# I dont know what to do anymore with his bad behaviour :(



## Mimni (Dec 29, 2011)

when i got leo over a month ago he was the sweetest boy ever. Ever since he started quilling ( hes now stopped ) hes still so grumpy. He started biting me a lot and picking fights with me and wont let me pick him up or pet him even though it has ended . Im trying my best and i dont know what to do  It makes me feel really bad because i dont know how to help him. Its not the fragrances its not him being hungry. Im not sure what to do to make him back to his old self again. Nothing has changed to cause him to go this way. He doesnt like meal worms and other treats and only eats his kibble so i cant give him treats for when he gets out


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Try to entice him into a snuggle bag, and hold him like that? 
Quilling can take up to a month, and a drastic change like that in personality is rare.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Christemo said:


> Quilling can take up to a month, and a drastic change like that in personality is rare.


...but it can and does happen.

It's understandable that you are frustrated, but keep in mind his behavior is not "bad". He is a hedgehog. As hedgehog owners, time and patience are our best friends and we need to be aware at all times of the fact that these are not naturally social animals.  They are prey animals with strong reflexes, and until they start to trust us, they will react the way they were made to - huffing, popping, balling up, and even biting.

It sounds like you need to start at square one with bonding. Start off with putting him in a snuggle bag on your lap and leaving him alone. Do that until he seems to be more comfortable being by you and gets used to your movements noises (sniffing your nose, scratching your arm, etc). When he seems more comfortable, you can move to resting your hand on top of the snuggle bag. Do that until he is less huffy/more accepting of your touch. After that, try holding him with your bare hands. Take every step slowly and don't be afraid of him huffing and jumping in response. Hedgehogs act real tough, but they are too little to do any real damage to us. Keep your hands and bare skin away from his face - he may feel threatened by your fingers being all up in his grill :lol:

There is a chance that he had a rough quilling and will be a grump for the rest of his life, but as his owner, it's your job to determine if you're willing to love and nurture the little guy no matter what way his personality turns out.  Don't be discouraged... we all have been where you are, feeling like our hog hates us. It has nothing to do with that :lol: I swear, my Mildred practically rolls her eyes when I get her out of her cage for snuggle time. I think half of our bonding has come from her thinking "Ahh, screw it, I give up" after unsuccessfully trying to crawl away from me 19 trillion times. *Hugs*


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

If he doesn`t like treats, maybe you could use his regular food for bonding. That`s what I did when I first got Clémentine, during the first couple of weeks. I used to take her food bowl out of her cage just before I woke her up at night, wake her up, let her drink and do her business and then I`d take her out and feed her some of her regular kibble with twizzers. It worked really well. She was hungry when she woke up and I became the nice lady who fed her.  Then I`d put her food bowl back with her in her cage for the night but she associated me with her waking up snack.


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## rexi10 (Jan 17, 2012)

Our little girl has also had a "bad quilling". She was a little sweetie and now doesn't want anything to do with us. She used to explore and let us pet her and now she just huffs, puffs and jumps around. We still get her out every night and she likes treats so we give them to her she snatches them and then rolls back up. The only way she seems "happy" is when we give her a place to hide and then she just rolls around in there and falls back asleep. We are trying to be patient but its hard. When we first got her we chose her because of her sweetness. It is our first hedgehog and we love her even when she is a grump but I am still hopeful that she will get over it and turn back from he dark side. Good luck to you. I hope both of our little hoglets return to "normal".


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Some go through difficult quillings and come out of it just as sweet as before they started. A small minority of them stay grumpy. It is very important to continue to handle them through the grumpy period. Be careful of their back and try not to pet them too much. Of course, usually this is impossible anyways. :lol: Let hedgie sit on you covered with a blanket so he/she feels safe. 

My Peaches (RIP) was an absolute sweetheart when we got her. She was perfect in all ways. Then she started to quill and turned into the hedgehog from you know where. She was horrible. Basically unhandable, huffed and popped and carried on like crazy. I asked her daily what ever made me want her. :lol: I can't remember exactly now but it took what seemed like forever for her to come out of it but when she did, she was right back to being her wonderful sweet self. Peaches was my hedgehog ambassador because she was so sweet and could be handed to anyone without raising a quill. So, there is hope.


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## rexi10 (Jan 17, 2012)

Thanks Nancy, I need hope.


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## Mimni (Dec 29, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your help. Im going to continue to make an effort with Leo of course ! I love him a lot i just feel so frustrated that all of a sudden he wont let me pick him up without biting me  Do i let him bite me when he does? or move my hand away i know i have to teach him that its not okay...


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## Mimni (Dec 29, 2011)

how much time should i spend with leo per day? I roughly on average spend an hour well this week i only spent an hour per day due to exams but otherwise what are good techniques i should do to make us bond more since he doesnt like treats or being handled that much


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## Mimni (Dec 29, 2011)

im currently holding leo with a blanket which hes repeatedly pooped on and keeps trying to bite


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

An hour a day is fine. Some people have busy lives and that's all they can do and that's fine as long as you're making that attempt to spend time with him everyday. 

The best way to prevent biting is just to keep your hands away from his face as much as possible. Don't put him down if he does bite because he will learn quickly that its ok to bite because he will get his way if he does. Remain calm, tell him no, and place him on your lap or other place you can hold him safely for a bit before putting him back down. 

I know its frustrating (I have 2 now that seem bi polar and go back and forth from so grouchy its hard to handle them to another day being complete sweethearts). Just keep in mind they can sense your frustration and anxiety and it may make the grumpiness worse so try your best just to stay calm around him no matter how grumpy he is. Just take things on his terms (if he doesn't like his back petted, don't do it, etc). Let him come around on his own (please don't take this as don't hold him because you need to be holding him, but maybe as mentioned put him in a blanket or cuddle sack and let his curiosity get to him eventually he make come out to explore). Patience is key though. And if he turns out to be a hedgie that just stays grumpy forever after quilling then that's ok too and you"ll love him just as much for who he is I promise.  

Good luck


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## NoBeardPete (Jan 24, 2012)

Mimni said:


> when i got leo over a month ago he was the sweetest boy ever. Ever since he started quilling ( hes now stopped ) hes still so grumpy. He started biting me a lot and picking fights with me and wont let me pick him up or pet him even though it has ended . Im trying my best and i dont know what to do  It makes me feel really bad because i dont know how to help him. Its not the fragrances its not him being hungry. Im not sure what to do to make him back to his old self again. Nothing has changed to cause him to go this way. He doesnt like meal worms and other treats and only eats his kibble so i cant give him treats for when he gets out


You mention petting him. What do you mean by this? Some hedgehogs never like it when you touch their quills. Our hedgehog doesn't mind if you rub his chin or belly, even the sides of his face, but if you touch his quills or the top of his head, he gets really annoyed and puffs up his quills. Petting his back, the way one does with a cat or dog may be intensely annoying for your hog.

My main advice is to not come on too strong. Hold him quietly. Wait for him to relax. Don't try to engage him too much. Let him relax before you make any moves. Let him set the pace. You don't want him to think of you as a big scary thing that's always freaking him out and trying to force itself onto him. You want him to think of you as a non-threatening, possibly interesting, friendly, and/or stimulating experience. Even if he just associates being handled by you as a chance to explore a different environment, that's not bad. But he may never think of you as his cuddly buddy buddy. Hedgehogs aren't really the most social creatures.


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## kyungmal (Apr 20, 2011)

Hello! I am a "new" hedgie owner. I've had Galactica since she was 4 months and now she is going to be 2 years! We're not sure of the reason, but little Gala has always been defensive and jumpy (which is normal for a hedgehog). What has helped our "socializing"times is:

-wake up your hedgie up about the same time every night to socialize. 
-if your hedge normally does his/her business right after waking, let that happen first! 
-put on the tv or radio for background noise.
-we have to use a piece of folded fleece to take Gala out of her cage, as she ALWAYS rolls into a ball. 
-I have a fleece blanket on my lap and I put her on top and let her unroll and get curious enough to walk around a bit. I give her treats! live meal worms are popular  some hedgehogs like cooked *plain* chicken, scrambled egg, some fruit, or veggies. (ex, apple, carrot) 

-sometimes she likes to be pet from head to tail in a firm but tender manner. light, feather touches make her nervous. sometimes she PREFERS to just feel the weight and warmth of my hand on her back. She will hiss and pop when she doesn't want me to pet, but will calm down once i stop petting and just keep my hands still.

-for "independent play" we have a puppy pool we bought from Petco that is a great size! 
-we put her wheel, a large pvc pip, balls, and treats in and she'll play for almost half an hour on her own! She is just tall enough to try to get out so we have to watch her carefully
-the pool is also great for foot baths and regular baths because it gives her enough space to run around. 

~hope this helps!~


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