# Odd behavior from a very consistent hedgie.



## tinypixiexoxo (Sep 20, 2011)

Hey guys. I don't know where this belongs because I don't know if the cause of her behavior is anything health related or not. 

She was born May 2010 and never had bad skin problems or quill loss, and never is active during the day.

This is a VERY long story but it's super specific because it's only happened in the last 4 hours or so, and the behaviors are TOTALLY unlike her for the time of day and the circumstances.
Anyway:

I got home from work around 4 and took Izzie out of her house as I sometimes do during the day to take a nap with me in bed. Instead of staying in her blankey, she decided to roam all around my bed, particularly near me for the whole time, so we never got a nap in. She stayed near me for a while and seemed to be huffing and jumping around at nothing. She was also itching a bit too. I was being as still as can be, and wasn't wearing any perfume or lotion or anything. 

She wouldn't settle or anything (she loves sleeping in bed with me, even if she finds a different spot than her blanket under my covers, she sleeps there for HOURS. but instead, it was about 20 minutes of her being super active and huffy.

So we relocated to the couch out of my bed room. sometimes she'll sleep in her blanket on the couch with me. That was a no go. I tried to hold her in my arms and pet her softly and rhythmically, which sometimes she likes and she would sit there quietly for a few minutes.. but she was just trying to get away the whole time, really exerting herself to move around. 

I put her back in her cage after thinking that she was just not having it with me today, to go back to sleep. But instead of running immediately into her log, she stayed in the center of the cage itching and just moving around! She would nudge herself under her little box lid, in which she also loves to sleep, but instead she moved around violently in it, kicking the bedding around, having a fuss about it. 

So the itching was the first thing I decided to investigate. I took her out again after I realized she wasn't going to settle down in there, it had been too long and this was just abnormal behavior for sure. I took her into the bathroom where I could get a good look at her skin and quills, but didn't detect anything above and beyond her usual dryish skin. She had no quill patches, and after checking, I determined she had only lost one quill in her blankey. 

I gave her a bath with Aveeno baby anyway, just in case it was dryness or hidden mites ... And then, as usual, I put her back into her blankey and then into my bed for extra warmth. She again, was so active, the exact opposite of how she normally acts, and wouldn't settle down or snuggle in a spot for sleep and warmth after her bath. But I couldn't imagine she would be active the entire time, so I left her there to then do the second thing I wanted due to the symptoms- clean her cage. I spent a good half an hour cleaning it... but I put the same bedding back and put things as she likes them.

I came back to the bed, and she was in the middle, biting my sheets really hard, almost tearing them! I put her back into her house, and she's been in there messing around for the past 2 hours! 

A normal scenario for her would have been this: I take her into my bed with me, and she either stays in the blankey or finds her own spot under the covers. We both sleep for about 2 hours. I wake and take her back to her house. If I were to bathe her, I'd put her in her blankey and let her sleep in my bed for about an hour. then I'd put her back in her house. Once in her house, she would either run into her log and wait for me to disappear, or she'd start nudging her box lid to get under, get comfy, and then go back to sleep until 10 pm or earlier depending if the tv is on or not.

The over activity and scratching worry me. And she has literally been up since a bit after 4 pm (it is now 8:45 pm). She's eaten, run on her wheel, mess around under her box lid noisily (which she never does....).. she sometimes just stands in the middle of the cage looking up through the crack sniffing up... I let her come out and roam in her designated spot but she appeared bored with that!

Can anyone give any clues as to why this sudden, over energetic behavior?? I'm still waiting for her to settle for a nap!


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

it could be something or could be nothing. maybe just an extra burst of energy today because of a change in the weather. maybe though it could be a sign that she is telling you she is hurting or not feeling well with the itching and biting at the sheets. are you sure she is itching and not pawing? maybe a mouth issue? mites? maybe. i may have missed it if so i'm sorry, how are her stools? a vet visit may not be a bad idea since this is such a sudden change in personality.


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## tinypixiexoxo (Sep 20, 2011)

thank you. can you describe pawing? I actually tried to watch her, and she is still up and still being weird.

I don't think it's a vet visit because she is happy, and moving well. She is also eating normally... it's just other things that are still going on that are weird;

BUT I think you are sooo right... maybe she just really wants out, and it's a burst of energy that I am thankfully helping relieve .. story time:

What she is doing now is sitting near her log, but not in it *which is odd), in a spot that isn't a hiding place. She has sat there for the past hour now (I took her out again a while ago). She has pushed the bedding away and so she is basically sitting on the bottom of the plastic cage. Every once in a while, I catch her getting really low to the ground and making a movement that looks like she is trying to rub her side or her head in little "L" the edge of the cage makes. She hasnt completely flipped yet (would remind you of a hamster in a dust bath, but she barely gets flipped over).

She did poop, lighter than usual, because she hasn't really eaten all that much, but then again, I'll only know in the morning if she ate normally or not.

When I took her out to play, she was very adventerous, biting and pulling at my boyfriend's smelly laundry, and running across the room and back again at high speeds.

2 things worth noting: 

It has been almost 4 dayts since she has gotten exercise outside of the cage. I've had lots of things going on this week that I have been too exhausted to play or let her out for 30 minutes. I change food and water, scoop out poops and soiled bedding, and say hi, and then go about things.

But I guess I decided to pay extra attention to her and maybe she's grateful and asking for more????

And, when I gave her her bath, I didn't put anything on her extra, but there was the aveeno bath powder in the water. I used more than usual, for some reason, and, I didn't really rince it off that well. Could it be she's itching from having bath residue on her? Although, she was itching before the bath too. hmm this is all very confusing.

I don't get the flipping motion, though, and the fact that she's not in a hiding spot, and is just sitting there for hours it seems. Also, the itching, I hear it from time to time now, but still interested to know what "pawing" is.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Pawing=digging incessantly same thing a dog will do if they have something stick in their tooth or have a bad tooth. Sometimes they can scratch an eye out cuz they are so persistant doing it due to the pain being so bad.


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## tinypixiexoxo (Sep 20, 2011)

Okay. she wasn't pawing, then.

She's quiet today. 

I think it was just high energy. She got a lot of attention and exercise out of it!!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

My Cholla has done something very similar to this. In the morning he was so cranky & upset with me & balled up, huffed & wouldn't chill out. The only other time he acted that way was at the vet's office. Later in the day, he was his normal, sweet self. I don't have a clue. I thought maybe he smelled something he didn't like, or maybe I scared him, or maybe he was just in a really bad mood. 
I don't know...


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

Norman has always been a very laid back little guy, but he'll occasionally go completely batty as well. He won't settle, he'll jump at any sort of motion, doesn't want to be held (but that lap had better be there so he can climb into it!), chomps on things, runs around like an idiot, and is just plain old strange. He doesn't get grumpy, just really hyper. I think he just gets these weird little bursts of energy and doesn't know what to do about it. When in doubt, act like a looney! When he starts getting that way, I usually put him back in his pen (after I take a few minutes to laugh at the sight of this little hedgehog going completely bonkers) and he'll usually hop on his wheel and run like his butt's on fire. He doesn't want to be social for the rest of the night, regardless of how early in the evening he gets all wound up, but he's back to his normal little self by morning. Sounds like your little one is doing the same sort of thing. Sometimes there's just no understanding hedgehogs. :lol:


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## tinypixiexoxo (Sep 20, 2011)

HAHAAH that is a hilarious story!!

I feel much better now!!

She is back to normal even after I bothered her a bit today.

They are ... strange little creatures, indeed!


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