# Came home aggressive



## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

I'm totally worried. We went out of town for 2 1/2 days and sent him to the vet to be watched and cared for. They gave him a bath and cut his nails, and when I picked him up today and put my hand it for him to climb on, he bit me! Not only that, but he is very aggressive and biting even his fleece pieces in his goldfish hedgie bag and even the bag itself! His bite wasn't hard but enough to tell me to leave him alone, but he is biting his bedding pretty roughly. He's also showing his teeth a bit too. 

He was passive and sweet when I dropped him and now he's hissing, popping and biting. What do I do?


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

I think he's upset about being left with someone who isn't you. Sounds to me like he's throwing a tantrum, he'll probably be back to normal with plenty of bribes and love.

That's just my take on it, though, you should probably wait for Nancy or LG, or some such person. They know more than I do.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

He might be stressed and upset from the vet visit and just plain having a bad day.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

I really hope so. I fed him some potato, which he loves, in his bag cause I tried to carry him in my shirt but he was all over the place trying to either find my flesh to bite it or trying to run away. He fell down out of my shirt in the car while I was driving onto the car floor, but I gently picked him up and tried to just hold him keeping still.

I changed out his hedgie bag when I came home just in case the smell was bothering him. They changed his fleece liner and the one they put in smells like strong chlorine! He went into his house and knew exactly where everything is, so that's a good sign. I guess I'll leave him alone till tomorrow night so he can get back to normal.

Will his personality forever change to aggressive, though, or is he just mad that I had him babysat for 2 nights?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

karidaluv said:


> He fell down out of my shirt in the car while I was driving onto the car floor, but I gently picked him up and tried to just hold him keeping still.


This is exactly one of the reasons why you should have your hedgie in a hard-sidded pet carrier, seat belted in, when ever you have them in a vehicle.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

nikki said:


> This is exactly one of the reasons why you should have your hedgie in a hard-sidded pet carrier, seat belted in, when ever you have them in a vehicle.


I had his carrier but I wanted to check on him because he was being so aggressive. He's settled down in his other hedgie bag now in his home. Next time I'll just leave him in his carrier instead of trying to hold him in the car. Although the fall was only from my seat to the floor, it's still scary and poor thing...he fell! He wasn't mad at me for that, surprisingly, but that may be from me giving him a few treats right after that. Luckily I was still parked in front of the vet's office.

when I reached in his hedgie bag to get him like I always do--hands palm open, gently placed under his four paws and belly to come out--he bit me. I was freaked out. He NEVER bites. EVER.

Do you think he was mad at me for having him stay at the vet for 2 1/2 days? I'm wondering if the sounds from other animals freaked him out, too. The lady who cared for him said that he was really good until after they gave him a bath, which makes me wonder what they did when he did bathe, because I bathed him once and he was perfectly fine in the bath, swimming a bit and climbing on to my arm when he was done. I wonder what they did...

Well my hubby said no more. We'll get a friend to come in and check on him if we're gone again for 3 days and nights. I feel so guilty for having him stay at the vet that I'll never do it again.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

Here's a brief video of him in the car when I picked him up. He's in his goldfish hedgie bag.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I would suggest leaving him alone for a day or two, with just your worn shirts in the cage with him.

Why? I bet he hasn't gotten a good day's sleep ever since you dropped him off. Since hedgies sleep during the day, that's also when the vet's is busiest. With different animals and people coming in and out, I bet there were dogs barking, cages opening and closing and just overall people always talking. I would just let him chill and don't really do anything for the next day or two, so he can at least catch up on his beauty sleep.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

will do. thanks! i rubbed a piece of shirt on me and put it in his bag today and he actually went at it and started biting at it and pulling hard. I guess he's REALLY mad at me.  I'll give him 2 days to chill out. Thanks for the tip  

Two days of no handling won't make him mean will it?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

That's where the worn shirts come in. Kind of like telling him that he's home. Probably just this first day to let him rest, then the next day, let him come out, but let him decide what he wants to do. However, since he fell. Definitely take him out daily to check him over, especially for bruising, depending on how he landed. Just make it short and sweet. Quick check, some treats, and back to his home.

My boy has gone entire week without handling before, cause I was sick, and he was pretty good with it. And recently, I was gone the entire month and had him over at a friend's place. I left it up to her if she wanted to handle him or not, so assuming he wasn't handled during the month, he came home and he was his same old self. The only thing I was really adamant about was that his sleeping fleece always remained the same, so that he was always surrounded by smells of himself. He's a relatively clean boy, so he slept in the same fleece for the month. I only just switched it out now, after a week of settling in back home.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

You know, they put in a fleece cage liner that smelled like chlorine. I wonder if that made him even more upset. 

I figure that they can go without handling for 2-3 days, and if that's the case I'll leave him here and have a friend check in on him over the weekend the next time we go out of town.

I rubbed my shirt pieces that he usually sleeps with on myself again today and put it back in there, which he hissed at me for even bothering him. I hope that helps him get back to normal. Thanks for the tip!


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I agree with you, I ponder the fleece liner if its smelling that much, and the bath, did they shampoo him and what did they use, was it your instructions or just kind of left them to do their own thing, cause not all vets are good with hedgehogs.

But I'd go with what others have said, he's just, really, really, really, [email protected] off.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

They have two vets specializing in hedgehogs and one is his vet. They were told to wash him in shallow water but enough to let him swim a bit. I gave them his aveeno unscented wash. That fleece liner though is strong of chlorine. It bothers me that the lady who took care of him wasn't the vet but some assistant. They didn't tell me what they did exactly just that when they bathed him and took care of him "he was difficult". Rex isn't! They're just idiots.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Hmm, my main question for them would be, where is the chlorine from? Is the liner something you gave them, I'm assuming his own from home or the one he went to the vet with. I'm pondering if the chlorine is in their water supply. Does he smell of chlorine, though his soap would probably clean and cover that up, but it might be a factor, besides him just being upset over the whole thing.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

They said he pooped all over his cage so they gave him a new liner from their office and washed the one he was dropped off with, too. Weird. He doesn't smell like chlorine, thank god. But ummtrying to figure out why chlorine?? Bizarre.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Chlorine is used to make water safe and clean, clean enough to drink. I'm not sure what kind of system the vet is using, they're either drawing water from a utility system from the city/town/village, where it would be added, or they are drawing it from a drilled well on the property, which means they have a water softening system that filters the well water with the chlorine. They also might have the water softening system even if they are on a utility water supply. Typically I think in a utility system, the chlorine is so diluted that its not noticed by most, but if its a private system in the building, it could be pumping more than what is typically used.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

That makes sense. I wish you could smell his bedding though. Man. Took two washes to get the smell out!


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

Before you boarded him at the vets, did you explain to him what was going to happen and when you'd be back?


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

Okay so it's day 3 since he's been home. I left him alone for 2 days and fed him worms yesterday morning when I went to clean his cage. He was fine. We bonded tonight for an hour after he ate a 1/2 teaspoon of cooked ground beef for a treat and his regular food. After that hour he started to ball up on me for no reason, it seems. He started to ball up against my chest and without any noise like hissing and stuff. I wonder why he did that? Also, I put him back in his bag for a minute then went to check him, and when I reached into his bag like I usually do, he bit me. hard enough for me to notice, but didn't latch on. He was NEVER a biter and now he is  makes me sad. My hubby had him on his shoulder and when Rex bit his gold chain on his neck he also went and bit my hubby's neck hard enough for him to notice. We put him in the bath quick since he peed on himself and he loved it. I was holding him with his tummy up so he was floating, and he just stays still  it's cute!

anyway, do you guys think it'll take more than 2 days home to adjust back to normal, or is this biting thing going to be permanent??!? He was never a biter and now he communicates, it seems, via biting. 

any advice would be great. thanks guys.

PS: we also received an ionic pro and it's the first day in the house. are hedgehogs sensitive to ionizers?


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I remember awhile back that you had a hedgehog that was aggressive and it was determined he had some kinda lump that may have caused it. Since your new hedgehog was from the same place is there any chance that they are related and maybe this hedgehog has a similar ailment. I wouldn't deal with the pet store but it got me thinking that it might be a good idea to take him in for an appointment to the vet. I know he was very nice before hand but sometimes things do happen at weird times making it hard to find out what caused what. I could be totally off base with this but it came to mind and I felt I should share because of the possibility. Just whatever you do I would suggest you figuring out what is going on with the vet and not the pet store.

Best of luck to you and Rex.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

Thanks  he was checked at the vet beforehand and he came out with a clean bill of health. He's only been biting since we picked him up from staying at the vet for 3 nights this past weekend cause we went out of town. There were lots of dogs barking and loud noises, I assume, and it was probably all new to him. The lady who took care of him told me that "after his bath he became very difficult". I don't know if they handled him right, to be honest, despite it being a vet's office.

I'll never leave him again. IT seems that he is now communicating via biting, which never happened before. I wonder if I should start with 1 hour bonding time again like I did when I first brought him home because he was biting when I picked him up at the vet on Monday morning, pretty much a bite that told me "leave me alone, I'm mad you left me with strangers". His bites tonight happened after he was fine lying down on me then he suddenly began to roll into a ball on my chest out of nowhere. I put him in his hedgie bag thinking he was done bonding with me after an hour, and when I went in to get him again he bit me. 

I hope this change isn't permanent. I'm wondering if he needs to be watched if we go away again for 3 nights or not. I don't want him to be mad again if we ever have to leave for vacation.

Does anyone know if the biting could become a normal thing for hedgies when they want to tel you they're tired of you or not in the mood? His personality was set until I dropped him at the vet over the weekend. I'm so sad that he's a biter now.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I'd take him out of the cage every night and if after 1 hour he became mad, i'd put him back in his cage. If there were a lot of dogs barking there, it was probably very very Stressful to him. It might take a few more days for him to overcome it.

You asked if he needs to be watched if you go away for 3 days again, the answer is yes. Too many things can happen during 3 days, he can flip his water dish, his heating source can break down, he can become sick and when you find out 3 days later it might be too late, among others. Maybe you have a friend who you trust to watch him? You can start training you friend to be a hedgiesitter. Hehe

God luck!


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

susanaproenca said:


> You asked if he needs to be watched if you go away for 3 days again, the answer is yes. Too many things can happen during 3 days, he can flip his water dish, his heating source can break down, he can become sick and when you find out 3 days later it might be too late, among others. Maybe you have a friend who you trust to watch him? You can start training you friend to be a hedgiesitter. Hehe
> 
> God luck!


Ha! I didn't think of that. Will he have to be held by the sitter? I just want to know so I can ask my friend. It looks like Rex doesn't take well to strangers now so I have to make sure I ask the right thing from a friend. If no one can watch him, and an exotic pet store can, should I let them do it?


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I don't think the sitter HAS to handle him, only if both are comfortable with it, Rex and the sitter.

Unless it's an exotic pet store that you know very well, know the enployees and trust them completely, I wouldn't let them watch my hedgehog... I wouldn't let anyone in whom I don't trust 100% to watch her. A few weeks ago we went away for the weekend and we had a friend coming over 3 times during the weekend to check on her, but this friend used to have hedgehogs so he knew what he was doing. If I have to go away for longer than that I'll leave mustard at my sister's i've been slowly telling her everything about mustard so she will be comfortable watching her.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Maybe it's time to have a heart-to-heart with your little guy. Hold him close to your heart and let him know how much you love him. Let him know that you had to go out of town for a little bit and did your best to find a place that would care for him until you returned. Apologize that it didn't work out as well as planned. Let him know that your home will always be his home. There might be some other short trips where you're away, but you will always come back. 

If you have any trips planned for the future, line up a good hedgie-sitter... not a pet store. Let him know as far in advance as possible about what's going to happen, so he'll be prepared. And emphasize that you will be back; you love him; you're sorry; he's your special little guy...


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

My poor baby. I honestly don't trust the exotic pet store, but i figured it I cannot find a sitter and we have the vacation prepaid, there isn't another choice. Since they don't have loud animals - just reptiles, hedgies, prairie dogs, ferrets, rabbits and hamsters and birds--I thought maybe he'd be less stressed than he was when he was at the vet. then again, I don't trust ANYONE with my hedgie!

I was thinking of sneaking him to our hotel room in Anaheim and turning the bathroom into his "cage" and not let them turn down our beds at all for 3 nights. He wouldn't be disturbed or anything. What's scary about that option is that hedgehogs are illegal in CA and if he was found I'm scared they'll euthanize him.  I was even contemplating this option, though, packing his wheel in a second luggage with fleece, his bed, thermometers to check the temperature, as well as his food, water, and dishes and treats. But...that whole illegal thing scares me. I don't know if hotel staff go into rooms despite the sign being on the door. 

Anyway,I'm trying to figure out options because that vacation is coming up in a few weeks and I'd hate to leave him alone for 3 days (thursday night - sunday afternoon). I know he cannot turn over his dishes because they are rocks, and I have the self-refilling dishes for water and food that are small for his size...but the cricket treats wont' be filled for the time I'm gone. We don't have friends willing to watch him (I asked this morning, and they all said **** no  ) and no family. AHHHHHHHH

Well, I'll figure it out soon enough. As for his attitude, he's getting there but I think I have to start with just an hour of bonding again and work him up after a week. I think you guys are right--he was totally stressed from his experience at the vet and being thrust into a new and probably very loud environment. 

If you guys have any advice in terms of the whole babysitting thing, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Where are you located? Maybe someone here could offer to hedgiesit for you. Or if you're driving, perhaps the path you may take driving. Maybe you'll pass by someone here and you can drop him off on the way. 

Now, as you know, I was away for a month and I left him with a friend. I've known her for about 2 years, and she takes VERY good care of her animals and really strives to take care of them the best she can. 

I left it up to her whether she wanted to handle him or not. It IS a big comfort level thing, so I totally left it up to her, as I knew my boy would be fine. He's a cuddler anyways, and will just fall asleep in your lap.

As for food, I've always counted his kibbles, but to make it easier, I gave her a small measuring cup/spoon, to scoop his food with instead.

Now for wheel, I know she works, so I gave her 2 wheels. That way, in the mornings, she'd just switch out the wheels, and the dirty one can be cleaned later, when she comes home. And the cycle continues...

I gave extra fleece and bedding, enough that I didn't expect her to actually have to wash anything. Keep in mind, my boy is very clean, so he doesn't ever really need much cleaning, other than the once a week switch out. 

I brought his desk lamp with a timer, so that his lighting schedule will remain the same.

Her apartment is always kept warmer, so heat wasn't an issue. But if it was, then obviously the entire CHE setup. 

It actually doesn't take much work, she could do everything in all of 5 min in the morning. Switch out wheels, feed, water, quick check to see he's brilliantly hissing :lol: The key here is to keep it short and simple for them. The more YOU worry and freak out about it, the more your friends will be unwilling to hedgiesit. I guess I got really lucky, as I met her through boarding stables where I kept my horse, so she's already an animal person.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

A couple other ideas: I wonder if there are any HWS rescue stations near you or between your current location and where you're traveling that you could drop him off on your way. Or, if you got your little guy from a reputable breeder, can that person watch him over those three days?


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

smhufflepuff said:


> A couple other ideas: I wonder if there are any HWS rescue stations near you or between your current location and where you're traveling that you could drop him off on your way. Or, if you got your little guy from a reputable breeder, can that person watch him over those three days?


No he was from an exotic pet store in Las Vegas.

As for HWS, I looked and I can't seem to locate one, but I'll call around and see what I can find. I'm in Las Vegas, so if anyone's heard of one around here, please let me know.

thanks for the tips, guys! It helps a lot


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