# Strange Aggressiveness



## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

In the past few days Phinneus has been very aggressive. It all started when his wheel got left out of his cage by accident one night, and so I attributed the behavior to pent up energy. He has had his wheel since, but he still acts out most of the time. He huffs, puff, pops, and makes as if to bite. He doesn't want to be touched at all. Normally Phin is very sweet and will only ball up when I first reach in to get him, and then when he realizes it's me he opens up and allows petting a cuddling. He also has never bitten me or anyone else. Phin is now five months old. His routine of light, food, water, and cage setup are exactly the same except that his cage location has changed. However, the addressive behavior began before his cage moved. What could be causing this? Should I be worried? I want me sweet hedgepiggy back


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## DeniseLynette (Aug 12, 2010)

Well has he gone through all of his quililng?
Or maybe hes just cranky & is holding a grudge haha


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

From what I've read on here sometimes hedgehogs will suddenly be grumpy if they are in pain. 

Could he have a curled under toe nail? ingrown quill? Is he quilling? Any signs at all of illness or injury? 

Have you changed anything about yourself recently, different brand of soap, laundry detergent, dish soap, makeup, new food in the house that you didn't normally eat before? Anything that would make you smell different to him might cause a behaviour change. 

Ultimately if you can't find a cause for this behaviour and it continues you should see a vet.


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## Shelobe (Jul 22, 2010)

****tles has been acting like this as well the past few days, how can you tell if they have an ingrown quill? It's stressing me out hes acting like this.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I don't know if all ingrown quills will look like this but a lot of times you can see a white bump and sometimes it will have a speck in the middle which is the quill. Other times you can look to see a line of color under the skin with just a tiny portion sticking out. I have found a couple on my girl and the bump popped and the quill came out all by itself after she soaked in a little water during her bath.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

I have searched for a site of injury and found none. Some days Phinneus will be loving and cuddly...and others, like today, he literally jumps up in attempt to get at me. He is hyper-active and moves quickly. I am so distressed.


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## ryllisse (Aug 23, 2010)

EryBee said:


> I have searched for a site of injury and found none. Some days Phinneus will be loving and cuddly...and others, like today, he literally jumps up in attempt to get at me. He is hyper-active and moves quickly. I am so distressed.


EryBee, has Phinneus been feeling better? Any idea what caused his behavior? How long did his grudge last?

My Artie suddenly started acting like this after my whole family came to visit and held him. I know it was a very stressful situation... He's been anointing a lot since, too. How weird.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

Yes, Phin has gotten better! The conclusion that I came to was that he was very hungry and therefore crabby. I noticed that he would eat only certain pieces of kibble and leave the rest so that it looked like he had plenty of food, but really there wasn't any that he cared to eat. I think one of his bags of cat food had gone stale (the expiration date was rubbed off, so I couldn't check what it was). I bought him a fresh bag and made sure to give him extra mealies and now he is back to normal.


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