# why won't he be nice anymore



## Mattplusness (Mar 4, 2009)

first, the date I got him is in my signature. and so the story begins. shredder used to be nice to me, he let me pick him up a few times without a towel or sshirt or anything. but now he won't let me do that, and he won't even let me pet him anymore,, he doesn't just get huffy like he used to, but now he tries to poke me. any tips...?


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## drpepperheather (Dec 19, 2008)

Is he maybe quilling? When hedgies are quilling they have lots and lots of super-sharp spikes poking through their skin, which sounds pretty painful to me! I could definately see how that might make him not want to be handled and try to poke you to make you go away. 

If this does seem to be the reason, I've heard you can give him an oatmeal bath to soothe his skin, and you can just let him lay on your lap without petting him until he's no longer hurting...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

He is either quilling, getting ready to quill, or just finishing quilling. Plus, puberty is setting in. Keep handling him but don't force petting on him. Give him lots of treats and lots of attention even if he does just sit on you and huff. I've had numerous that at 4-5 months turned into grumps. It does pass but keep up the quiet gentle attention.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

http://wiki.hedgehogcentral.com/tiki-in ... e=Quilling will give you helpful information about what quilling is, and to help him be more comfy.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

azyrios said:


> http://wiki.hedgehogcentral.com/tiki-index.php?page=Quilling will give you helpful information about what quilling is, and to help him be more comfy.


Ewww. I absolutely HATE the way that is written, calling the hedgehog it rather than using he or she. The term "it" bothers me so just ignore my mini rant. :lol:


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

azyrios said:


> http://wiki.hedgehogcentral.com/tiki-index.php?page=Quilling will give you helpful information about what quilling is, and to help him be more comfy.


I thought olive oil had been deemed bad since it clogs the pores. Thought that was the reason for using vitamin e or flax seed oil.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

That was a direct copy and paste from another site, i will change it to flax or Vit E.

@ Nancy: I didn't want to use he/she for every single one, so i used "it" because few people will accept "they" as a unisex singular pronoun


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I totally understand the reason for using "it". When I was typing up my care sheets I didn't know what to use so randomly used either he or she. I'm sure though that someone will read she and figure it doesn't apply to their boy. :roll: 

All oils will clog pores and will make bacterial or fungal infections worse. I have found Vit E to be the worst and flax seed to be the least as flax does wash off in the next bath.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

okay thank you nancy, i will update it with flax seed.


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## Mattplusness (Mar 4, 2009)

thanks for the quick information, and there have been some quills left in the shirt i let him sit on and in his cage, so that's probably what it is, thanks again, i'll get some oatmeal or flax oil monday


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

dorasdaddy said:


> I thought olive oil had been deemed bad since it clogs the pores. Thought that was the reason for using vitamin e or flax seed oil.


Many vitamin E products are synthetic and derived from petroleum products :shock:, especially those inexpensive vitamin supplements sold in a drug store. Knowing how cancer-prone hedgehogs are, I'm leery of using synthetic vitamin E on hedgehogs. If you use vitamin E on your hedgehog, make sure to use natural vitamin E (the product label lists natural vitamin E with a d-prefix whereas synthetic vitamin E is labelled with a dl-prefix).

Similarly, Vaseline and mineral oil are derived from petroleum. The EU has been systematically banning ingredients containing petrolatum or petroleum jelly (=Vaseline) in cosmetics since the 90s and lists it as an ingredient of concern for carcinogenic contaminants.

I've stopped using Vaseline and any petrolatum products both on our hedgehog as well as human family members. Petrolatum is widely used in personal care products such as hand lotion, lip balm, even in nipple cream. We now use petrolatum-free products typically based on beeswax. Call me paranoid, but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry. 

As far as I know olive oil and flaxseed oil are safe to use on your hedgehog. However, as pointed out, they may be too greasy when applied too much and can clog pores worsening infections such as a yeast or fungal infection. My favourite is 100% organic jojoba oil - despite its name, jojoba oil is not an oil and is liquid wax similar to human sebum, so it's less greasy and does not plug up pores.


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