# Help me tame Sheimi!



## JmRanger (Oct 11, 2013)

Hello everyone, 

to start off, i've just created my account on this forum. I've had Sheimi (the japenese way to pronounce the pokemon Shaymin) since mid-July. i was also starting a new job at the time, so spending a lot of time with her was difficult. what seems to work however is we both are night owls, where she is more active. However, I've been having two MAIN issues, which are rather important. 

First of all, im having difficulty taming her. i've given her meal worms, i've set her up in a nice cage with a litter, a wheel that she often uses at night, covers for her to sleep under, and even a small housing. she also has a ball to be put in to run around in and travel in my spacious room, which she seems to love. I'm able to pick her up with my hands. she curls up in a ball and huffs and growls at first, then when she realises she is in my hands she uncurls and gets curious. 

About two nights ago, as i was picking her up, she seemed to get frustrated and bit me pretty hard. i was bleeding a bit, but it had been difficult for me to pull my hand away from her. Since then im worried she'll get the habit of biting when she seems bothered, and was wondering if she could get that habit easily. 

i cant seem to be able to handle her as i want, if i move my hand a bit closer to her, she instantly curls up and hides. even after letting her smell me and holding her multiple times, im confused as to why she hasnt gotten familiar enough with me to let me handle her. 

My second big issue i have with her is her hygene. I put a litter in her cage, but she doesnt use it. instead she does all her business while on her wheel, so everything ends up ON and UNDER her wheel. then she goes sleep in the corner of her cage which is somewhat under the wheel and where she has pooped, so she's getting dirtier and dirtier. and im unable to give her a bath, since she wont let me take her for long. 

My phone is linked to this thread so any reply will go directly to me, i'd be very appreciative if somebody took the time to read and help me out a bit. 

Thank you very much! 

P.S. sorry if there are grammatical mistakes or if my sentences arent very clear, english is a second language to me, and although i manipulate it well im still not 100% in it.


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## affiebear (Sep 19, 2013)

I don't have my hedgie yet... BUT you might want to put the litter pan under the wheel that way whatever poop goes flying out it will go into the litter not all over. And give her a bath every 2-4 weeks as needed. (If I'm wrong someone please correct me on that)

As for the taming issues, I can't really help out other than to keep trying. Hope someone else comes along to help you out.


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

When she bit you, had you handled something that smells different? Sometimes hedgehogs smell something on your hands, and then bite because your hands smell funny. Washing your hands with unscented soap or even just water before getting her out will probably help. Hedgehogs are not very social animals, and take a long time to warm up to people. Sometimes, they never fully warm up to their owners. I've seen several ways of dealing with biting/nibbling, one of which is lightly blowing on their nose/face when they bite. It might've just been a one-time thing. She also could have been in pain when you picked her up, so she bit you. Does she seem a little off? Has she been wheeling, eating or drinking less? If so, she might be sick, which would mean she needs a vet visit. 

What kind of wheel do you have? Also, about the hamster ball, that isn't a very good toy for hedgies. Toenails or toes can get caught in the slits and get injured, and since hedgehogs poop when running, it could be pretty messy. 

What kind of bedding are you using? Fleece liners are the best kind. What kind of litter do you use? Hedgehogs tend to poop and pee on the wheel and just running in general, so there isn't really any way to stop her from doing that. Like affiebear mentioned, you can use a litter pan under the wheel to keep the mess down. You can try moving the wheel and see if she just wants to sleep in that corner and the wheel is in the way, or she might just like sleeping by the wheel. 

What is her cage temperature at? What do you use to heat it? Has her cage temperature changed recently? That could be a reason to why she's acting like this. Is she on a light schedule? If not, she could start attempting hibernation. The same goes for heat. An ideal temp is about 73-80 degrees. She needs to have a source of light set up that runs or 12-14 hours a day. One way of providing light is putting a desk lamp near her cage on a timer so you don't have to turn lights on and off every day. 

For a bath, fill up a sink or tub with half an inch of lukewarm water. Test the temp on the inside of your wrist to make sure it isn't too hot. Then take an old toothbrush and some soap (You can use a body wash like Aveeno fragrance free with oatmeal,) and put the soap on the toothbrush and gently use it to wash her quills. You can give her foot baths to get the poop off her feet, which is basically the same thing as a bath minus the soap and the brush. Don't give her baths with soap too often as it can dry out their skin. 

Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to cover everything. Hope this helped and good luck!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Your English is great, don't worry. 

Affiebear is correct about a litter pan. Most hedgehogs poop on their wheels and you can't change that. Putting a pan under will catch the "run-off" and give her a place to step down into before heading to the rest of the cage, so her feet may get wiped off a bit.

What kind of hide does she have? Have you tried some different options to see if you can convince her away from sleeping by the poopy wheel?

For bathing, the best thing is to just go ahead and do it. Make sure the room is warm, and the water is warm (but not too hot - check with the inside of your wrist. Too hot there, too hot for her) and that you have something in the bottom of the container or sink to keep her from sliding. If she's in a ball, put her in the water butt-first, to give her some time to unball before she gets water in her nose and ears. She should unball - most won't want their face in the water, though some are pretty stubborn! Most people like Aveeno oatmeal products for washing, like the body wash, etc. It won't dry her skin out as much as some other options.

For handling...I have some questions for you there. How often do you handle her? What time do you take her out and how long do you keep her out? Your description of what she enjoys doing sounds like she's probably an explorer-type hedgehog...so it's pretty normal for her to want to spend more time running around and checking things out than sitting still to say hi to you. If you want to cuddle with her, a good way is to keep her in a hedgie bag or blanket, covered up (which usually makes them more comfortable), and have her out earlier in the day, if possible. She'll want to be sleeping anyway, and should be more content to curl up in a blanket to sleep. It doesn't work for every hog...but it might help.


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## JmRanger (Oct 11, 2013)

Thank you all three that have taken time to answer me! very helpful. Today i need to clean her cage, so i decided i might as well try to give her a bath and clean her, maybe she'll get more used to me. 

Affiebear: i will move the litter and switch it around with the wheel, maybe it'll be better for her. or else i'll get a litter pan and put it under the wheel. 

Lillythehedgie: Actually, thank you for the novel! to answer your questions, i use a large wheel... its not full, sort of like a 'grid' if that can explain what it looks like. at first i was worried her paws might get stuck but i kid you not... i think she runs faster than my cat on that wheel . shes definitely active and eating and drinking well. shes besides me on the couch and running around and playing with my ps3 controller while im typing all of this lol. 

I cant really tell what temperature her cage is, but i do have a heat lap st up right above it. i had stopped using it because i felt like she wanted to sleep and be less social, and as soon as i would shut it off she would crawl out and play and run, but that is at like 3am. i try to take her out as often as i can but sometimes there could be 1-3 days in between me handling her due to my work hours. As for bedding, i basically cut my old high school uniform shirt, and made bedding for her under a sort of cubical home. 

And since winter is coming soon, her cage is right besides one of my two heaters in my room so im sure cold wont be a problem for her. i'll use my heat lamp more regularly see if she tends to get more comfortable during the day. 

Lillysmother: Thank you for the information on bathing her, i will do that shortly today and will post again to give you details. also i think your questions have been answered in the paragraphs above


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## JmRanger (Oct 11, 2013)

hey guys! i just finished giving Sheimi a bath! and she sure did enjoy quite a lot! she's all cleaned and smelling nice and huddled under her blanket now, drying up besides me. I'll treat her to a bit of cat food. her cage is also cleaned and i changed the setup so hopefully that helps her stay clean.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

A couple things you might want to change for her well-being: The grid-type of wheel is not safe...she may not have gotten her toes caught yet, but it's a definite possibility. It'd be best if you could get a solid-bottomed wheel for her to run on, if at all possible. Comfort Wheels are commonly found in pet stores, and so are Flying Saucers. Both of those would be safer wheels for Sheimi.

It sounds like the heating bulb you're using is one that gives out light as well as heat? There are other bulbs that are usually the best to use - ceramic heat emitter bulbs give off heat only, no light at all. They look like this - http://www.reptilebasics.com/images/products/ch60.jpg They can also be black, but they should be solid colored, not colored kind of see-through glass. If you get one of those, you can leave it on all the time (IF you have a thermostat connected to it to control the temperature), and the thermostat will turn the lamp on & off as needed to keep the temperature more steady for her. A steady temperature from 73-80* is the best way to avoid hibernation attempts.

I'm glad the bath went well!  I bet she feels better now.


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## JmRanger (Oct 11, 2013)

Thank you Lilly, i will had to the local petshop soon and get the needed gear for her safety. ive noticed that after she wakes up, she doesnt tend to stay as active as usual. i think she may be attempting hibernation so i'll try to get the temperature up.


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## Tongue_Flicker (Jun 11, 2013)

new hedgies puff up every now and then. just let it sniff your hand, not too close but close enough for her to smell it. i noticed new female hedgies are more paranoid than males that every move or noise you make near her will make her quill up. if you let her sniff you about once or twice daily plus adding an old article of clothing with your body scent (by that meaning sweat, etc.) when your hedgie is sleeping will make her feel more secure when you're around.


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