# Confused about grumpy behavior



## juliev (Apr 30, 2012)

My live in boyfriend and I just got a new 9 week old (now 12 weeks) hedgehog, Corporal Grubber, about 3 weeks ago. I am an animal behaviorist but I'm just beginning to understand hedgehog behavior.When we got here she was very friendly, didn't even pull her quills over her eyes the first time we both picked her up. We got her home as she was doing good. She seemed a little grumpy when we would first try to get her out, just curling up and huffing and clicking a bit but that would stop after about 30 seconds after she smelled us and realized who we were, or as soon as we picked her up she would unroll and pull all her quills down. She seemed to enjoy being pet on the back and that would get her to put her quills down too. However, over the past several days to a week, she has gotten really mad when she even sees either of us come into the room. She runs and hides or if she's in her house, she immediately starts huffing and clicking almost as soon as she hears our voices. When we go in to get her, we get up close enough to let her smell us which she comes out to do, but as soon as we move, she starts flipping out and while unrolled will jump and throw herself at whatever side our hand is on like shes trying to hit us with her quills. She has bitten us a little but only a few of those times seemed out of anger. Once we get her out, she uncurls and stops the huffing, but we can't ever seem to get her to hold still on us anymore. She use to fall asleep on our chests when we would cup her in our hands but she almost seems to want nothing to do with us anymore. She just runs as if to try to get away or hide.

Some insight into what we have been doing for her; we made a leather pouch for her to play/sleep in and she loves it. Once the change in behavior started, we added a strap and turned it into a bonding pouch that we could put her in to carry around the house with us. Shortly before the behavior change, we took away the shirt we were using that had his scent on it and replaced it with a piece of fleece (she really didn't like it at first so we replaced it with the shirt but later just kind of forced her to deal with by leaving it in there), we also added a hiding box that the fleece went into. We left her for a couple of nights 2 weeks ago with one of our roommates to feed and water her. We gave her her first bath a couple weeks ago in oatmeal water to try to sooth her scratching and she seemed to be pretty scared of the water, which I have heard that hedgehogs seem to really love.

A couple of days ago, we noticed a slimy pale green poop in her litter, but since then it has been fine. I heard this could be an intestinal issue but we are hesitant to take her to the vet unless it happens again. We also noticed a few days ago that on one of her shoulders had some small round scabs on it, almost looks like it could be from over scratching but we can't get her to hold still for us.

What would cause this seemingly sudden change in behavior as she was already beginning to quill when we got her? Could anything that I have mentioned above be a possible cause besides the quilling? Any suggestions of what we can do to help her stop this behavior? Is there any way to help her enjoy her baths? Sorry about the long message but as a behaviorist I want to be as thorough as possible so I can learn as much as possible about her behavior. I am just very concerned as she went from happy to angry almost overnight. Thank you very much!


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2012)

my first thought was quilling. but is it possible that she has mites? I would keep an eye on the scratching and try and do a visual test for mite with a piece of black paper.

as for bath there is actually very few hedgehogs who enjoy baths, many tolerate it and alot hate it so its rare to find a hedgie who likes water. 

when you take her out what time is it. and have you tryed dimming the lights or bribing her with mealies?


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## juliev (Apr 30, 2012)

We take her out at random times, mostly during the late afternoon or evening. The light is a possibility so we will give that a shot. Any other ideas about the change in behavior?


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2012)

its better to take them out later in the evening. they are nocturnal and it may be that shes grumpy because you are disturbing her sleep. youd be cranky to if someone woke you up at 3am . 

id try that first but keep in mind that a change in behavior may be a singal thats something wrong with you hedgie or something is bothering them, and a vet visit might be a good option just to rule out something


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

Corporal Grubber! :lol: I love it!

I'm just curious how one goes about cleaning a leather pouch? Perhaps sew another bag, but have it fleece? If your new little one is quilling, or has any other sort of skin irritation the softer fibers might be a little more comforting. 

I would keep an eye on the scabs too. If they appear to be lingering or re-opening, I would visit the vet, it could by mites or a staph infection. Since she may be quilling still, the scabs could be from ingrown quills that she has scratched at and opened little wounds. (Quilling in some hedgies can take a month or longer.)

It sounds like whatever is bothering her could be skin related. However, this can be normal hedgie behavior too...some hedgies are just crabcakes. Don't reinforce her huffs by putting her down or leaving her alone. Hedgies are smart, they will make the connection of, "Hey, if I'm mean, I get left alone! Neat!" Just give your new little one loads of love, and keep an eye out for any other physiological changes (poop, pee, skin health, etc.)

Oh, and we love pictures.


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## juliev (Apr 30, 2012)

Thanks! I have heard the possibility of mites from a few people so I will definitely check that out. 

She sleeps in the suede leather pouch while she's out and sometimes likes to chew it a bit. She has yet to pee or poop in it so we haven't worried about cleaning it yet. She absolutely loves the pouch and hasn't given any indication that it bothers her since she runs strait for it when we put it down for her. We will make her another one out of fleece and she if that helps also.

Any ideas about the slimy pale green poop? No one has mentioned anything about that.


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## coribelle (Jan 20, 2012)

Slimy green poo could easily be a sign of stress or tummy upset. If it has only happened once then it is not a problem


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## juliev (Apr 30, 2012)

We just determined that she doesn't have mites. We rubbed her down with a black shirt and saw some dry skin flakes but no movement that would indicate mites. The scabs have started to fall off and we haven't found any new ones. Any ideas from here?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

juliev said:


> We just determined that she doesn't have mites. We rubbed her down with a black shirt and saw some dry skin flakes but no movement that would indicate mites. The scabs have started to fall off and we haven't found any new ones. Any ideas from here?


It could still be mites - the black cloth thing isn't really conclusive, unless you definitely see white spots moving around. The only way to rule it out for sure would be a skin scrape done by a vet. It's a good thing the scabs are going away, though. At 12 weeks she's most likely still quilling as well.


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