# My hedgehog doesn't like me



## Alexislanae (May 30, 2017)

So I had my hedgehog for about a month now and I got him from a pet store. I would think by now he would be a little used to me but no he curls in a ball every time I even go next to him. I try to bond with him every day but nothing seems to work, any advice?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

It can take many months, even a year or more, for a hedgehog to learn to trust you. Pet store hedgehogs aren't well socialized as babies and have also gone through the stress of people poking at them, trying to pick them up etc. You need to have patience with him and just keep holding him for at least 30 minutes a day and he will learn that you aren't going to hurt him. Some hedgehogs will always ball up when you first go to pick them up but they will eventually unball and start to socialize.


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## blueoceania (May 26, 2017)

You need to give her a LOT longer than a month to get comfortable with you. Some hedgies will be pretty confident from the get go, some can take up to a year, and then there's every hedgie in between. Both of my hedgies took about 4 weeks before they really opened up. My second hedgehog was born from her mother that I own, so she was born into my smell (Momma hedgie made a nest in my sweatshirt that I placed in her tank) and she still wouldn't stop raising her quills at me for some time. Some hedgehogs will always ball up when you first try to interact with it. Be patient with your spikey baby. A good way to earn your hedgies trust is mealworms. They love the hand that feeds them. But even that method may take time. Just be patient and don't be discouraged by raised quills or balling up. Even the happiest hedgie may do that. They can still be scared by noises or new smells even if they're comfortable with their human. So be patient, and try mealworms to let her know you're here to love and feed her. Just don't overfeed, mealworms are pretty fatty.


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