# Hedgehog.... freeze?



## Pinkion (Dec 25, 2011)

Hey guys, so ive had my hedgie for a little over 2 weeks and i am lover her! all my friends are jealous and want to see her, but i have this one little problem.... every once and a while she would be doing something and just, freeze. usually she would be running around or eating and in mid activity she would just stop and freeze in one spot. if i went near her she would kind of hiss and raise her front quills up but shortly after that she would continue on. Is this normal?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Yeah, it's pretty normal, especially considering that you haven't had your hedgehog for very long. Sometimes there'll be something, like a noise or smell, that startles them or catches their attention with particular intensity, and I imagine the 'freezing' is sort of a defense mechanism triggered by a moment of nervousness. The reflex is probably something along the lines of 'stop moving, less likely to be seen'. This is definitely more likely if they're still adjusting to a new environment. My boy, Archimedes (6.5 weeks), will have a few seconds of getting prickly now and then, sometimes for obvious reasons (like the dog barking or a sharp noise) and sometimes for no particular reason than I can figure out. He definitely will do the 'freezing' thing sometimes when I poke my head into the little niche/hallway where we keep his cage - for instance, he'll be out doing things because that area is dark, but I'll flick on the bathroom light to get a better look in the cage (without actually turning on the strong/direct light above him) and I'll see him at his food bowl, paused in the middle of eating because I started him. It's most likely something that will happen less as a hedgehog gets older and/or becomes more familiar with a new home, but hedgehogs are 'prey' animals, and they'll never fully stop having those little instinctive reactions now and then.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Annabell does this all the time. She also "meditates" as I call it. She'll sit, stand or lay randomly somewhere in her cage (or even living room) for minutes without moving. (I'm sure this is probably longer, but in the battle of the wits, her meditation always wins over my spying eyes)


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## Pinkion (Dec 25, 2011)

Thanks for the responses! Now I can just leave her be


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