# 8 week old keeps pooping in food dish!!!



## Louiedog (Jan 6, 2012)

My 8 week old cannot break the habit of pooping in her food dish and it's very irritating! She has been doing this since I first brought her home at 6 weeks old. I provided for her a litter pan underneath her Carolina storm but barely uses it. Will she grow out of this?

I have tried "seeding" her litter pan by placing her excrement in the litter pan so she would catch on but unfortunately hasn't. Will she grow out of this?!


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## ashleybgashley (Dec 29, 2011)

Try moving the food dish to a different part of the cage. It may just be that that's the area of the cage she has decided she wants to poop in, and she's stubbornly refusing to do her business elsewhere. It's worth a try! Some hedgehogs simply refuse to be litter trained, some take to it well, and other will randomly start using the litter box when they're older. Good luck with your little one!


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## JustOnePost (Dec 27, 2011)

Also keep in mind your hedgehog is still a baby with little to no bowel control.

How large is the bowl? if your hedgie is still small in size he/she may even be climbing right into the bowl and eating and releasing at the same time my one boy is a smaller hedgie and didn't grow much until around 13 weeks and early on even with his small bowl could fit his entire body in the small food bowl would eat, poop, and fall asleep in the bowl.


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## Louiedog (Jan 6, 2012)

I did try moving it. On the other hand, she is small enough to fit into her food dish and that is the exact problem. Maybe she just has to grow in size, thank you for the insight, it makes perfect sense.


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## reggiehedgie (Jan 18, 2012)

My male hedgie is a little over 2 months now and he is still pooping all over his wheel and sometimes in his food bowl too. I'm not sure if it's still an age issue or a sign i need to feed him less. Is there a way to prevent them from pooping all the time in the wheel while they run in it? His little paws are always so dirty and he's very temperamental so its hard to scrub it off in the sink during bath time. How do you start "potty training"? I'm so new at this.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

reggiehedgie said:


> My male hedgie is a little over 2 months now and he is still pooping all over his wheel and sometimes in his food bowl too. I'm not sure if it's still an age issue or a sign i need to feed him less. Is there a way to prevent them from pooping all the time in the wheel while they run in it? His little paws are always so dirty and he's very temperamental so its hard to scrub it off in the sink during bath time. How do you start "potty training"? I'm so new at this.


All hedgehogs poop and pee as they run. The very occasional few will stop and stick their butt over the edge to go in their litter tray, but that's few and far between. Poopy wheels and feet are really just a part of owning a hedgehog. As for litter training, a lot of them won't ever take to it fully, but the best way to catch the majority of it is to put a litter tray under the wheel to catch what comes off. If your hedgehog isn't cooperative about having his feet cleaned, you can try letting him walk around in a half-inch or so of water (in the sink or some sort of adequately sized tupperware container) to get them damp and loosen some of the poop crud, then dab it off with a paper towel. Babies pooping is definitely not an indication that they should be given less food.


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