# not being nice



## hmarcondes (Aug 17, 2009)

i got my hedgehog about 6 months ago and he doent like me that much.
he has a cage a hiding place enough food and fresh water almost everyday and lots of toys.
but he just will not let me get him but wen i get him he opens up after a few seconds but if i walk neer him he will roll into a boll and then open up after. he goes out every day and sometimes stays 3houres out side. when i get him in my hand he poops in my hand. i give him bath every 2 week and play with him a lot. but he just dont let me get him sometimes. somebody could help me please :|


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

*Re: little quill ball*

Glad he has food, water, and a hiding place. Does he have a wheel too? Hedgies do well when they can run, run, run!

I'm also glad that you play with him a lot. How do you play with him? Many hedgies like it quiet with dim lighting. Some will run all over; others hide; others snuggle up on you and fall asleep. What is yours like during playtime?

Hedgies are different sorts of creatures than most... They need very patient people. And, even then, they can still be huffy little quill balls. Many hedgies will huff and puff up when you go to pick them up... that's pretty normal and okay if he does that. It's a good sign that he does open up after a few seconds. It's kind of like they're thinking: "Ahh!" *panic* "What is that!??" *turn into scared, spikey ball and huff* "Oh, wait, that's my human" *stop panicking* "it's safe" *relax quills*

As for the pooping... there are a couple things you could try. You could watch for when his tail goes up (the sign of a poop about to pop out) and either set him down in a litter box (could be something as simple as an upside-down frisbee with a paper towel inside) or hold him so the pooping end is away from you and hovering over the litter box. That way, he'll poop there instead of on you... usually... I still get my share of poop at times. Baby wipes help a lot. The wheel is also good for pooping... if hedgie has just pooped all over his wheel, it's more likely that he's "empty" so he might be poop-free for awhile.

Mostly, the way I'm reading things, is not that he's "not being nice." Instead, I think he's a bit shy/scared/anxious like most hedgies. Figuring out what works for him to feel more relaxed... you know, meet him at his level... (and maybe add a bit of potty training) is where I'd start.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

hmarcondes said:


> he has a cage a hiding place enough food and fresh water almost everyday


almost everyday? he should have fresh food and water daily, no exceptions or excuses.



hmarcondes said:


> but he just will not let me get him but wen i get him he opens up after a few seconds but if i walk neer him he will roll into a boll and then open up after.


I assume that you mean pick him up when you say get him. What kind of bedding does he have. If he is on fleece liners give him a fleece hedgie bag or a folded liner as a hiding spot and then you can just scoop him up in his hiding spot. He sounds like he is being a normal hedgehog to me. Some will always hiss when you come up to them and some will eventually stop but it could take up to a year (or longer) before he is completely socialized/bonded to you.



hmarcondes said:


> he goes out every day and sometimes stays 3houres out side. when i get him in my hand he poops in my hand. i give him bath every 2 week and play with him a lot. but he just dont let me get him sometimes. somebody could help me please :|


When you say that he goes out every day do you mean outside the house like in a yard or park or just outside his cage. Make sure that it is warm enough outside for him. Usually it's not warm enough at night and during the day they are sleepy so may not want to play. Also You have to be watching him very closely when he goes outside. If he is just outside his cage make sure he is in a hedgie safe room or playpen. Keep interacting with him everyday and don't worry if he hisses a little bit that's completely normal.

Read this viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13 it's a post about what to expect of your hedgehog.


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## hmarcondes (Aug 17, 2009)

thanks for the help but where i live there is no
wheel for hedgehog. when he goes out to the garden i
keep waching him all the time and he likes to go into dark
places and he will almost all the time sleep. the reson that i
dont give him frash water every day but almost every day is because
am busy a lotat day and night. when i go take him out of the cage we 
almost all the time go in the garden so thats were i let him poop is kind of his litter box.
i dont know how to make a fleece hedgie bag.thank you all again for the help and for telling me that my hedgehog is just fine.


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## thelostsock (May 27, 2009)

Have you thought of ordering him a wheel off of the internet? Hedgies run many kilometres every night so just being outside for a few hours will not provide the exercise he needs, especally when you say that he spends most of his time outside sleeping. Hedgehogs need to run every day to stay healthy.

I do not think that it is fair to your hedgehog that you are too busy to provide him with fresh water every day, if not twice a day. A pet is like a member of your family. I do not think you would like it if your parents only provided you with fresh drinks only every other day. Fresh water needs to be provided at least every day to keep him healthy.

Also, I hope you "allow" him to poop as he needs to and not just outside. Once again, it is not fair to your pet to make him hold in his urine and poop all day except for when you take him outside. 

Please get a wheel for your hedgehog and provide fresh water for him every day. If you are too busy to do either of those things you hedgehog will not be "just fine"


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

thelostsock thank you for saying what everyone was thinking. However I can't imagine how someone would make their hedgehog hold in his poop and pee. 

hmarcondes, I agree that the garden is not enough exercise. Also there are lots of threads on here about making wheels and fleece liners so saying that you don't know how is not really an excuse. Water is a necessity to life. You need to provide it daily or have someone else do it on the days when you can't. If you cannot provide this most basic need than you should not have a pet.


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

If you don't have time to provide your hedgehog with fresh water daily (even though it takes like, 5 seconds total to dump out old water, rinse, and fill with fresh), then you should not have a pet. Period. 

Your hedgehog probably doesn't "like" you because you are not spending enough time with him. Letting him free roam in a garden is not comparable to actually handling him, snuggling him, allowing him to play in a safe enclosed area indoors, etc. Those of us with tame, happy hedgehogs spend hours of snuggling, stroking, talking, even singing, to get them to accept us. He probably poops on you because he only knows your hand as the thing that deposits him out in the garden and brings him back in again.

I second getting a wheel. If you don't know how to make that or a little bag for him to sleep on, you can always order one off the internet.


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## hmarcondes (Aug 17, 2009)

i quited my job today for my hedgehog.
now everyday a can at least give him water each 1h. 
i never made my hedgehog hold its poop am
just saying that how han a make him stop 
pooping in my hand!!!!!!!!!!play with him more 
getting a wheel for him and allrady order it and its getting here 
as soon as it gets to argentina.


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## thelostsock (May 27, 2009)

Perhaps you need to rethink your priorities. Hedgies are expensive, you will need the money from the job to care for yourself and your pet. Quitting your job is quite drastic.

Fresh water in the morning and in the evening is all that is needed, not every hour as most hedgies sleep all day because they are nocturnal.

I am happy to hear that you have a wheel. Your hedgie will be so happy.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

There is no need to change the water every hour. Many people manage jobs and school, while still being able to care for their hedgie. Just provide fresh water in the morning before you leave for work, then change it again later before your hedgie gets up for the night.

As for the pooping, hedgehogs usually go potty within 5 minutes of waking up. You can wake him up and take his hidey spot out of the cage and let him walk around for a few minutes to go to the bathroom before you take him out. You can also watch for the tail to raise. It's nothing personal to get pooped on; they're not trying to tell you they hate you by pooping on you or anything like that. However, if you put him back in the cage immediately after getting pooped on, he may recognize that behavior as getting him his way and he may be more inclined to intentionally do it if that's what you've been doing.

Be careful when allowing him outside. Check for other animals' feces and holes in the area before you even consider it. Hedgehogs are fast and they can duck down a hole in no-time. Also keep an eye out for predators, like birds or neighbors' dogs. You said he likes to go into dark places and sleep, so be careful that he doesn't get behind something where he might get stuck.

Overall it sounds like normal behavior. When you go to pick him up, he doesn't have your scent yet so for all he knows you're going to eat him--because of that, he balls up. Once he knows its you he seems to unroll and act normally. Startling him can cause him to ball up again, and that can happen at almost anything for some hedgies so what you described all sounds pretty normal. 

I would recommend spending more time with him indoors. I don't think the garden is really necessary, as there are too many things that can go wrong outside.


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## hmarcondes (Aug 17, 2009)

when i get him out 
of the cage he allways
poops on me but i never put him
back i just let him walk a while inside
then wan he stops pooping i usually play 
with him but he sometimes got to esplore 
stuff like in the soe room and goes inside one of
them.today i just played with him inside because 
out side was to cold for him and it was also raining.
today was a praty good day and his wheels are getting here
in a few days from us. i also putted the toillet paper roll so he can go tubing.


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