# Sandshrew's big adventure and his owner's freak out



## amberkinn (Oct 9, 2011)

A few weeks ago (old story, just now getting to it, lol) I decided to let Sandshrew out of his cage and roam in my closet since I had just cleaned. My closet is a large walk in, and concidentally it's where I keep his cage. I've let him run around my room keeping an eye on him more than once since I have hard wood floors and I'm not worried about messes. He really loves running around my bedroom, it's probably one of his favorite things to do! (I will block off small spaces and make sure there's not really anything he can get into before I usually do this.)
Unfortunately, a closet is a closet and I didn't really consider anything "dangerous" after looking around. No small slots or spaces for him to hide in, nothing like that. (or so I thought) So, I blocked off the closet door and let him get a good run in. I have a desk in my closet and I keep my printer under neath it, where when I need to use it I can take it out easily. I didn't think about that!  
Needless to say, that's where I found him when he puckered out!   After having a major freak out (my face = :shock: ), I rushed him to the sink to wash off the ink he had rubbed allllll over himself. I managed to get it all off of his muzzle but it majorly stained his white quills. After reading online for probably more than an hour about hedgehogs and ink, I came to find out that apparently that's how some breeders will mark their hedgies so they can tell them apart and it's how they keep track of some in the wild.
So, after I got him back inside his cage and stopped freaking out, I felt guilty about giving him a rushed bath! :? 
Was it the right thing to do getting that ink off of him in such a rush? I literally ran him to the sink after it had a little warm water in it, I usually let him pretty much walk around and don't really force him to get clean.  I will occasionally use oatmeal or baby wash to clean him or Mercury but usually I just wash them off a little and trim Sandshrew's nails. 
Anyway, after this whole thing, I decided to start keeping my printer above ground permanently. :roll:


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## Pancho (Dec 25, 2011)

wow thats quite an adventure! you should try getting that ink off though...not sure if its really bad but it doesnt sound good..
You can never be 100% sure an area is hedgie-safe (unless its a small area surrounded by a playfence.)
Maybe next time dont let your hedgie run around in the closet?
good luck!
btw, your hedgie is ADORABLE! lol


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