# Hedgehog poops everywhere



## HedgehogThe

I got Hedgehog almost two weeks ago. 
He was around 12 weeks old when I got him.

He is pooping everywhere - he poops all over the wheel and it smells really bad. Lately he is pooping in his bed (he has a little log hut with lots of blankets and sleeping bags for padding etc). He poops all over them and sleeps in the poop. I feel so bad for him sleeping in his poop but I also feel stressed myself. 

I have a vet appointment Friday and they specialise in hedgehogs. However... Could this be his food/am I feeding him too much? 

I feed him Iams cat food and give him a handful which he goes through within a night, then I refill his bowl with a handful in the morning. He doesn't seem to eat much during the day but he seems so small compared to the food; his stomach must be tiny. He is pooping so much though and it seems like a massacre. 

Will he grow out of pooping in his bed and sleeping there? 
I put puppy pads under his wheel and he poops a lot on the puppy pads as well as the wheel sometimes - his wheel/puppy pads and his bed are on opposite sides of his cage.

He poops endlessly. He poops on me and I'm worried he might associate pooping on me with me putting him down and keep doing it so he can get me to leave him alone. He just wants to sleep all the time and I try to get him to liven up between 6pm-9pm but he curls into a ball. I go go bed at 9pm-6am then I'm in work 8am-4pm, sometimes at the gym 4pm-6pm, so he has time alone to sleep and relax. 

I know he does run on his wheel because of all the poop smeared on there, but other than that when he's around me and my boyfriend he just wants to sleep constantly. Is this normal?

Also it is not a heat problem that's making Hedgehog sleep; we have a sticker thermometer, a dial thermometer, an electric thermometer and a heat controller (thermostat?) with a heat pad and cover, so the temperature is always right.


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## DesireeM81

He's still pretty young. Pooping and sleeping are normal.

All hedgehogs poop in their wheel. They poop on the run in the wild. When they are running they poop and don't associate the poop that they are running over with their own poop.

My little guy sometimes poops in his house and he sleeps in it. I have to wipe him down in the morning sometimes. It's horrible especially because he's albino and I see every little poop smear that's on him.

Some hedgehogs are poop machines. My little girl is just over twelve weeks and she stopped pooping on me pretty early on. But I've heard of hedgehogs that always poop on their owners.

If he does poop on you, don't put him back. Set him somewhere while you clean it up. I carry Winter in my hand while I clean up his poop. I use unscented baby wipes.

Iams is not the best food. I might try switching him. I know that dogs on low quality food tend to poop more. http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html Here is a good list of foods to try and switch him over too. Remember to take it slow and switch him over the span of three or four weeks.

Also hedgehogs are nocturnal and won't be up when you are up. If I want to see my little girl active I have to stay up till midnight or get up super early. She likes an early morning run. All she does is sleep on me. I love it. I put her in a fleece blanket, cover her up and we cuddle together. She will not sleep outside of the covers.

Hope that helps.


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## HedgehogThe

DesireeM81 said:


> He's still pretty young. Pooping and sleeping are normal.
> 
> All hedgehogs poop in their wheel. They poop on the run in the wild. When they are running they poop and don't associate the poop that they are running over with their own poop.
> 
> My little guy sometimes poops in his house and he sleeps in it. I have to wipe him down in the morning sometimes. It's horrible especially because he's albino and I see every little poop smear that's on him.
> 
> Some hedgehogs are poop machines. My little girl is just over twelve weeks and she stopped pooping on me pretty early on. But I've heard of hedgehogs that always poop on their owners.
> 
> If he does poop on you, don't put him back. Set him somewhere while you clean it up. I carry Winter in my hand while I clean up his poop. I use unscented baby wipes.
> 
> Iams is not the best food. I might try switching him. I know that dogs on low quality food tend to poop more. http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html Here is a good list of foods to try and switch him over too. Remember to take it slow and switch him over the span of three or four weeks.
> 
> Also hedgehogs are nocturnal and won't be up when you are up. If I want to see my little girl active I have to stay up till midnight or get up super early. She likes an early morning run. All she does is sleep on me. I love it. I put her in a fleece blanket, cover her up and we cuddle together. She will not sleep outside of the covers.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Thanks, I assumed Iams was the right one as my Yorkie dog did well on Iams for dogs but I guess I'm feeding a completely different animal now.

Also, we have caught Hedgehog running on his wheel, but he just stops and will not move. I caught him once (my boyfriend had a few times), but he just stood with one leg hanging off his wheel, not moving a muscle, for 10 minutes. He came from a breeder who was quite loud and chaotic, and said he was used to kids and cats and dogs. I am wondering if this has made him more scared rather than made him brave. The breeder held one of the hedgehogs while he was scared and was rustling his spines with her hands and waving him around shouting "see he will get used to you". Didn't seem normal to me.

Is it not bad to clean them too much? I was ideally going to let Hedgehog paddle in the bath when he had rolled in his poop as it's quite difficult to get off, but read too much water will dry out their skin. I am unsure how else to wipe his feet as I've read they are easily breakable and don't want to apply pressure to them.


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## DesireeM81

That is intense behavior for the breeder. :-?

A full bath too often will cause dry skin but a foot bath every other day with just a little bit of water to cover their feet is fine. Just wiping off their quills is also fine. Their feet are not quite so breakable. Eventually you will have to clip his nails and you are going to have to hold his paw still. Hold his paw gently but firmly. Wiping poop off shouldn't be to hard but it is easier in a foot bath. 

Most hedgehogs do not like to be watched while wheeling. Some will stop and freeze like mentioned, other will dart off the wheel into their hidey spot. He's just shy about his wheeling.

My dogs are on Purina and in the same way, it's not the best food for hedgehogs.


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## Shainahmac

Benny does the exact same thing with his wheel! If I turn on the light or go to look at him he immediately freezes on the wheel, it's like he's self conscious about me watching him run or something.  It's normal.

And he will get used to you with time and handling. He might be huffy at first, but you need to just ignore it and keep working with him and he'll realize that being a huffy arse isn't going to get him anywhere, and you're sticking around so he may as well like you! When Benny gets super huffy at me over something, I just insist on stroking him some more and handling him until he gets over his "Who dare disturb my slumberrrrrrr" (Think Aladdin!!  ) moment and chills out with me.

ALSO. The sleeping on you thing, 100% normal. If you wanted to try and have him more active, I'd say play later in the night. You might be able to urge a little fun out with a playpen and a lack of a blanket to hide in, but I think it's just better to do what they want and snuggle!

LASTLY. The poop boots. Benny gets to walk around in (his) ankle high warm water every other night at least to wash his poopy feet. I rub them a little with my fingers, as well as a toothbrush, and sometimes I need to use my nails to get particularly stubborn chunks from under his nails (gross, I know. haha). No soap needed! His quills don't get wet, and usually even his belly stays dry unless he tries to lay down! I'm not sure how often it would be okay to wash his back without drying his skin because of the poop issue, but id say if you could wipe most off with a wet cloth maybe and a bath bi-weekly it might help the issue a bit?


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## MomLady

You can give a quick foot bath, just a little bit of water in the sink or even just a wet washcloth in the sink.
I just get a washcloth wet and sudsy with baby oatmeal Aveeno and let her walk on it, that will usually clean the feet and underside.
I only do a full bath several times a year. 

Nara is 4 years old and if I come in when she's running on her wheel, she will stop. Sometimes the wheel will swing back and forth. 

Your hedgie may be extra sensitive to noise and may or may not get used to it. Some hedgies startle if you are holding them and you reach up to scratch your head. 

Right now, he's getting used to you and you are learning what he's like--you just kind of have to go with whatever they like. 

Enjoy your new baby!


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## HedgehogThe

Thanks for the advice.
It's quite cute when he freezes on his wheel... makes me want to cuddle and squeeze him in the moment but he would definitely spike me haha. I'm glad the foot bath is doable too and we do have a soft bristled toothbrush for him which I'm hoping will help. 

I have tried giving him a bath in the sink and he tried to jump out and off the sink - I actually cried afterwards just thinking of the panic I was in, worrying he would fall to the floor.  thankfully he was ok!  

I won't chance the sink again and usually put him in a shallow bath. 

He also has a playpen but he has taken to curling up in a ball and sleeping while in the play pen. Staying up late isn't really possible for me due to a busy schedule in work but my boyfriend has insomnia and when he's awake at night, Hedgehog sleeps (or pretends to sleep) until he goes out of the room. He's a sneaky little thing haha. 

I'll just try to be consistent and patient with him and hope he comes out of his shell (or ball even).


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## AlexLovesOlive

I wipe down olive with these special small animal and dog wipes when she gets poopy feet or when poop/pee rains down on her so I have to wipe her off, sometimes olive will be sleepy and sometimes she will want to play with me. Since I usually keep her out for an hour or more she will sleep and then eventually wake up and explore, but she is an adult. Also, just make sure his light/sound schedule is good and the same everyday, it will make your hedgie happier and more comfortable around you, making you happier


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## vulpine

Oh man, having a baby hoglet as well, I know how it feels to be pooped on. :lol: She's still does it since she's young, but she's gotten better.

When I want to play with her, I wake her up first and leave her for five minutes, normally by moving her hutch slightly. This lets your hedgehog do its business in the cage and not on you, also lets them wake up and not be super grouchy.

I didn't have the issue of her pooping where she sleeps, in fact, that's how I trained her not to do it on me. The first few days I held her I placed her house on top of her when she was in my lap. I guess now she associates cuddle time with safety and not a place to make a mess. If he grows out of making a mess in his log, then you can try to do this with him also.  It's a good way to bond and I think it's worked, since Lion hasn't pooped on me in almost a week - a new record haha.

Also, about the puppy pads, be sure that you use pads that don't buy some with pheromones or additives. Some brands put them in to encourage use by the puppies, and this may affect your hedgehog.

And oh my god, I felt the same way when I first gave my girl a bath and she jumped out! I'm definitely filling up the tub next time too.
Good luck and hope my rambling helped!


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## HedgehogThe

Thanks, ^ Hedgehog is in a room with a large glass door so we let he natural light shine in and allow it to go darker later in the day as usual. It is summer in the UK now but I am wondering if natural light might not be enough during winter months?

Also the food list recommended above was for the US and it mentions a UK list coming soon, but that was in 2013. Did a thread for this appear?

Did some research on Iams and stumbled across fatty liver disease. I was concerned hedgehog was growing quite fast but I'm unsure if it is normal. It looks as though he can still ball up tight though.


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## Melanie G.

I live in Canada, and in the winter it can get pretty dark early here. I just leave a light on in the room and it seems to work. The light doesn't have to shine directly in the cage, but as long as there is a source of light in the day you should be okay.


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## DesireeM81

Oh shoot, I didn't see your location. 

What you can do is look for a food that has meat as the first ingredient. It has to be a named meat, chicken, turkey, lamb, something like that. It can also be chicken meal, turkey meal. Meal's are almost better than just meat. Also look for a food that doesn't have a lot of fillers. Vegetables are good, but corn and wheat are things to avoid. Check the fat percentage lower than 15% is acceptable try to get as low as possible. Protein is between 30-35%. I know that some people who live across the pond have difficulties finding good food.

Hopefully someone from the UK can help you out.


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## gracefulchaos01

I work 7-4 and have to be in bed by 9 on weeknights so I have actually been trying a few different things to try to be able to associate more with my babes. 
1 the light in their office goes on when I get up in the morning around 530-6am. 
2 the light in their office goes off when I get home between 430-5. There is still natural light filtering in through the window but it provides almost an early twilight effect. 
I start pulling them out for cuddles and pen time between 6-630. The girls first because they are more light tolerant and easy going. Sebastian is snuggled next to me as I type, Gayle burrowed in the pen. Then the boys. All for 30 min a shot, give or take. 
By the time I'm done with the rounds it's food time for all 9 of my pets. Food. Water. Last check before bed. 
Hopefully you have more time to devote to cuddles than I do. On weekends they do get longer. 
The last boy out of my 5 is always Beauregard. He is most light sensitive and the most afraid of noises. It's pretty dim on his pen time. 
And...poop. yes. All my kids used to poop a ton. Now, at near 6 months they usually just poop on their wheels or their designated in cage poop spots. Or in the pen as they run the circumference to their little hearts content. Or 30 min. Whatever comes first.


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