# Seriously, what's with all the poop?



## Sally (Apr 7, 2009)

So I understand the pooping on the wheel thing, I mean it makes sense that it's instinctual for them to poop while running (it's kind of weird that they don't notice/care that it gets all over them, but whatever). But what I don't get is my hedgehog (who is not a baby by the way--she's a little over a year old) poops *everywhere* in her cage. She has a little shoebox (her "cave") that she sleeps in all the time and she's gotten poop ALL over the inside of it. Don't most animals have instincts that prevent them from pooping where they sleep? Why would she wake up and be like, "Oh, here's a good place to poop, right where I'm sleeping."? She has also gotten poop all over both of her food bowls, which I don't get. I know it's an instinctual thing for animals to not poop where they eat, so I don't understand it. I thought a lot of animals tend to go in the corner of a room to keep the rest of the room clean but there really isn't any place in her cage that she doesn't go. Are hedgehogs just not terribly hygienic creatures and therefor don't care? Or are they just a little less...um, clever...than other creatures who know not to poop where they eat/sleep? Or is mine just exceptionally dirty or...um...slow?


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## Mimosa (Aug 2, 2009)

I am not sure if I know enough about the natural lifestyle of hedgehogs yet, but they seem to wander their home range and do not necessarily sleep in the same place. In that case they don't have to be bothered about where they defecate because they won't be back there soon anyway. 
Once stuff like that is programmed into an animal it must be hard to get it out of the system.

I know species that are considered intelligent like gorillas also poop in their nest , as they move nests every night anyway. Why expend energy on sometyhing that doesn't matter ?


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

For the most part every hedgehog is unique some are neat some are messy. some insist on pooping in food others are fully litter trained or only use the wheel. I can see how it would be frustrating to have a hedgehog on the extreme messy side. 

For the pooping in the bowl thing sometimes having a smaller bowl helps. The hedgehog won't be able to sit in it while eating and therefore won't poop in it. Keeping the bowls further apart also helps because then he won't sit on one while eating or drinking from the other. 

Soft poop will spread more easily than solid firm poop so if you are feeding a diet that is too rich (too high in meat protein) for her then that would contribute to the messiness by making the poop softer. Also sometimes health issues make the poop really soft.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Is pooping in her bed a new thing? Most of them won't poop in their bed and I've found that often when they start to poop in bed they are ill. I've had many rescues and rehomes that have pooped in bed for the first while too as they get used to their new home. 

Of course there are always those that are just slobs and I'm not so sure these ones actually poop in their bed but it is on their feet or quills and gets dragged in.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

Quillbert is still in his frat boy juvenile stage of being messy and pooping on every square inch of his cage. He always goes on his wheel but every 2 or 3 days I will find that he has also pooped in his hedgie bag. And of course he manages to track it everywhere on his feet. Since he's only a bit over 4 months I'm cutting him some slack, but if the messiness continues he and I are going to have a long discussion about his poopy ways.


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