gently) but I realized it was because I'd been cooking not too long ago and forgot to wash my hands. He still panics a good deal when I bring him out and today he crawled right up my shoulder and tangled himself in my dreadlocks immediately. Eventually he slid out and did some exploring inside my shirt while I was sending off a few emails.

He does not like baths, he doesn't seem to want to be touched unless he's the one doing the touching and that's usually only en route to meal worms. He does not like my rendition of You Are The Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder, even though I insist on singing it to him every day. He doesn't like Iago, he doesn't like light, he doesn't like being out in the open, he doesn't like it when I stop him trying to force his way into my underpants, he doesn't like Will & Grace and he doesn't like the stylings of The Fray.

He does, however, like the taste of my feet.

As soon as he'll show his handsome little face long enough for me to take a shot of him, I'll post a picture. The most I ever see of him is his little tail and a back foot sticking out from under the covers. As much as he squirms and wiggles and seems like he wants to disappear, there was one night when I fell asleep with him on the couch with me and he stayed curled up by my legs all night. 

Thank you both for your stories! It's really good to be reassured that other hedgie owners had a stage of having no idea what to do for their new friend too, that it isn't just me who's clueless. I suppose I can read up on hedgehogs all I want and never come across something that addresses 'how to get along with Audley'. I imagine after a long time of making little baby steps with a particularly aloof hedgie and finally making that connection(even if it's just the understanding that you and your hedgehog will never be caught cuddling), it's got to be a lot more rewarding than having a hedgie that loves you right off the bat.

Not that that doesn't sound nice, of course!

I'm going to try to swing by the place I got him and see if they have any snuggle bags. Tried to make my own last night but that was a disaster! What time do you guys usually bring your hedgies out for quality time? Audley's usually up around 7, 7:30. I generally let him run around on his wheel and eat and do his stuff until 9:30 before I bring him out, so that if we end up falling asleep on the couch he'll not be without food and exercise.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

That was so cute that he cuddled and slept with you on the couch. Just be careful about him being on the couch when you're sleeping. Harvey is a little dare-devil. I didn't catch him in time and he fell right off the edge. I felt terrible and I was trying to give him a good once-over to see if he was okay. He wasn't very appreciative. :roll: 

You can use almost anything for a hedgie sack. It can just be him rolled up in a dirty t-shirt of yours, in a tote bag with some scraps of fleece or that t-shirt. You could just cover him with a blanket when he sleeps on you. They don't care what it is as long as they have somewhere to hide from the big scarey world.

Harvey's favorite place is right behind my neck, using my hair as a blanket. It doesn't sound like Audley appreciates fine motown music either. Some hedgies have no culture! :lol: 

I usually bring Harvey out around 9 and put him back around 11. He has already had a bite to eat and drive and has pooped by then.

The first sign of progress I saw with Harvey was that he stopped pooping on me whenever I brought him out. He could hold it. Part of that was that I put him on a schedule, part was that he became older and had more control, but I like to think that part of it was that he was learning that I was not a threat.

And you're right, hard earned love is more appreciated than easy love.

We love pictures of hedgie butts too! Those tiny tails are just so adorable!!! :lol:


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## ohaiwaldo (Aug 14, 2011)

Aha! I caught a nose! He's been very grumpy with me today but he's just so cute D: I listened to your advice and let him curl up in my softest sweatervest, which he seems pretty content in. He only came out to smell my chocolate breath, get his daily mealworm and hiss at the cat. I thought we were making some progress last night because he seemed a little less irritated by my presence, but today he's gone back to being angry with me.

I did learn he likes The Blanks, though!


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

Ohhh my goodness, that photo! :lol: Look at those toofers! I love hedgie fangs 

I also laughed at the list of his 'dislikes' :lol:

One thing that came to my attention that miiiiiiiight possibly help you... You have a cat? Is there perhaps a way that you could shut kitty out of the room while you have Audley out? (Am I correct when I assume that Iago is the cat's name? I saw you mention that name before but didn't know who/what that was hahaha)

If it's possible for you to do that, it might be beneficial for your bonding time with Audley. A kitty cat doesn't need to be in a hedgie's personal space to scare him; simply sensing the presence of a 'fearsome predator' in the room could be enough to but a hedgehog on edge.

And that's _not_ to say you can never ever have them out in the same room! 
Just, while he's getting used to you and the new house, maybe some extra space from the cat will calm his nerves some and let him trust you more.

Then if you want to have some supervised meetings with them, that's okay. (As far as I've heard here, Some cats love hedgehogs, some cats are indifferent, some cats are scared poopless of them... and on the flip side... there are cat-loving hedgies, refuse-to-acknowledge-cat hedgies, and ones that quill up and get defensive around cats.) I introduced Carlos to my dogs, and since it went well-- (the dogs behaved respectfully and Carlos did not quill up or huff defensively) I have done it several times since.

On the other hand...

I introduced him to my kitten one time, and one time only. The kitten was politely curious, but not at all in-his-face. But Carlos still got all quilly and huffy. So, as much as I love the adorable friendly kitten (dubbed Oscar) I don't let him in the room when I'm playing with Carlos. Just an extra measure to encourage positive feelings for the hedgehog. And of course you can make it up to kitty by having some one-on-one time with him too. Just a tip for your consideration!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

OH!  I love that picture! He looks tough, but I bet he's a little sweetie pie! And, yeah.....hedgies don't like a lot of things at first. He's so sweet!


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## ohaiwaldo (Aug 14, 2011)

He's a sweet boy, but he's just started to quill I think. He's losing a few quills that I can see every time I bring him out and has been for the last few days. I gave him a gentle bath with aveeno oatmeal unscented stuff but he's so resistant to all forms of bathing it was a bit tough. His back nails are also getting really long but he won't let me touch his feet, he won't even hold still long enough for me to sneakily snip one. I'm used to clipping dog and cat nails, where you can just pin them down and get her done. Hedgehogs are not so responsive to being tackled!

I'm hoping that his quilling doesn't last too long, he's obviously in a lot of pain. He's sleeping until 1AM now, whereas he used to be up at around 7PM. When I put him back in his cage after quality time, I can't hear him on his wheel. I'm pretty sure he just eats, drinks, poops and goes back to bed. I wish he could talk to me and just tell me what to do to help him. Maybe he just wants some time to wallow in self-pity for a while. I don't know any more :c My poor baby.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

You've already been given some great pointers, so I'm just going to say: oh em gee! He is SO cute! His little nose! His little teeth! That is seriously a great picture.


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

Those cute little vamp teeth! i adore their teeth with a wonder!


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