# Flip-Flop Emotions?



## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm incredibly confused :? This is my first hedgehog, so this might be normal, but still...

Yesterday, I got him out of his cage and he reacted really well, so I decided that I should bring him downstairs with me fore the first time and watch some TV with him on my lap. He was incredibly well behaved, sunk into my belly and chest and just snoozed for a bit. That was around seven or eight.

Today, I saw him stick his head out of his blanket around eleven thirty, so I just assumed that I could get him out (Was this my mistake?). When I brought him downstairs, every time I tried to pet him, he would huff and hiss and pop up a little. So I let him roam around a little, but then he got under the couch and we had to get him out from under there and back into his cage. :| I thought it may have been the time, so I got him back out for his first foot bath round six. He was nice and calm about 15 minutes after that, but then his weird behavior started again. My mother said that he might be hungry (I really do suspect that he's not eating enough), So I cut him a slice of apple, which he usually loves, but he just wouldn't eat it.

Is this normal behavior?

He's probably two months old.


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## Hedgehog lover01 (Jan 10, 2012)

He just might be tried since he was up and awke during the day. that what happend to my hedgehog but i would keep i close eye on him if your wereid hes not eating weigh his food you can buy scales on amzon or you can **** his food. i hope this helps


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Totally normal. Especially for young ones, and hedgehogs that are still adjusting to a new owner/environment. At 8 weeks he also might be quilling to some extent - it happens at 6 weeks and 9 weeks, and again at 12, but mine is 7.5 weeks and he definitely has some quilling going on. That can exacerbate the grumpiness. Mine is also particularly disgruntled when he's woken up. I imagine taking him out so early contributed also, but yeah, hedgehogs will have good days and bad days. It might help to be more consistent about when you take him out of his cage; for instance, have it be around the same time every day (approximately - maybe within an hourish time frame). Late afternoon/early evening (or later) will almost definitely have better results. If he sleeps in a hedgie bag or blanket inside his house, it can help to take that out of the cage with him inside so the waking up and being moved somewhere else is more gradual. It can also let you have bonding time with him while he continues to snooze.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Has anything changed lately other than the time you took him out? Have you noticed any quills in his cage? At 8 weeks he could be starting to quill which makes them pretty grumpy. I would count his food every night and morning to make sure he's eating enough. Some hedgies just have "bad days" just like some people do.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

nikki said:


> Has anything changed lately other than the time you took him out? Have you noticed any quills in his cage? At 8 weeks he could be starting to quill which makes them pretty grumpy. I would count his food every night and morning to make sure he's eating enough. Some hedgies just have "bad days" just like some people do.


Yes, I have started to count his food... Any Idea how much is a good amount? I've also discovered that if I put a bit of food in his bedding, he prefers to eat that over the stuff in the bowl...?


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Took him out again just now... Ugh, same weirdness -_-


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## AL111 (Jan 11, 2012)

My guy does this too! Sometimes he is super friendly and calm and sometimes it seems like every movement makes him really angry! I'm not too worried about it though because I've noticed that he is quilling, it think it's just like what others have said, some days are goods days and some bad. When mine is grumpy I try not to push him to do too much, I normally just let him crawl into his fleece sack and sit on my lap instead of trying to handle him.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Yeah, he actually fell asleep in my lap tonight for about two hours... Looks like he just doesn't doesn't to be handled that much right now...

As far as eating well goes, I counted his food today and he only ate 11 pieces of his kibble... I really think that's not enough... thoughts?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

How large are the pieces of kibble? A young one his age should be eating about a tablespoon a day (or more, of course, if they're so inclined), but how many kibble pieces that equates to can be really different depending on what food it is. The one I've been using (combined with the mix from the breeder) is CSftCLS light, and I haven't had much personal experience with other kinds of cat food, but I'd estimate it to be kind of in the middle in terms of size-range. It takes about 30 of those to make a tablespoon, so 11 of yours is most likely not enough, but you'll be able to tell better by getting a sense for about how many kibble make up a tablespoon.

Is this the same food he was eating before you got him, or did you switch him to something new? And how does the 11 kibble compare to the amount he's been eating since you got him? I know you weren't counting kibble before, but it will help figure out if there's something wrong that's just starting, or whether his seemingly small appetite is typical behavior for him so far.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

It's the same stuff that he had in the shop - it's simply called 'Hedgehog Diet', so it's not cat food... would that be better? A tablespoon of it amounts to about 30-35 of them -_- I think this might be MORE than what he was eating before, but it's still too little... When I try to give him apple (Which he liked before), strawberry, mango, broccoli, he just won't touch it.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Yeah, cat food is ideal for them. Anything specified as 'hedgehog food' is crap to some degree or another. I would suggest picking a good quality cat food (the 'dry cat food' sticky will help with that) and trying to transition him to that. It could very well be that he dislikes the food he's on; a lot of hedgehogs that are on hedgehog food or bad-quality cat food, when offered something better, will go right for the new stuff, even to the point of ignoring the old. You should try starting at 1/4 new and 3/4 old, then 1/2 and 1/2 after a week, and then 3/4 new after another week - this is a good guideline for food transition, but you can adjust it if he's particularly interested in the better food.

An ideal cat food for a hedgehog is high in protein (25-33%) and low in fat (10-15%), though for babies and particularly active runners, a somewhat higher fat content can be good. The first ingredients should lean toward meat/meat meal, and you should avoid filler ingredients. I use Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (light), though the non-light adult formula might be a better choice for your hedgehog. Other popular brands among people on this forum are Innova, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, and Nutro - those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but there are others as well. It's suggested to feed hedgehogs a mix of two or three different kinds, but you should transition him fully to one kind first


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks! I'll definitely try that. I also ordered some mealworms so that I can get some protein into him if all else fails.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Hopefully you have better luck with mealworms than me - Ares has no interest in them so far, but I'm still trying! Mealworms are a great addition to a hedgehog's diet, and a lot of people will regularly (or daily) include some cooked unseasoned meat and vegetables. There's a list somewhere on here of good fruits/vegetables for them. I would be doing this, except Ares so far has snubbed every single attempt to give him anything other than kibble. Sigh, silly thing. XD But even just a high quality cat food (with the protein/fat content I described, etc.) and nothing else is a perfectly good choice, it's just nice to be able to give them different things.

Hopefully introducing him to a new food will get your little guy eating more! At this point you could make the first cat food a somewhat higher fat (more like 15-20%); the extra fat is good for babies anyway, and yours could probably use some extra weight on him, if he's been eating not very much for as long as you've had him. Kitten foods will pretty much always have a higher fat content, and a lot of people will have their hedgehog on a full or partial kitten food diet for the first 6 months. The higher fat might help entice your boy to eat more as well, because more fat = more flavor. Good luck!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Be aware that Wellness cat food is known to cause upset tummies and extra soft poops. Generally it's not recommended anymore as there are so many other good brands that don't have reports of causing those issues.

I totally agree with Nikki that some hedgies just have off days. My Mildred has always been like that. She'll be super cuddly and affectionate with me and then 10 minutes later it's like my breathing is too loud for her and she huffs every 30 seconds :lol: Quilling is something to watch out for, though. 6, 9 and 12 weeks are just a guide line - Some quill throughout that entire time, some start a little later, some quill extremely fast and it's done and over with in a few days, others it's a looooong, drawn out process. Mildred quilled for 3 weeks straight around when she turned 2 months old. It can't be comfortable for them, so avoid touching his quills until he seems more comfortable.

Also, what are you using for heating his cage? If he isn't warm enough, it could be causing sluggishness which = lower food intake. Keep a very close eye on him... it doesn't sound like he's eating nearly enough food for being so young.

You should read some of the stickied threads around the site. They have lots of great info for new owners and will get you on the right track with his diet.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Alrighty, so I'm becoming more and more discouraged every day. I'm almost positive that he's not quilling (I can't find any new ones on him and none in his cage/when I'm handling him), and he's still not eating all that much. every time that I go near him or he smells me, he huffs and hisses and pops up. He's becoming nippy too. I feel like I'm just a bad hedgie momma  

It's gotten to the point where tonight (And I regret this very much) I picked him up with socks covering my hands. He didn't hiss nearly as much OR nip at them, so it must be how I smell  

The only time he's ever calm around me is when 1) I have him on the counter and I nave my nose real close to him 2) he has his face burrowed into my elbow (Pretty sure this is out of shyness/fear) or 3) he's asleep on my lap.

He even likes my FATHER better than me, and he's only been around my dad all of three times.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Do you use scented anything on your hands? Lotion, hand sanitizer, soap, body wash, perfumes, etc. Some hedgehogs are quite picky about smell, so if there's anything at all like that that you wear, he may be reacting to that.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Nay - when it comes to smelly stuff, I'm really not girly at all :lol: I don't eat with my hands either, so that's not it... The only part of me that ever smells 'fruity' is my hair... and I just use head and shoulders.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

You could try enlisting someone to take a video of you while handling your hedgie and HHC can try to help you determine if there's anything you're doing that could be causing his crankiness. I don't know how much that would help, but it can't hurt!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Personally, I'd get his food issue sorted out first before I'd really worry about attitude(as it does still sound like normal hedgie). 
11 pieces of "hedgehog food" doesn't seem like much for a growing baby, especially since most hedgehog foods lack proper nutrition(though it's hard to comment on yours since we don't know the ingredients and the nutrional values). How is his weight? Have you weighed him weekly? It's possible that hes getting nippy because hes hungry. So sort out the food issue first and work from there. 

Also we like to free feed our hedgies, which means they always have food in their bowls at all times. Just to give you an idea, as a baby, my boy ate about 100 kibbles. As he grew, he chose to cut down to ~40. Some hedgies will eat more and some may eat as little as 20. It all depends on each individual hog.


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## Caffesaurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Just a little update on Watson - I have him on a mix of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul and The Goodlife Recipie and he seems to be eating pretty much all his food in the bowl  

I think as far as his temper goes, he's wonderful for about 5 - 10 minutes, but then he gets all hyper and won't let me hold him and tries to jump off the chair I'm in with him :| Is it common for young hedgies to be more energetic, and will he ever calm down?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

A lot of fidgety behaviors in hogs are more based on personality type rather than age. It sounds like you have an explorer hedgie  AKA a hog who just wants to run, sniff, and get into trouble :lol: 

In a situation like that, I would enclose an area in a room with a high enough temp to make him comfortable, plop down in the middle of the "playpen" and let him roam. He may decide to include you in the areas he explores, and he might even snuggle up with you when he's ready for a nap. The nice thing about hedgehogs is that they don't typically stay up for hours at a time, so letting him explore for an hour could tire him out enough to the point where he will let you hold him while he naps. 

It's good that you started him on those foods and he is eating! I bet he is a happy little boy.  Props to you for taking HHCs advice into consideration! There are so many people that ask for help, then refuse to make any changes.


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