# How do I handle him curled up with my bare hands?



## EnaEna (Aug 23, 2012)

My little Earl Grey has become adjusted to me very fast. I can pick him up under his stomach when he's uncurled. But when he's curled up into a ball, even when he's not completely spiked up, I can't hold him in my bare hands without getting pricked and bleeding. I have to pick him up using a little blanket, and hold him that way until he gets adjusted to being out of his cage. I see so many cute pictures and videos of people holding their partially curled-up hedgehogs in their cupped hands.

Is there some trick to this that I'm missing? Does he need to be curled in a certain way, or at a certain angle? Or am I just one of those people with hands too soft to do this? I'm glad he at least lets me pick him up under his soft tummy, but I'm a bit sad from not knowing what to do for the alternative...

Any suggestions or help would be wonderful!


----------



## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

You get used to it  it barely hurts me anymore.. except after I wash in water or something and my hands are sensitive.


----------



## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

I just got little Prim and she does the same thing. I use a little surgical towel to pick her up. I know that probably doesn't really help you except to know that you aren't alone .


----------



## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

I've heard the baby spikes are sharper than the adult spikes. I use to pull my sleeves over my hands to pick up Thistle. I would just handle her slowly and gently, it was like handling a cactus but never broke my skin. The only time she's broken my skin was when she pulled into a ball really fast and took my finger with her. OUCH! So maybe my skin is thicker or her spikes are less sharp. Good luck! You'll probably get more used to it and hopefully her adult spikes come in less sharp.


----------



## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

The quills of babies are smaller and sharper than those of adults. Adults' quills get blunted over time, assuming they're handled daily as they should be. It's also something you'll get used to as well. I can juggle 2-3 hedgies at a time without flinching, but when my first hedgie was a baby I was in the same place as you.  And picking up tiny spiky babies still hurts, but I'm just used to it and don't mind it - and I also know what to expect when I reach in.

The various photos of hedgehogs curled is when their quills are fairly flat, just their bodies are in a curled position. That's not the same as when a hedgehog balls up defensively and spikes out its quills in all different directions. When the quills are flat, they lay flat against your hand even if the hedgehog curls up most of the way, so they aren't poking into you. A lot of hedgehogs will curl up partially when they're placed on their back in someone's hand, it's just reflex. That's where the cute photos come from.

It's fine to pick them up with a piece of fleece or a small blanket - picking up a fully spiked-up hedgie is very difficult otherwise. Once you have him out of the cage it's a good idea to handle him as much as possible with your own hands, so both of you can get used to it.


----------



## EnaEna (Aug 23, 2012)

I definitely expected a hedgehog to be sharp, with its quills and all, but I saw so many videos of people holding them that way. So I thought it would automatically work~ lol

So, how can I tell the difference between baby quills and adult quills? I have noticed the obvious difference between some of the quills, some being small and thin, and others being larger and thicker. 

I handle him daily, so he's already used to my hands. I have put him on his back on my hand when his quills were relatively flat, it was still just a bit too painful for me.

Glad to know that it will get easier for me~ Thanks!


----------



## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanks for the advice! Prim and I will be working on it!


----------



## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

It's really a matter of practice like others have said. It's kind of the same concept as sleeping on a bed of nails, if you have your weight distributed the nails won't poke through you. Same with holding a hedgehog, you get the hang of holding them in a way that distributes their weight a little so it hurts less. You also get used to it with time as others have said.

I've had pets that claw and bite me my hole life, I don't remember a time when I didn't have little claw marks, bite marks and scratches up and down my arm. When my dog and I wrestled she would bite my arm, not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to bruise, and holding a cat seems to always leave me with a few claw marks even if it was not trying to scratch me. So I didn't even really notice with a hedgehog but my BF who hadn't grown up with pets like me really had a hard time getting used to Quigley. I never once bled from Quigley but he did quite a lot. I'm not sure if his skin was physically thinner or less calloused than mine but something was different. I think he got better at handling over time but most of the time we did hold Quigley in a blanket, he liked having the blanket and it made us more comfortable so why not.


----------



## Hazesti (Jan 19, 2010)

moxieberry said:


> I can juggle 2-3 hedgies at a time without flinching,


Great, now I'm picturing you actually *juggling* hedgehogs.

It does get easier with time, in the meantime you can keep using his blankets to pick him up, it's not a bad thing to do as opposed to gloves, it doesn't hurt them and they can still get used to your smell.


----------



## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

I don't have experience with adult hedgies, but I wanted to say that in the picture in my signature where Fitz is balled in my hands he was very relaxed and had been cuddling with me for awhile. He is just a baby still on his first quilling so he definitely has some pointy needle-like quills. It makes a big difference to how his quills lay. It does poke, but it feels kinda like holding one of those round hair brushes by the bristles. When he is being defensive and his quills are up I have to pick him up with a scrap of fleece sometimes.


----------

