# New hedgehog- concerns



## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Hello,

I just got my baby hedgehog yesterday morning. His last owner held him a lot and said he was "friendly". Of course, I've had a short period of time but I was wondering what I should expect for the first week or so. I'm a little worried that he hasn't been drinking his water. I put food by his face and he ate it, which shows me he IS hungry but I think he's too scared to explore his cage and find the food. At night, he ran on his wheel which is great! He has a little dish with food and water and I heard him eating from the food dish at night, but I'm still not sure if he has drank any water.

I haven't held him yet. Every time I go near him he immediately starts puffing and if I get close enough, he tries to spike me. I don't know how much food he should be eating right now, but I'm worried he is not eating/drinking enough. I put a shirt with my scent in the cage and he's been sleeping on it, but he does not want to be picked up by me. Do you suggest I still put him in my lap so he can bond with me?


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## hedgehogsrule99 (Aug 7, 2011)

I think bonding with him in your lap is a great idea. As for picking him up, start with a towel. eventually he will be fine. Let him explore your lap, and sniff your hands. If you're worried he's not drinking, make sure you're not giving him tap water. Use bottled water. Tap water has strange scents and taste to hedgies. Hedgehogs aren't like hamsters where they drink alot. My hedgie, Dusty, only drinks about an inch a night. Try giving him mealworms for a little treat. You can buy them dead or alive- I suggest dead- only give him about 1 every night. Your hedgie will enjoy eating it from your hand, if you're not too grossed out. This is also a good way for your hedgie to develop trust.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

If he isn't eating and you think he's too scared to explore, put his food right by whatever he is sleeping under. 

We have had a large influx of new hedgie owners lately so I suggest looking around the forums to get some help with handling. I have personally posted several lengthy posts to other people about bonding and I don't really want to post again :lol:


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Here he is, on my lap. Hope he warms up to me eventually!


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## sweetergrrrl (May 5, 2009)

Congrats on the Grumpy-pants! Just give him time. I have had link almost 2 months and he is still getting used to me! LOL :lol:


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

hedgehogsrule99 said:


> I think bonding with him in your lap is a great idea. As for picking him up, start with a towel. eventually he will be fine. Let him explore your lap, and sniff your hands. If you're worried he's not drinking, make sure you're not giving him tap water. Use bottled water. Tap water has strange scents and taste to hedgies. Hedgehogs aren't like hamsters where they drink alot. My hedgie, Dusty, only drinks about an inch a night. Try giving him mealworms for a little treat. You can buy them dead or alive- I suggest dead- only give him about 1 every night. Your hedgie will enjoy eating it from your hand, if you're not too grossed out. This is also a good way for your hedgie to develop trust.


By dead, I'm assuming you mean freeze dried. Hedgehogs have trouble digesting these. I don't remember exactly why but it has to do with the exoskeleton. They are fine if you only feed them in moderation, one a night would be just fine, but live mealworms are still the best choice!  Anyways, hedgies generally prefer the live, wiggly ones :lol:

For water, you don't need to used bottled, but it should be filtered water. Filtered water from the fridge is just fine 

Some people have found hand-feeding a hedgehog can be a bad idea. Some will associate treats with fingers and will end up biting your fingers in search of treats :?

Did the last owner have him drinking from a bottle? If they did then you hedgie might not know how to get water from the bowl :shock: To tell if your hedgie is drinking, you can measure the water out the water you put in the bowl and in the morning dump the water back out into the measuring cup and see if it has decreased. If you hedgie had a bowl before and isn't drinking you can try putting a very very small amount of sugar in the water.

Hope this helps!


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Quilliam and I had a very succesful night last night! I waited for him to wake (around 9:30 pm) and then took him out to socialize. He was very curious, and didn't ball up at all and only make the "huffing" noise when I first got him out of the cage! He was even ok with me stroking his quills. He was wandering around the floor, and deliberately climbed into my outstretched hand a few times and used my body as a jungle gym  He is like day and night- literally. Don't wake him up during his beauty sleep or he'll be a little grumpy pants. At night, he is a sweetie pie that doesn't flinch when I pick him up. He even was eating, drinking, and wheeling heartily last night. All is well.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Adorable hedgehog... and the last picture...... SAYID!


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Hahah I was wondering if someone would notice that! Yep, I was watching lost  I just started season 3. Me and my boyfriend were joking that we should name him Mr. Eko or Desmond or other random lost names, haha.


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Some updates on my hedgehog-

He wakes up like clockwork every night around 9:05 pm. However, he never seems to stay awake very long. He eats, drinks, wheels for about 10 mins, then goes back to sleep. Weirdly enough, he seems to be most active around 3-5 am. Kinda stinks because I don't get to play with him very much.

I recently began integrating Chicken Soup cat food into his old food (purina kitten chow, what his breeder gave him). He loved it so much, he ignores the kitten chow and leaves it in his bowl! His poop has become bigger as a by-product, it seems. I'm surprised he took so easily to the new food, because he hasn't eaten ANYTHING I've offered to him mulitple times- carrot, broccoli, apple, unseasoned turkey (from thanksgiving). He actually balls up and huffs at the foreign thing.

Also, he is TERRIFIED of foot baths. I put a tiny 2cm puddle of warm water in the sink and he tries to escape the whole time. Interestingly enough, he poops the ENTIRE time he is in there non-stop, which pretty much defeats the purpose of the anti-poop bath. He poops when he is scared, so he must be ultra-scared. Any tips?


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

He is just precious! I love the updates and pictures you are posting!


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks! Here is a cute pic of him, I don't want to take too many pics right now because I don't want to scare him.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Welcome to HHC & congrats on Quilliam! He's adorable. 

Pooping in the bath is normal, albeit a little gross. :lol:


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## tinypixiexoxo (Sep 20, 2011)

He sounds a lot like how Izzie was after she came home a year ago. She to this day still rejects anything but her favorite cat food. I keep trying tho ^_^

Izzie also spends her entire foot baths and regular baths trying to get out. She hates them but she loves the snuggle time after a bath- see if this is a good time for you two to bond? In the warmth of a blanket?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

My hedgie Mildred makes foot baths as hard as possible, too. After several different attempts to make and keep her clean during a foot bath, I found one way that works.

I fill up a pitcher (the biggest one I have) with really warm, not hot, water. I put the drain in the sink, pour about 1/2 - 1 inch of water in the sink, then put her in the water. I use her toothbrush to scrub some poopies off her feet and when she poops/pees, I drain the water, pick out the poo with some paper towel, and pour more water from the pitcher into the sink. The sound of running water really freaks her out, but she handles slow pouring from the pitcher a lot better and it allows me to pick up her poos as she drops them. :lol: 

Quilliam is a doll  He has such beautiful coloring.


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## whispy1990 (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the tips! He hates the sound of running water too. I'll try your pitcher of water idea! He has been very grumpy lately. He his about 6 weeks old and I think this is a big quilling stage for him. He sleeps a ton and has been very shy for the past few days. I hope I can get him to cheer up, I'd love to take more pictures! I've been wondering what his coloring is, he seems to be mostly white, with black-banded quills on his forehead and a few grey/black banded quills here and there. He still has time to change in color though.


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