# Hedgehog Screaming! D:



## Sady (Oct 6, 2013)

So, this morning, I was woken just after 4AM to my little girl screaming several times. 

She lives in a C&C cage (grid bars with a coroplast base). I found her with several quills "stuck" on the top of the 6" tall wall / holes (the little square things in the picture below.










It was pulling on her skin / stretching her side. I picked her up to get her off the edge and checked for any tearing / blood. I didn't find any (and my husband looked again this morning with better light and found nothing), but she was super huffy when I tried to touch it so I left her be and watched her for a few minutes before going back to bed myself.

So my questions are: 

I know they don't make much noise unless they feel really threatened or are hurt, do you think the scream was a symptom of something greater than the super uncomfortable position she was in, or is the fact that she continued to run around, eat, and seemed content that it was just the sudden pain that subsided after I got her out of the situation?
I've never seen her climb the wires before. She's tried to get out of the bathtub before since she's not a huge fan of water (but she's also so happy after she's clean), but with her wheel and large cage, she's never been much of a climber. Is there a way to discourage her from climbing again?
I purchased a coroplast C&C cage at the recommendation of many here - is there a way to protect her from getting caught like that again if she does try to climb again?


----------



## AerielGibson (Oct 19, 2013)

My question for you is, is this c&c cage a new thing? if so, she might be uncomfortable with her new surroundings, so she could of tried to climb out because of that.
Even though she hasn't been much of a climber before hedgehogs can... try new things.
i'm guessing you could line the cubes with fleece on the inside so she would 1) be discouraged to climb and 2) she wouldn't get caught if she did.
as for the screaming part she was in a lot of distress and pain getting stuck so that part would be normal in her situation but as long as shes not injured too badly, i wouldn't worry unless she gets worse.
All you can do is be more cautious and find a way to line the wires shown so she wont climb




Aeriel


----------



## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

If you heard the screaming and then immediately found her like that I would guess that was the reason for it. Just to clarify...do you have a wall of coroplast surrounding all sides of the cage? If that is what is 6" tall you may want to think about making it a bit higher. When they stretch up on their back legs they can definitely reach higher than 6" so it can be dangerous if she's a climber. I would also recommend fixing those harsh edges so that there is no way she can get caught again. That would be scary if it happened when you weren't home, leaving her stuck like that for hours. On our c&c cage we used a thicker gaff tape to go around all edges of coroplast. These things should help...at least to start with. We have made lots of small modifications to our cage setup as needed. Live and learn!

Best of luck...and continue to keep an eye on her just to be sure she isn't injured anywhere else from the incident &#128522;

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Erizo (Jul 25, 2012)

1. Hedgehogs scream as a response to both fear and pain. In this case, you likely had both in play.

2.


> I've never seen her climb the wires before.


Famous last words. People say this all the time. An animal can decide to do something at any time. An animal can go for years without climbing (to your knowledge), and then one day climb out of the cage and fall 4' to the floor.

Unless they have a camera on the cage for night observation, people do not know whether their hedgie is a climber or not.



> Is there a way to discourage her from climbing again?


Think 'prevent', not merely 'discourage'.

3. C&C and coroplast is fine. What you need to assess is how she got up there. If the coroplast walls are on the outside of the cage, then it should be moved to the inside because it is not providing anti-climbing protection from the outside.

If the coroplast walls are on the inside, then they need to be raised. You can replace; or join pieces to what you have using heavy-duty, clear, packaging tape; or raise the walls with another method.

Sophie's first cage had 6" coroplast walls on three sides (12" on the back wall. 6" was not adequate. I raised the walls using Priority Mail envelopes. They are fairly heavy duty and if they don't need to be cleaned very much will last a long, long time. This is what I did with Sophie's first cage. I just stood the envelopes on end and used small binder clips to attach. I slid them between the coroplast and the grids.

Also, I used report binder clips to 'edge' the top of the coroplast flutes. They can be kind of hard to find. Staples, Office Depot, and the like, have them online, if not in the store.

These are old pictures. I've since upgraded her to a wire linen-shelving cage so the wall setup has changed. Priority Mail envelopes worked perfectly for us; simply attached at the top with small binder clips.

pvc-tunnel.jpg

living-quarters.jpg

(Keep an eye on toes and nails so that you can be sure that none got caught in the coroplast flutes.)

.


----------



## Sady (Oct 6, 2013)

> My question for you is, is this c&c cage a new thing?


No. She's been in it for several weeks now. And she seems far more happy in it than the plastic clear bin I had her in before.



> do you have a wall of coroplast surrounding all sides of the cage? If that is what is 6" tall you may want to think about making it a bit higher. When they stretch up on their back legs they can definitely reach higher than 6" so it can be dangerous if she's a climber.


Yes. It's 6" on 3 walls; 12" on the long back wall & curved onto the shorter walls. I'll also note that there is about another half inch to a full inch between the coroplast wall and the grid. So she'd have to stretch up over the wall and still get a good handle on the grids. Which brings up the concern that if she tries, she's rubbing her underarms and soft belly on the rough edges.

She's still small enough that she shouldn't have been able to stretch up all the way just yet; My only guess is she managed to climb from her "house" which has since been removed until I can climb proof better and fix those rougher edges.

Unfortunately, she still continues to grow. And double unfortunately, I don't have the income or the resources to grow the walls a bit higher.



> report binder clips to 'edge' the top of the coroplast flutes.


Now this is actually a valuable idea.


----------



## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

> And double unfortunately, I don't have the income or the resources to grow the walls a bit higher.


One way or another, you will find a way.



> Now this is actually a valuable idea.


I know the cage that you have. A dozen or so USPS Priority Mail envelopes (free) and a box or two of small binder clips will raise the walls to 12" all around.

The wall height issue is easily fixed at little or no cost. You probably have workable materials readily available. Something with a smooth surface will be easier to clean, but cut down boxes will work just as well. Upgrade from one material to another when you can.


----------

