# Anointing: Good thing or bad?



## Tym4myself (Jul 17, 2012)

So I returned the freeze dried mealworms I'd bought for Sparty and got some Natures Balance Pea and Duck cat food to go with his Chicken Lovers Soup for the soul Lite food. I offered him a few pieces as a treat and he gobbled them up! He has barely touched the Chicken lovers so I'm glad he's liking the Pea and Duck. I also bought some Carrot baby food and offered him a taste, which he did lap at a few time, seemingly like he enjoyed it, then proceeded to start anointing himself, lol. So is it a good thing? He likes it? Or is he trying to get the taste out of his mouth? LOL


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## bmaditz (Jun 11, 2012)

No one knows for sure why hedgehogs anoint, but it usually has to do with new strong smells. I've never heard of a hedgehog anointing with something they didn't like so that shouldn't be the issue. However, why exactly he did anoint we may never know. :lol:


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

He probably likes the new smell and wants to coat himself in it. Poggles annoints with most new things. Yesterday it was a piece of snow pea, the day before it was a piece of yellow bell pepper. Sometimes he will eat the same item the next time I offer it. Other times, he will ignore it. So you'll have to go by trial and error to see what Sparty likes to eat. Poggles hates carrots... the only way I can get him to eat them is by gut loading his mealworms with them.

I'm glad Sparty likes the Natural Balance Duck and Pea. I think that one is a general fan favourite among hedgies  He'll probably like the Chicken and Pea version too then.

So, with the annointing thing, it's natural and it's expected. However, if you have allergies to hedgehogs (like me), you may find that the annointing aggravates it. I think it's because bacteria, etc grows on the chewed up food and spit on the quills. When the quills poke into your skin, it pushes the quill stuff in and that creates an irritant to the attacker and you might get hives on the spot. So, for me, getting poked by a dirty hedgie is bad. Getting poked by a freshly bathed hedgehog is no problem at all. So Poggles gets cuddled the most after a bath.

On the other hand, maybe it's the poop and pee on the quills that irritating. I'm not sure, but just thought I'd mention it.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Anointing is assumed to mean they like it. Otherwise I don't think they'd do it repeatedly - we have one boy who will anoint no less than 3 successive times with any one thing. So far his favorites have been a hairband (7), my pajama pants (12), and my engagement ring (4-5, several separate occasions).


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## Tym4myself (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks MurE! Great info. 

I am lucky in that I have never suffered from allergies of any type, so I am hopeful I won't have a reaction to being stuck. 

I'm going to give him a few more days with the Chicken Lovers food and if he still won't eat it, I'll take it back and get the pea and Chicken one. Fortunately, the pet store here will let you return opened food if you have the receipt.  

Now Sparty has orange spit on his sides from the anointing. I don't want to bathe him twice in one day (he had poopy boots this morning so I put his feet in the bath)...is it hard to get the spit off in the bath if it's been on overnight?


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## Tym4myself (Jul 17, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> Anointing is assumed to mean they like it. Otherwise I don't think they'd do it repeatedly - we have one boy who will anoint no less than 3 successive times with any one thing. So far his favorites have been a hairband (7), my pajama pants (12), and my engagement ring (4-5, several separate occasions).


I was pretty sure he liked it...he came back for seconds and thirds, lol. Just little nibbles at it, he probably ate a pea sized amount total. But he anointed 2 times. lol


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

Tym4myself said:


> Thanks MurE! Great info.
> 
> I am lucky in that I have never suffered from allergies of any type, so I am hopeful I won't have a reaction to being stuck.
> 
> ...


You're very welcome  I seem to develop allergies to everything. It's a very sad story since I love pets so much. At least with Poggles it's just hives where he pokes me. With my rabbit, I had asthma every time I played with him so I had to give him away. I miss my rabbit a lot!

I'm glad the pet store will let you return opened food. It helps a lot with picky hedgies!

The dried spit/food combo seems to crust mostly off. I noticed lots of green dust in his PVC tube the day after he annointed with a snow pea. Most of the time, I don't give him a bath after he annoints (because he does it so often). I only do it if it's a total, unforgiveable mess... or if it smells really bad. My previous hedgehog annointed with seaweed snacks... ugh... and Poggles once had a perfect dollop of yam on his head like a pointed hat... sigh...


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Sometimes anointing with a certain food doesn't actually mean they'll eat the food. I have that with Zombie - most new things I offer she'll "try" (i.e. anoint in the messiest way possible) but then if I ever offer it again she'll ignore it.

It's not going to do any harm to give two baths in one day. I've had to do it once or twice (sort of) when I notice that some of the soap didn't get rinsed off all the way, and I also have several who like to anoint shortly after baths. Maybe they feel naked without another smell on them. If they're dirty, they get bathed, doesn't matter how long ago the last one was. As for whether it's harder to get off - when it's the gunky kind that's actually made up of whatever they used to anoint (rather than just spit), it can take a bit of scrubbing with a toothbrush to get off after it dries. Depends on what they used and what the spit:food ratio is, lol.

I get the allergies too sometimes when I'm prickled, but I don't even feel it anymore.


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## Tym4myself (Jul 17, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> Sometimes anointing with a certain food doesn't actually mean they'll eat the food. I have that with Zombie - most new things I offer she'll "try" (i.e. anoint in the messiest way possible) but then if I ever offer it again she'll ignore it.
> 
> It's not going to do any harm to give two baths in one day. I've had to do it once or twice (sort of) when I notice that some of the soap didn't get rinsed off all the way, and I also have several who like to anoint shortly after baths. Maybe they feel naked without another smell on them. If they're dirty, they get bathed, doesn't matter how long ago the last one was. As for whether it's harder to get off - when it's the gunky kind that's actually made up of whatever they used to anoint (rather than just spit), it can take a bit of scrubbing with a toothbrush to get off after it dries. Depends on what they used and what the spit:food ratio is, lol.
> 
> I get the allergies too sometimes when I'm prickled, but I don't even feel it anymore.


Thanks Moxie!


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

i thought it was good until one of my hedgies got obsessed with anointing me...it hurts when she gets me directly!

all kidding aside it is a good thing because if they were not comfortable they wouldnt be anointing at that time


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