# Hedgie acting eratic after a bath. :(



## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

Hey again.

This is my second post to this forum, so for those that are unfamiliar- I just got a hedgie that I believe is 1 year old give or take a few months. I got him from a shelter a week ago after studying this forum and various other resources on hedgehogs for months. His name is Doctor Panini, and he's usually huffy and a little agitated when we spend time together, but tonight he really scared me. 

I had given him a bath the first night he was here because he really smelled bad and he had poop shoes. We just let him run around in the water for a few minutes because the lady at the shelter said that was best for his sensitive skin. I had heard that aveeno oatmeal baths were an option, but I decided to go with this first- you know, baby steps.  Fast forward to tonight- I filled the basin with warm water (NOT hot- just warm!) put the oatmeal bath in and made sure it was mixed really well before gently putting him in. He sat there for a second, then he pooped, then he did the "I want out" dance. I was cupping the water and letting it run down his back a few times, careful to avoid his face. Everything went well.

When I picked him up and wrapped him in a towel, he IMMEDIATELY started huffing and puffing as I was gently patting his quills trying to soak up the water. Then he started getting scary... he kept balling up, so I turned him on his back, and looked at him- He was shaking his head around eratically, visor down, biting franticly at me. He made this whiny noise a few times and I started to get kind of scared. I wrapped him up a bit more, thinking he was cold, and held him to my body to give him extra warmth- He jumped and hissed SO much. I held him regardless, not moving, and he started to stay still. I held him for about 10 minutes, motionless, just trying to get him to calm down before he poked his head out and took a HUGE snap at my hand. I moved it quickly, and he started biting franticly again. 

He has NEVER done that to me! He huffs and puffs when I pick him up to get him out of the cage, but he always calms down within 5 minutes of sitting in his cuddle bag... What is going on? Was it the oatmeal bath? I thought that was suppose to calm them down??


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## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

Thought I should add:

It's 4 am, and he's been running for two solid hours. When I got up to make sure everything was ok, his cage was messed up- he had tossed his litterbox around and flipped his mealworm bowl. He would also get off his wheel and zoom around his cage almost confused-like before getting on his wheel again. 

He uses his wheel but not this much at a time. :/ Do you think the two incidents are linked? 

PS- Larry, I will most definitely be buying a wheel from you soon... This comfort wheel is SO loud. @[email protected]


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

DunpealChild said:


> Thought I should add:
> 
> It's 4 am, and he's been running for two solid hours. When I got up to make sure everything was ok, his cage was messed up- he had tossed his litterbox around and flipped his mealworm bowl. He would also get off his wheel and zoom around his cage almost confused-like before getting on his wheel again.
> 
> ...


The running around jumping on and off the wheel is something most all hogs do, would not worry much about that.  Was the oatmeal bath scented? Smells can make a hedgie act strange. Also the water could have been to hot or he just hates baths like all my hogs. :lol:


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## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

The water wasn't hot at all- it was tepid- I can assure you. And no, the oatmeal bath is unscented. I understand that hedgies do the wheel thing all the time, but he did it so much that, to my horror this morning, his back paws are bleeding.  Should I take out the wheel for a few days? How does that work? Doesn't that hurt him? And if so, wouldn't they know when to stop?


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

DunpealChild said:


> The water wasn't hot at all- it was tepid- I can assure you. And no, the oatmeal bath is unscented. I understand that hedgies do the wheel thing all the time, but he did it so much that, to my horror this morning, his back paws are bleeding.  Should I take out the wheel for a few days? How does that work? Doesn't that hurt him? And if so, wouldn't they know when to stop?


They often run their paws bloody as long as it wasn't because of their nails stabbing him its fine


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## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> They often run their paws bloody as long as it wasn't because of their nails stabbing him its fine


What do I do about his feeties?  If he's tramping through his poo, wouldn't that infect them? If I got a bucket-wheel, would that take care of his bloody paws? The comfort wheel I have now has ridges in it and I'm thinking that's a reason why it's hurting him.


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

My little guy had a problem with bloody paws even with a bucket wheel. His previous owner had never given him a wheel, so I think he just wasn't used to running on one and went a little bit overboard the first few nights he had his. I was concerned about his poopy feet getting infected too, so I gave him a foot bath every day for about a week and Nancy recommended putting polysporin (NOT the kind with the pain reliever because that is toxic to hedgies) on them. After a few days I wasn't waking up to tiny little specks of blood anymore. 

I know you probably didn't want to hear that the solution to the bloody paw problem is more baths, but it really doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. Some hedgies just really hate bath time. Felix absolutely panicked the first couple of times I put him in the tub (and he was REALLY ticked off last week when he was getting baths daily to keep his feet clean), but he seems to have gotten somewhat used to it. I started giving him baths, then sitting with him for about an hour and feeding him some sort of treat. I think he associates baths with treats now, so he's gotten much better with them.


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## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

lehaley said:


> My little guy had a problem with bloody paws even with a bucket wheel. His previous owner had never given him a wheel, so I think he just wasn't used to running on one and went a little bit overboard the first few nights he had his. I was concerned about his poopy feet getting infected too, so I gave him a foot bath every day for about a week and Nancy recommended putting polysporin (NOT the kind with the pain reliever because that is toxic to hedgies) on them. After a few days I wasn't waking up to tiny little specks of blood anymore.
> 
> I know you probably didn't want to hear that the solution to the bloody paw problem is more baths, but it really doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. Some hedgies just really hate bath time. Felix absolutely panicked the first couple of times I put him in the tub (and he was REALLY ticked off last week when he was getting baths daily to keep his feet clean), but he seems to have gotten somewhat used to it. I started giving him baths, then sitting with him for about an hour and feeding him some sort of treat. I think he associates baths with treats now, so he's gotten much better with them.


 Ohh nooo! More baths! lol Well, anything to keep his feet from being infected.  The thing is that when I first gave him a bath, he was cuddly and quiet. He wasn't so angry and snappy. It was such a scary sight.  I'll try the treat treatment after though.. Maybe that'll give him something to look forward to.

Should I remove his wheel for now so he doesn't overdo it until his paws are better?


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

DunpealChild said:


> lehaley said:
> 
> 
> > My little guy had a problem with bloody paws even with a bucket wheel. His previous owner had never given him a wheel, so I think he just wasn't used to running on one and went a little bit overboard the first few nights he had his. I was concerned about his poopy feet getting infected too, so I gave him a foot bath every day for about a week and Nancy recommended putting polysporin (NOT the kind with the pain reliever because that is toxic to hedgies) on them. After a few days I wasn't waking up to tiny little specks of blood anymore.
> ...


Hedgie feet heal quick it shouldn't be a problem that will probably just upset him more because you changed the cage and removed his favorite activity try just a foot bath you don't need a full bath for feet


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Another option to a foot bath is to let him walk around on a wet washcloth. Sometimes it's a better option than a daily bath.

Hope the little feeties are better.  

ML


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## DunpealChild (Sep 8, 2011)

Foot bath sounds better.  Thanks everyone!

Although- has anyone else had any experience with an eratic hedgie before? I'm kind of scared to pick him up now.  I don't want hedgie fangs in my hand... I just don't know what could have caused him to go so ape. And it was the subtle whining that scared me more than anything- biting at me and being overly hissy I could handle, but I thought they only whine when they're in pain?


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

Felix was ok with me leaving the wheel in. I think he just needed to realize there's a happy medium between running so much he bleeds and not running at all. :lol: 

I really like the washcloth idea, though. I might give that a try.

Maybe his feet were sore and the soap irritated them? If using the soap was the only thing you did differently this time, maybe you should hold off on using it again.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

That must have been very scary for you. To me it sounds like he was just very scared from the bath because all of the steps you said for giving him one sounded right. I've seen the wheel behavior. Sandra used to do it more when she was little but when I'd do something like full cage clean or put her back after she was dried from a bath she'd run laps, jump on the wheel for a few seconds, run super fast, jump off repeat. I always figured it was a form of stress release since the smells in the cage were altered. The washcloth trick that someone said earlier is a really good one and I use it a lot too. Lets their little feet get cleaned up nicely, I do it mostly now because Sandra's skin would be so dry if I gave her a bath as often as she messed them up lol 

If you're afraid she might try to bite you when you get her out next you can try picking her up with one of her fleece blankets and keep your hands behind her head if you can. Hopefully the fleece will give you a little buffer til you're more comfortable that she won't try it. Sounds like you did everything right before so don't get too discouraged


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

Norman's brain tends to short-circuit when he has a bath (he *really* hates water). He goes from being a calm, even-tempered hedgie to an eratic nut in the blink of an eye. He'll jump at every movement, huff at anything he pleases, twitch to look around instead of just calmly looking around, and be generally unpleasant, jumpy, and freaks out if you so much as place a finger near him (and goes bonkers if you actually touch him). It's incredibly funny to watch as it's so out-of-character for him. I just give him a few meal worms, wrap him up in his hoodie, and let him snuggle in my lap for a few hours which tends to calm him back down a bit. He's still a little jittery after that and doesn't go back to normal until the next morning when everything is forgotten.


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