# For the love of gravy, the SMELL!



## _Miss_Pickles_ (May 8, 2014)

OK, now, Miss Pickles is just about the cutest little girl you've ever seen... but that smell!


She does not designate any particular area for her potty needs (and we got her older, so I doubt she ever will. Currently 1 yr old).
She poops on her flying saucer like a first class hail storm every night. I was it every day if I can.
She has paper bedding - I've used Carefresh & SunSeed (I think?). They both stink, but one is a whole lot softer.
We scoop the poops out of the paper bedding daily and replace it all weekly.
She's been on the same food since birth. A F.R.O.M.M. cat food. No changes. I haven't found a single "treat" yet that she has any interest in. We have had her about 7 months now.

I think that's the details. I don't use any other "odor" sprays or anything. Pickles herself gets a weekly swim and nail trim as needed.

I have seen many of you use some sort of cloth? or perhaps a puppy wee wee pad of sorts at the bottom of your cage? Does this work better? Do you change it daily?

Help. My house is very small, and Pickles is in my son's room. You can honestly smell it throughout the house the very day after a full cleaning. LOL Stinky little cuteness....


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Many people use cloth liners for their hedgies. These can be as simple as a piece of fleece folded to fit the cage to liners that are sewn with flannel on the top, fleece on the bottom and some have an absorbent middle layer. They need to be spot cleaned daily and changed and washed once or twice a week. You can also put a litter pan under the wheel to catch what falls off of it and clean it daily when you clean the wheel. That often helps with the smell.


----------



## _Miss_Pickles_ (May 8, 2014)

nikki said:


> Many people use cloth liners for their hedgies. These can be as simple as a piece of fleece folded to fit the cage to liners that are sewn with flannel on the top, fleece on the bottom and some have an absorbent middle layer. They need to be spot cleaned daily and changed and washed once or twice a week. You can also put a litter pan under the wheel to catch what falls off of it and clean it daily when you clean the wheel. That often helps with the smell.


Thank you! I suppose it can't hurt to try!


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Is this a new thing, or has she always been smelly? And which variety of Fromm? I've heard game bird can cause some wicked nasty stool odors for some hedgehogs.


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Has she always smelled this bad or is this something new? Just to mention, humidity and hedgehog poop do not mix. When it's humid, they stink far quicker and far worse than when its not humid.

If this is a new smell, I'd consider a vet check and take a fecal sample with you to check to see if she has anything going on in her intestines. 

Some foods make them smell far worse than other foods and it can be individual to the hedgehog. 

Scooping poops daily and weekly cage cleaning may not be often enough for her and a total cage cleaning more frequently might help.


----------



## _Miss_Pickles_ (May 8, 2014)

Kalandra said:


> Is this a new thing, or has she always been smelly? And which variety of Fromm? I've heard game bird can cause some wicked nasty stool odors for some hedgehogs.


*gasp* Always... And it IS the gamebird! I can attempt to switch that to a different kind.


----------



## _Miss_Pickles_ (May 8, 2014)

Nancy said:


> Has she always smelled this bad or is this something new? Just to mention, humidity and hedgehog poop do not mix. When it's humid, they stink far quicker and far worse than when its not humid.
> 
> If this is a new smell, I'd consider a vet check and take a fecal sample with you to check to see if she has anything going on in her intestines.
> 
> ...


I live in Wisconsin where it was 80% humidity last week. I am so screwed *LOL*

Always smelled like this, though! I think I will try a blanket/cloth down, and slowly transfer to a new food just to see if that helps.

What foods do you all recommend?


----------



## ellisrks01 (Mar 25, 2014)

You can also try and put a open box of baking soda in the room, it's suppose to help kill odors.  I do it in my hedgies room and just change it out once a month.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

_Miss_Pickles_ said:


> *gasp* Always... And it IS the gamebird! I can attempt to switch that to a different kind.


I had a feeling. A good friend of mine tried it and said it absolutely made her whole apartment stink. She found that once she reduced the amount provided of that variety the smell went away. She has used the other Fromm varieties without any issues, it seemed to be just the game bird that did it. Find another food to mix in and I bet you will be fine.


----------



## _Miss_Pickles_ (May 8, 2014)

Kalandra said:


> I had a feeling. A good friend of mine tried it and said it absolutely made her whole apartment stink. She found that once she reduced the amount provided of that variety the smell went away. She has used the other Fromm varieties without any issues, it seemed to be just the game bird that did it. Find another food to mix in and I bet you will be fine.


I'm floored. I'm headed to the pet store. Thanks everyone :grin:


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Good luck. Do keep in mind that any diet change can cause GI upset as well. Hedgehog GIs can be very sensitive sometimes. Some more than others. Go slow and add acidolphilus if needed to help balance things.


----------



## HedgieRo56 (Jun 19, 2014)

On the wheel use glade press in seal and change it every day


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Do not use anything on the wheel. It's not safe - anything put on the wheel has the potential to come loose and trip up or tangle around feet and legs and could cause an injury. Washing a hedgehog wheel daily is part of hedgehog ownership and there really isn't any acceptable shortcuts around it.

I hope a small change in diet helps with the issue, Miss Pickles!


----------



## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

_Miss_Pickles_;510290
[* said:


> She poops on her flying saucer like a first class hail storm every night. I was it every day if I can.


This sounds like Shilo! She has the flying saucer as well and I have to wash it everyday!


----------

