# sudden decrease in wheel use and new habit of liner diving.



## tuminello (Apr 1, 2015)

so in the last few nights my little over 2 month old hedgie has suddenly stopped using her wheel and seems to be spending all her time underneath her liner. I have increased her heat now she is between 75 and 78 when before she seemed content between 73 and 75. she is so addicted to being under the liner that when when I had woken up early this am back under her igloo she had returned to being under her liner when I woke up.. I am unsure what has sparked this sudden behavior she has still been eating and drinking normally. any ideas on what could have caused this switch? I know liner diving is impossible to stop but she seems to be spending almost all her time in the cage under the liners. I am most concerned about the wheel use since she usually spends all her time on the wheel after I am in bed.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Liner diving in and of itself is more annoyance than actual problem. How do you know for sure she's not running on her wheel? Lack of poop on the wheel is not a surefire way to tell.


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## tuminello (Apr 1, 2015)

well I usually wake up at some point in the night and here her running but have not heard her and yes her wheel being spotless has me wondering. Usually it is so covered that you can hardly tell from the inside that it is supposed to be pink, which I know is just part of being a hedgie mom so no complaints there. the wheel is a Carolina storm bucket wheel and she seemed to love it from the beginning. she also seems to be a little more sleepy when I take her out for bonding, do hedgies get sleepy when the go through growth spurts? the sleepiness is also why i increased her cage temp.

Also since I know it will probably come up as a question, she is on a 12 hours light schedule as well.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Babies sleep a lot. That's what they do. I would make sure there are no external reasons she's running less. Make sure the wheel is spinning freely, make sure the angle of the wheel does not need to be adjusted, make sure her nails are neatly trimmed. Check for injuries (especially to the feet and legs). If all seems good and she's still not running, a vet visit may be in order. Hedgies hide injury and illness well so there could be something you're not able to see.


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## afireinsidex03 (Sep 6, 2014)

Is she possibly liner diving to beat the heat? is the floor of her cage cooler? Is she in an A/C room? (so many questions)


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## tuminello (Apr 1, 2015)

there is ac in the room, but she started the liner diving before I turned up the heat. the diving and extra sleepiness is what made me decide to turn up the heat, I was wondering if she was getting close to trying to hibernate. my roommate and I trimmed her nails tonight because I was unsuccessful last night by myself so we will see if that helps at all. she at least stepped on the wheel last night so we are getting better. 

I know she is supposed to sleep a large amount of time she just seemed to be sleeping more than normal the last few days, but today she seems to be much more awake. so what ever was going on seems to be turning around.


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