# My hedgehog won't stop biting, huffing, and hiding!



## KristinaJoy (Nov 16, 2014)

Hi everyone!

I am finally posting something on this forum after admitting to myself that my hedgehog may not be just grumpy from quilling. My boyfriend and I got our male hedgie Caesar from a reputable breeder; we have had him for about 2 and a half months. He is 14 weeks old as of today.

Since the day we got Caesar, he has been a biter. He bites us every time we handle him, and it is not the friendly, "I like how you taste," type of bite, but rather one that draws blood - he grips and refuses to let go. We have tried some of the techniques we have read about, such as blowing on his face or making a loud noise, but these both seem to make him more stressed. Every time I hold him, I have to have him curled up in a ball to even interact with him. I rub his nose and side of his ear which he seems to appreciate (as he does what we all know boy hedgehogs do right in my hand), but any time I hold him flat on my hand he grips and bites right on. Now, he bites himself to the point of self-mutilating every time I have him curled up in a ball. I believe this is his way of trying to avoid me handling him, yet I do not want to reward this behavior by putting him back each time. 

I do understand that not all hedgehogs love human interaction, and have come to believe that Caesar just prefers to be alone. He huffs at my boyfriend and I when we attempt to pick him up. When I put my hand in his cage, he sometimes charges at it. Along with this, he never likes to be out in the open. We have him in a sterilite bin with fleece lining and bedding, and he burrows himself constantly. His temperature is kept at a constant 78-80degrees, but he still seems to always hide. We have given him mealworms (which he loves), used unscented soap to try to minimize the biting, and soaked him in Aveeno oatmeal baths for his quilling. Despite all of this, he really hasn't come around too much with us, and I'm starting to get worried that he will always be this way.

I'm sorry if this came off as an unorganized ramble, but as a first-time hedgehog owner, I want to make sure I'm doing all that I can to provide my hedgie with the best life possible. At this point, I could use any suggestions or ideas that you all may have. Thank you everyone, and I appreciate your time


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## Teddi4211 (Apr 30, 2014)

He sounds very scared to me. If it's not taste biting and you aren't putting him away as a reward he might be very scared. Blowing on his face won't help, and I would stop. It's a punishment, but hedgehogs aren't smart enough to connect the biting with the punishment, so it would make it seem like you are just frightening him for no reason. Noise can also startle them and make the scared, and like I said before he won't know why you are making those noises, just that you're scaring him.

Don't give up on bonding. I would recommend picking him up with a blanket and have him cuddle in the blanket as your bonding time. Hopefully, after a while, this will make him less fearful of you and he won't bite. Being a in a ball is a scary and vulnerable position, so I would advise you to not do that anymore. Pictures of content hedgehogs happily on their back is misleading. Only tame hedgehogs seem to be okay with their owners doing that. 

I wish you luck!


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## KristinaJoy (Nov 16, 2014)

Thank you for your quick response, Teddi!

I agree with you that we should no longer blow in Caesar's face or make loud noises when he bites. Thank you for clearing that up for me, as I never realized he was not able to form a connection between his biting and the punishment. 

When I bond with Caesar, he is the most affectionate when I have him in a ball. I always thought this was because he liked it, but now I realize this may be because he has no other option. I admit that I need to be more patient with him, though. I try to take him out in blankets and let him bond with me in that way, but when he stays still and continues to hide I attempt to move him. Based off of what you said, I think it would be a lot more beneficial to go with Caesar's pace, not mine. 

Thanks so much for your help!


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

My hedgehogs don't like being out in the open. Most don't. A bonding bag and a warm lap is what most like, at least mine do. Forcing him to be out in the open has probably slowed the bonding progress. In some ways, what you have is a pokey lap warmer. :lol: Don't take that the wrong way, I love my pokey lap warmers. I can tell you that with constant bonding and letting my little girl sleep in my lap for months, she has always been super friendly and is very curious when out. But this was months of bonding daily and letting her know that she wasn't going to get eaten. 

I also have two other hedgehogs, one I have had for 4 months, another for 3 months and they are both super grumpy. I bleed every time I hold Winter. He is just a jumpy hedgehog and likes to wrap himself around my fingers if I pick him up the wrong way. He does best in a bonding bag but sometimes (mostly when I have food) he will pop his little head out and sniff around. Those moments to me are the most rewarding. 

Good luck with Caesar.

Oh and it could totally be quilling still. Winter was way worse for a long while till he finally stopped quilling. He is a little easier to handle but those new quills are still very sharp.


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Are you taking him out in a bright noisy room? Most hedgies are more calm if it is quiet and dim, maybe only the light from a low lamp or TV.
Some like soft music some don't. Mine hates my Nintendo, so I can't play games unless I turn the sound off. :grin:

Try taking him out in a dark room and see if that quiets him. 
Also see if you can find the thread on "FLEECE TRAINING" for biting. Basically, you always keep a layer of fleece between hedgie and you, so if he bites, he'll bite the fleece.


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## Buttons (Dec 21, 2014)

I can see that you've received brilliant answers from some very respected ladies! I just wanted to chime in and say, I seem to have successfully taught my hedggie the meaning of ''No'' As mentioned above fleece is a great buffer because this type of bite is a fear response. I try to discourage any sort of agression with Buttons. I started by not giving him any live food. I put worms/insects in the freezer before he gets them. I found this to drastically lessen his ''kill'' response while still being able to offer the same nutrition. In addition, this may sound really pathetic as a correction of behavior, but strangely it's really worked for me. If he's showing signs of agression I apply one finger with gentle pressure on his back and ''say No no no'' It seriously worked in a very short time. I also took a lot of time observing him to understand why he was being aggressive. I discovered mine was a fear biter, but also bit out of frustration. I fugure if it worked on a half blind rescue hedggie living in his third home in 11 months due to drawing blood, It might be worth trying even though they're all different . Good luck! ☺


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