# New, very scared addition.



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

I finally went in and adopted the large lump I fell in love with at the petstore here in calgary. I felt she needed me and I soon found out I was very right. This poor girl first off has quite the amount of body to throw around so she doesn't get on well with other hoggies, she'll push her way into a snuggle puddle and just get hurt, many of her quills are split, have no point at the end or are just plain bent and broken. Having been in a pet store she was living with a few in one enclosure, and having been there so long -since before last January- she's been poked, prodded, poorly handled and neglected. Being so scared and uncomfortable all the time she would bite often so she never got a home. Safe to say she's very emotionally damaged and always scared. 

Since bringing her home she has a large enclosure all to herself and runs on her own wheel every night so shes losing some weight, and im getting small sniffy adventures and the occasional snuggle every other night, but she's still incredibly scared and shy. Any slight noise and she's in her ball huffing so hard and rapidly that she ends up actually growling a lot of the time.

Ive also noticed recently that she's sleeping a lot in her litter box. Not only that bus she's rolling in it. Either that or she'll be in the same spot as when I left her the night before. Like just refusing to explore her habitat... 

how damaged is my little baby? Andy ideas or tips? I'm going to break this wild horse cause I've seen her sweet side and it's amazing.


----------



## kouros (Aug 2, 2016)

It's a great idea to keep her in her own enclosure. I'd expect 1-2 weeks adjustment period for a new hedgie but in your case might take longer due to her past experience in the petshop.

What I might do in your situation is every morning I'd move her to a corner and put a pigloo/hidebox over her. Hopefully she will learn she is supposed to sleep there.


----------



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

I've also noticed tonight while having her out for some bonding time something funny is going on with her eyes. She was booking it around the bed, imagine looking for somewhere to snuggle under and hide. When she just suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, and began squinting and closing her eyes very tightly,so much so that her eyelids were quivering. Then once whatever was going on began to subside she would very slowly open her eyes one at a time bit by bit. She looked like she was in some sort of pain. I'm very worried. Obviously a vet check ASAP but I'm curious if anyone else has seen this sort of behavior.. I'm thinking maybe she's going blind as she tastes a lot of things around her. Which would also explain the biting at the pet store... thoughts?


----------



## kouros (Aug 2, 2016)

Perhaps it's best to have her eyes checked at the vet. We can't be sure if the behaviour is due to medical condition or association with her horrid past experience (reminded her of something she's scared of).

From my experience, at night in dim light, my hedgies would often freeze and remain very still for a moment if they sense something unusual (sound/motion). When everything clear they will carry on their activity.


----------



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

Got my vet appointment for Sunday and I'm looking forward to/ nervous about what's going on with my new baby. Today I noticed one of her front two teeth was rather brown looking and was cause her some pain, so I had to soften her food. Just in case she doesn't eat that though I provided some mealies for her as I noticed she doesn't seem to eat much or have the largest bowel movements. 

On the upside we seemed to have made a discovery as to her terrified cage behavior. I spoke with a "pet expert" about heat lights the other day and was told that a blue "moonlight" ambient bulb can promote night time behavior and activity, her being over weight I thought I'd give it a shot. During the time it was on she would run straight to her litter box, assume full assertive ball mode and huff herself to sleep. I mean literally from the time I leave in the morning for work at 7 til I'm home again at 6. She showed no evidence of having left that spot. 
Tonight I tried swapping to a red bulb and she instantly perked up and took to her wheel. So there's one problem solved!


----------



## kouros (Aug 2, 2016)

Glad to hear you're making a great progress there. Regarding the brown teeth, it might be the teeth that's causing her to squint her eyes. Hopefully the vet will get that sorted for you.

I find it rather peculiar that your hedgie prefers to sleep in her litterbox. Normally they'd choose to sleep furthest away from their toilet area. From what I know, this is their natural instinct because in the wild the smell of poop might attract predators.


----------



## Sewingdame87 (Sep 3, 2016)

Hi there. I'm so sorry to hear how your baby was treated  I also got mine from a store but he was alone but had no hide or wheel. 

One thing I want to ask is if you have her on a bottle or bowl for water? Mine came home with a bottle and I saw how frustrated he was and gave him a bowl. I felt terrible when I saw how much he was drinking, I was surprised his little body could hold that much water. If she's on a bottle, I would try a bowl, especially because of her teeth issues. 

The other thing I did was go to pet smart and buy a large snuggle sack. I work from home so I'm lucky about the time I get with him. I take him out and put him in the sack. It's large enough for him to fuss around in for the first minutes and then he'll usually get comfortable and go to sleep on my lap in the sack while I'm working, it's helped a lot with bonding. 

Maybe try putting treats in different areas of the cage so she'll want to explore those areas too and see it as a good thing rather than Something to be potentially scared of. at first my guy had no idea what his hide was and was scared of this large object in his space. He'd sniff it and then ball and huff at it. I started putting a treat down and then the hide over it and he eventually went in it and loves it now.


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Red bulbs aren't recommended for hedgehogs. They shouldn't have any light at night. A ceramic heat emitter is what should be used as they only give off heat not any light.


----------



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

My two girls seem to enjoy the red lights though. After speaking with the exotics vet this morning at our appointment she says hedgehogs can't see red light, it just registers as darkness to them. I say this only because since putting in the red light Bellas temperament has changed ten fold. No more cowering and sleeping in her litter, she's using her hutch and she's exploring the whole cage at "top speed" not to mention she's run dropped to 480grams from 500grams when I first brought her home a week and a half ago.

The vet gave me some drops for her eyes and some omega supplements for her skin, I guess she was a little red. I have also switched her bedding to just fleece on vets orders. But other than a bit of extra weight and skin/eye irritation she has a 100%clean bill of health and im so thankful for that. She's come so far already since bringing her home.


----------



## kouros (Aug 2, 2016)

Aww, good to hear she's doing well. Must be quite a sight seeing the chubby bundle running here and there happily.

The fleece bedding is a good call, as Nikki has always advised. Personally I don't like wood shaving because it is dusty and prone to mite infestation. Some people are also allergic to the dust and fume from wood resin. Fleece is always better.


----------



## CrysAnner (Apr 29, 2016)

My goodness fair warning if anyone's little one needs eye drops.. GOOD LUCK APPLYING THEM haha


----------

