# Hiding under Cage Liner



## karissa_jeanne (Jul 24, 2012)

I use fleece liners in Hubert's Cage and lately when he goes to sleep he has been going under his cage liners instead of in his sleep sac. He wakes me up in the morning when he is going to bed by scratching on the bottom of his cage. He never did this before but once he started having problems losing his quills (which has stopped) he started going under the liner. I keep a fleece blanket on half of his cage during the night so no air draft from my air conditioner goes in there. 

I'm not sure what to do to make him stay above the cage liner and not dig on the bottom of his cage... :?:


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

What kind of cage do you have?


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## karissa_jeanne (Jul 24, 2012)

It is the large super pet cage.


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

Maybe the fleece pouch is too hot and the liner is less hot because the floor is cool. You could maybe get him to stop liner diving by giving him a fleece blanket on top of his liner as opposed to a fleece pouch. Maybe he will burrow under the new blanket instead. Also, if he happens to like the cool surface of the floor, maybe you could put a cool tile under the blanket for him to lie on, but still feel safe and covered. I noticed that some owners give their hedgie a tile in their cages.

Just an idea.


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## karissa_jeanne (Jul 24, 2012)

Thanks I'll try that!


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## painball54 (Aug 2, 2012)

For Milo (my hedgehog) i have a heat disc that heats in the micro wave and a little house like the ones you can get at pets mart then have a few blankets in side during the summer and more during the winter. Also do you have wood shavings, paper, or pelets, cause that would make a difference. With Milo i have these 100% none treated pine pelets i think. Basicly pine pellets. He doesnt dig often so ya. The earlier comment bout being to hot could be the thing too.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I have 2 hedgies that always sleep under their liners. No matter what type of blanket, bag, hat or igloo I give them they insist on sleeping under their liners. I tried weighing down the corners so they couldn't get under but then they destroyed their cages so now I just let them sleep under the liners if they want. It doesnt' hurt them and makes them happy.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

We have lots of liner divers here too! Some of our cages are liner-diving-proof (liners are tucked in), but the ones that aren't they often sleep under the liners. I've had luck putting tub lids under their igloos so they have a plastic surface to sleep on there, but no guarantees. They can be stubborn!


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## karissa_jeanne (Jul 24, 2012)

I put a piece of tile in the cage and used a thinner sleep sac but his is still going under his cage liner. I'm just worried about him scratching on the bottom of his cage since he just got over pododermatitis on his feet. I don't want him injuring his feet again... And he wakes me up when he is scratching on the bottom of the cage :-/ I've tried putting a single piece of fleece on top of the cage liner too and that doesn't seem to make a difference. I think he really likes to burrow!


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## Maddie The Hedgehog (Jul 28, 2012)

what is pododermatitis? and how do hedgehogs get that? maddie burrows under her liner all the time, its almost like a fleece velvet like liner and the bottom of her cage is plastic, i worry about her burrowing cus im afraid it could be smothersome to her but she seems just fine and comes in and out when she wants. i really hope she doesnt hurt her feet. how can this be prevented? i dont want her to get that


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## karissa_jeanne (Jul 24, 2012)

Pododermatitis is inflammation on the pads of their feet. Hubert got this from running on his wheel a lot which caused his feet to bleed. I wouldn't worry about your hedgie getting smothered because hedgehogs do love to burrow.


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## OllieTheHedgie (Aug 4, 2012)

My baby boy Ollie does the same thing. He has a huge igloo with fleece scraps inside to sleep in but he has only really slept in there once. He also has a snuggie sack that me and my friend made but he only goes in there when he is outside of his cage. No matter what I give him he always goes under his blanket. I fold his blanket about 2 or 4 times before placing it in and sometimes he likes to snuggle in between layers.


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## MissCarlyRenee (Jun 11, 2012)

I've heard that some people use velcro strips to secure the liner. I don't know of any consequences this would have, but I'd assume that if it holds down the liner enough, it shouldn't cause any harm to the hedgie. However, you may end up with a grumpy hedgie, and when my hedgie gets grumpy, he terrorizes his cage. I would suggest putting a tile in his cage with a blankie on top, just to see if he likes it, in which case he's just too warm. If that doesn't work, I'd let him continue liner diving, but make him a dig box, which will hopefully deter him from scratching at the bottom of the cage. Good luck!


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## BatmanJohnson (Aug 14, 2011)

i finally found a way to discourage Rigby from liner diving. during his last cage cleaning, after i put his liner in i cut some more fleece and draped it over his igloo. since i did that he hasnt liner dived once. plus as a bonus i can lift up the fleece and see how he sleeps, its so cute!


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## 8bitbetty (Sep 11, 2013)

Im glad my hedgie isnt the only one that does this. I wasn't really worried since I figure it might be to keep himself cooler. He doesnt really scratch he just sleeps there so I figure as long as it doesnt hurt him. Its kind of cute seeing a little lump under the liner.


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## ajweekley (Aug 8, 2013)

I made my liners so that they go up the sides of the cage a few inches and then I used the double-sided Velcro to make loops to secure it to the cage. But then I also make sure she always has some fleece blankets to burrow under. Even with her igloo, she needs to have a blanket. 

If it doesn't bother you, it's not a problem. But it would bug me, so that's why I made my liners this way.


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