# Tummy rub!



## padawanslacker (Oct 24, 2008)

Spirit's been with me about 3 weeks now, and she's gotten quite comfortable with me--I'm a jungle gym, a bed, a personal entertainment center, etc. Yesterday I decided she trusted me enough for me to start getting her used to being touched on the feet, the belly, the underside of her neck, the top of her head--basically all those places that often make even a friendly hedgehog Freak. Out. I'm not doing it because I'm mean, or because hedgehog tummies are cute (although they are). I'm doing it because I'll be able to care for her better if I can see and touch all of her. It's a bit early for me to really worry about finding strange lumps in her abdomen and things, but that age comes soon enough, and she won't be in the mood to learn tummy-touching when she's 3 1/2 and not feeling well.

So yesterday I tried rubbing her little belly. And she balled up. And hissed at me. And poked me. And bit me. A lot. I just did the thing where you pretend you don't even feel the bites and you keep on saying, "Oh, what a sweet little baby," or whatever nonsense people say to their hedgehogs. Within about half an hour, she'd figured out that I wasn't going to run away or suddenly decide to eat her, and she started to relax.

Today she still hissed and balled some, but no biting, and she let me rub her all over her tummy, and stroke her throat, and touch her little feets, and stroke those visor quills without her shoving them straight up into my hand. She doesn't much like having her ears scratched, but that does show that she doesn't have dry skin or mites. I won't claim she was ecstatic about all this, but today she seemed to find me more of a minor nuisance than a threat to life and limb. 

Maybe tomorrow--she'll find some kind of petting she likes? Either way, it was enormously gratifying to be able to win her trust at that level, even if she had to put all kinds of holes in my skin first. 

This is why I've got an exotic "wild animal" in my house instead of a dog or cat. Wild creatures have no particular predisposition to like you. You can't really train them--or at least you can't really train hedgehogs. If they like and trust you, it's an absolutely free gift. Actually, it's an honor. To me, anyway, Spirit's toleration of me stroking her throat means more than a domestic pet's natural enjoyment of it.


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## Reaper (Aug 22, 2008)

Exactly! Only hedgie peeps understand how monumental such a seemingly small thing actually is.


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## lilhoglet (Aug 28, 2008)

Thats great! I'm glad she is so trusting of you, it must feel amazing


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Ah, doesn't that give you a wonderful fuzzy feeling inside?


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## iamdbf (Aug 28, 2008)

It does. Jade likes her forehead and shoulder rubs. I agree with the things people are saying here. I like how I earned Jade's trust, rather than her naturally liking me, and i love that feeling.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

padawanslacker said:


> This is why I've got an exotic "wild animal" in my house instead of a dog or cat. Wild creatures have no particular predisposition to like you. You can't really train them--or at least you can't really train hedgehogs. If they like and trust you, it's an absolutely free gift. Actually, it's an honor. To me, anyway, Spirit's toleration of me stroking her throat means more than a domestic pet's natural enjoyment of it.


very well said. i agree completely.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Fracturedcircle, please stop posting in such old topics. Nobody actually looks at these anymore, and necroposting can be very irritating.


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## shealynn87 (Jun 6, 2010)

Sela,
I understand you are only 19 but please learn some patience. Some people (like myself) are new to forums and it doesn't always occur to us that we should look at the date it was originally posted. If you notice "Tummy rub!" was only a few postings below her introduction to Sweetie. Being new members to a community of people with common interest it is only natural for people to want to read the posts and comment. When you jump on someones case about something they didn't realize they were doing it make it hard for them to want to contribute opinions and ask questions that would be beneficial to the rest of the group.
I understand you were just trying to let her know that making comments that just agree with everyone else one old post is discouraged, and i can appreciate that but there are more effective and polite ways of saying that.  
P.S. I looked at the old topics because I am trying to learn as much as I can. 
P.P.S. incorrect, generalized, and abrupt statements can be very irritating.


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## nessariel (Mar 3, 2010)

Shealynn87, this problem has already been addressed and resolved elsewhere. Your response to Sela was, IMO, very rude, especially with the sarcasm at the end there. She wasn't being mean to Fracturedcircle, nor was she jumping down anyone's throat. She was simply pointing out that, unless something is being added or a new question is brought up, most people prefer not to have topics that are several years old brought back up. 
This forum is here to help people learn and to answer people's questions, and of course anyone is welcome to post with inquiries, but speaking to another forum member like that is not a good way to start things off.


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## shealynn87 (Jun 6, 2010)

Nessariel,
I can understand how last last part was taken as rude, and i apologize if Sela was offended with my snarky remark. I understand the point she was trying to get across. I just thought it was a little rude, abrupt, and could have been said in a different way. 

I don't disagree with what she said, I have also read many of the threads that are repetitive and have long stretches of time between two posts. Then someone will get huffy about necroposting (which being new to a forum I had never heard of until about a couple of weeks ago). The reactions tend to be harsh and unwelcoming to someone who is just learning forum etiquette. Had these comment had been directed toward other member who had been around long enough to know that other people consider it obnoxious I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but is seems like it is often people who are new. I could be that it only happened a few times but i was so put off that it might just be exaggerated in my mind. I have also noticed some people such as nancy very tactfully remind people about necroposting. I am just asking for some patience from other members.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Okay, wow. I may be nineteen, but that doesn't mean it's okay to treat me like a child. Please curb your attitude towards me; if there's one thing I can't stand, it's being talked down to the way you did.

Firstly, you have no idea how I was feeling that day, and the spark of irritation the necroposting caused in me (I do get a touch annoyed when someone insists on continuing to do something they have been told not to do) may have flared a little too strongly depending on my mood. You will also note that fracturedcircle and I are now perfectly pleasant toward one another, this issue has long since passed.

Secondly, I happen to have Asperger Syndrome. I'm not sure if you know what that is, since a lot of people ask me what it means when it comes up, but it's basically a higher-functioning form of autism. I don't read social cues well, and I'm really not very good at censoring myself, and in some instances, getting my point across without sounding aggressive. Whether I mean to or not, sometimes I do come off as confrontational. At this moment, for instance, I'm a little ticked about the way you spoke to me, and that's probably visible in the way I'm writing this post.

And please don't use 'I didn't know' as an excuse, as many people have done. That's exactly my point: You don't know. Next time, please have a little consideration and don't assume I'm just a nasty person.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Can't we all just get along  :?: :!:


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

:lol: Larry! But I do agree, though.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

So sorry to the OP that this thread was drug up just so people could argue. I'm going to lock this.


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