# Potty Training



## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD muahahahahaha :twisted:

Er-hem. Ok, so Herbie is almost three months and growing fast. (Side question, when should he stop growing?) He just loves his wheel and runs on it almost every night. Problem is, he poops and then runs on it, smearing poop all over. The smell is god awful and the cleaning is extremely difficult due to little ridges for footholds. I was wondering if there was any way to potty train him to not poop on his wheel. He already has a little spot under his wheel that he pees in, so pee is not a problem.


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## MyaPerez1018 (Mar 3, 2015)

99% of hedgehogs, if not ALL hedgehogs potty on the wheel. It's natural, and there isn't much that can be done. In the wild, they relieve themselves as they run, so it's perfectly normal. For easier cleaning, you can purchase a Carolina Storm Wheel from Larry. The wheel is solid plastic, no ridges and is very smooth (also almost completely silent when the hedgie is running) so cleaning it comes easy.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I do have one of those. The little ridges make it hard to get all the dried poor though


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

If there are little ridges, you have a Comfort Wheel from the local pet store, not a Storm Wheel from Larry. There are no ridges on the the Storm Wheel. It's one of the reason hedgehog people like them.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I swear its a storm wheel. I clicked on the link on the top of this site and bought it there. If you look close at the pictures they provide, there are ridges


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I've had two of Larry's wheels and there are no ridges. Since the smooth wheel is such an attraction to most owners, I can't imagine he's changed it. Can you take a picture of your wheel? 

Either way, you're not going to be able to get him to not potty on the wheel. Things you can do to help make it easier to clean include cleaning it first thin in the morning, and let it soak for 5-10 minutes before you clean it. You can soak it in the tub (make sure the metal bearings & attachments don't get wet if you can help it) or you can use a spray bottle of soapy water or water/vinegar & tilt the wheel up so it sits. The second thing is what I always did & the wheel wiped clean pretty easily. And that was with waiting until night to clean it as I didn't have time in the mornings.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

The wheel itself isn't too hard to clean, but the latch on the cage is too small to fit it through and then I would have to take the whole top of the cage off and remove his heat lamp. Too much trouble. The wheel I bought came with a tag that said it was a Carolina storm. Maybe it is a fake.


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## MyaPerez1018 (Mar 3, 2015)

This is the best picture I have of a Carolina Storm Wheel. It's a homemade wheel that Larry created. And you say it's too difficult to remove the lid and such for cleaning, however you really should be spot cleaning every single day, or at least every other day. If not, it can be a hygiene and health hazard. It's no fun being stuck in your own poo for days lol.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Can you wire the heat lamp to the top of the cage? Then you can just unplug the lamp or flip the switch to turn the lamp off (depending on what kind of lamp you have - the Fluker's ones have an on/off switch on the cord) and lift the whole top, lamp & all, off the cage & set it aside while you clean the wheel & tidy up otherwise. It'll be easier to clean the wheel if you can take it out of the cage, along with changing food/water, cleaning the cage, etc.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Part of owning a hedgehog is having to clean the wheel every day. There is no way around it. You need to figure out how to get the wheel out every day and clean it. Hedgehogs are designed to poop when they run its not something that can be changed.


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)

If your hedgie is fully litter trained, you can try using a second litter box to be placed in the cage. This would provide an area for your guy to use the potty when in not on the wheel which in turn would limit the amount of pooping on the wheel. There is no guarantee this would work, it did for me for one of my hedgies but he is alarmingly well behaved. It should be noted that if he does end up using the second litter box, this will only REDUCE pottying on the wheel and will not prevent or change it. Hedgehogs are prey animals. So in nature, they wouldn't want to poop near their home as this could potentially attract predators. Thus they hedgie will poop away from their Home. Secondly, hedgehogs are very active and average distances of up to four miles a night. That's a long time! And as with any small animal, it doesn't take long for any type of food to run its course from mouth to anus. That said, you also must take into account the age of your hedgehog. As with a baby anything (human, cat, etc.) it takes a while to get control over your excretory proccesses, so things may get better with age. The fact of the mater is, however, no matter how hard you try, hedgies will always poop the wheel and you'll begin to associate this with health and normality and worry in the absence of it come morning. Lastly, I've heard of people lining their wheels with glad press and seal so it's an easy disposal type deal. I have no idea if this works but their is a video about it on YouTube. Should I come across it, I will link it below.


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)




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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Lining the wheel with anything can be dangerous. The glad wrap can get a tear in it and your hedgehog's nails can catch, this could easily result in a torn nail or even a broken leg. Its not worth your hedgehog's safety and its not fair to put him in danger just because you don't want to clean the wheel.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Flamepool said:


> I swear its a storm wheel. I clicked on the link on the top of this site and bought it there. If you look close at the pictures they provide, there are ridges


I make the Carolina Storm wheels, they do not have any ridges. You must have me confused with the Comfort Wheel. Does your wheel look like this?


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I do spot clean his cage. If I see poops or the newspaper in his potty area is damp, I take it out. I do have the flukers lamp, and it is on top of his cage, but the way everything is set up, makes it difficult to move around. The cage is also pretty wide and it is hard for one person to screw the wheel back onto the cage. I usually take baby wipes and scrub really hard to get the poop off. I will try to get a picture of his cage setup.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

The lamp is attached to an extension cord. His igloo and wheel are pink because we we expecting to get a girl :lol:
Edit: The bright lighting isnt permanent. His red uv light died out yesterday and we are using a spare light to keep him warm.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

It isnt a comfort wheel, but it does look like that... I'm pretty sure the name started with Carolina something wheel... well its not really a bigg deal


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

That is not a Storm wheel, that is a Silent Spinner, and actually one of the worse wheels for a hedgehog. It can be made ok for them with modifications, but as is from the store, they are unsafe and cause harm to your hedgehog. If that said Storm Wheel on it when you got it, you were GIPPED, and if I was you I would find your original invoice and call them up. That is nothing like a Storm Wheel.


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

This is the correct website to go to. http://www.carolinastormhedgehogs.com/storm-bucket-wheel.html


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You should be using a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) not a bulb that gives off any light, not even red light. Hedgehogs need complete darkness at night and a red bulb can disturb their nocturnal cycle. You can modify that cage so that the whole front opens. Just open the wire where it wraps around the side sections at the top and bottom on both ends of the front then use dog clips to hold it together. I had a few of those cages when breeding and that's what I did with them. If my explenation doesn't make sense then send Nancy a message and she has pictures showing how to do it.

As already said that is a Silent Spinner wheel and they are dangerous for hedgehogs.

Newspaper is a horrible bedding and that is probably why your cage smells so bad. You should be using a proper bedding make for small animals or fleece liners.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

The newspaper isnt bedding. I use aspen bedding for him, I just place the newspaper under the wheel and his food and water bowls so it can be easier to clean the mess. Also, how is the silent spinner dangerous?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It has small cracks in the running surface which can catch hedgehog nails & toes. Go look at the Silent Spinner topic in the Product Reviews section. There's a picture of a Silent Spinner covered in bloody from a hedgehog who had a couple nails ripped off by the wheel. I believe one or two people also had the wheel fall apart on them - the nut came loose from the middle & the colored & white sections fell apart. It would be a really, really good idea for you to get a new, safer wheel for your hedgie. If you get one of Larry's wheels, you'll have a lot fewer issues cleaning.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

He seems to do fine on it, but I will see what I can do. My mom isn't going to be too happy when she hears this though. She spent at least 25$ on this wheel and we don't have much money to be spending on a wheel... I actually have had the nob pop off twice and scare my poor baby into peeing on himself. I tightened it really well now, but I don't want him getting his nails ripped out either... I just wish the wheels weren't so expensive.


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

I know this may seem a bit harsh, but if you would have trouble paying $25 for a wheel, which is really not that much for an accessory for a hedgehog, you'll have a heck of a lot more issue paying $200-$500 for an emergency vet bill if your hedgie breaks it's leg because the Silent Spinner split at the seam and trapped it's foot. Which has happened before with those wheels.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I understand, I said I would try


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)

You can always make your own wheel to save some money. There are tutorials on this within this forum. In regards to cleaning a cage mounted wheel, I do this quite easily with my two mounted bucket wheels. You need a scrub brush, a spray bottle with your cleaning solution, 2 cups filled with hot water and a tub that you can fit under the wheel. Place the tub under the wheel and spray down your wheel. Scrub it as best as you can and rinse with the warm water. Your tub will collect the runoff from the wheel. After rinsing, scrub of the remaining poo, rinse again and dry. Carefully remove your tub and empty out the water. I clean two wheels this way in under 7 minutes. But I have a road race bucket wheel and a Carolina storm bucket wheel (the Carolina storm is better, btw) it may take longer to clean a comfort wheel or spinner. Whether you decide to switch out your hedgies wheel or not is ultimately up to you, just know that a lot of the problems you are having are from using the spinner. Use at your own risk! Just know the 25$ for a wheel that will save you cleaning time and vet bills should your hedgie get injured is well worth the small investment.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

There have also been hedges killed when the knob came off and the wheel fell on them. Maybe show your mom the pictures of the wheel covered in blood from when other hedges got hurt.


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

I cant seem to find the bad reviews. Can you please send me a link? My mom said that when she gets more money she will try to buy a carolina storm wheel.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/34-wheels/13467-silent-spinner.html

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/10-general-questions/92482-silent-spinner-wheel.html


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