# Out of control biting, please help.



## cthom (Nov 15, 2011)

hello all!


please help me. i can not get hudini to stop biting. it is out of control. he bites my fingers, my arms, my nose, my neck.
its like he gose out of his way to bite. i wash my hands with fragence free soap. hes got his wheel and i give him mealies whenever he dosent bite.
i dont put him back in his cage. and these are not just tiny bites. these are chomp and hold on for dear life bites. my fingers are covered in bite marks. 
i try to keep my fingers away from his mouth but then he bites my arm! i wear long sleeve shirts and he crawls on me and bites my neck or my nose! its like he gose out his way to bite me! i dont know what to do anymore! im not going to get rid of him because i love him and thats that but god i wish the biteing would stop!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Half the battle with dealing with biting is to figure out why they bite. Yours does not seem to be a scent driven biting, so lets explore defensive and aggressive biting.

Is your hedgehog extremely defensive? Quills raised, clicking, and you are trying to do something with him when he bites. Or is he just snuffling around and will walk up to you and bite?

Watch his behaviors just before he bites. Often there is a signal that they are about to bite. If you are doing something with the hedgehog at the time, respect that signal and back off. If you are petting/touching the hedgehog, put it in a snuggle bag. Continue to hold the hedgehog, but don't touch. 

Does he start biting right away or is he out for a while then starts to bite? Is there too much noise/commotion in the room that could be upsetting him?

Occasionally there are those that just bite. I have known a couple and been bitten by them too. They were not mine, but I was warned before handling them that they, at random, would bite. It was just who they were. The way to deal with those was just to keep your skin away from their mouths.


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## Torston (Aug 28, 2011)

Considering patterns in behaviour, what is your routine with Houdini? Does he always bite when you take him out or just sometimes? When you bring him out is it right out of a sleep or has he been up for a while?

I only say this because my Bos will sometimes get chompy if I take him out before he gets a chance to eat. I think at that point even with super clean hands, I still look like the closest thing to edible, and he isn't going to be picky.


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## cthom (Nov 15, 2011)

actully is is very well tempered. 
he barely ever raise his quills, he huffs alot but thas about it.
we havea morning routine, when i wake up in the moring he comes to the bathroom with me to brush my hair and runs around then we go down for breakfast and he sits on my lap and sniffs around for a good few mintues. then BITE! i have watched him numorous times and he dose not give any "signal" or "sign" that he is about to bite. he just dose. 
the only time i ever see him raise his quills is if there is a loud noise out of no where. even i jump. 
normally when i put him back in his cage after wards he gose right for his food bowl and has a drink then gose back to sleep.
i have no idea. all i know is that it hurts!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Try feeding him as soon as you get him up. Give him a treat or even just his own kibble. I've had ones that bit when first up because they were hungry. Since you say when you put him back in his cage he goes for his food, hungry may be his issue. 

I've also had ones that bit when they had to go potty so being put back in the cage to go ended the biting. 

Do you smoke? Sometimes the smell of cigarettes will make them bite and hand washing doesn't totally eliminate the smell. 

Try feeding him first, and see if that works. Good luck.


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## Torston (Aug 28, 2011)

Yeah, as Nancy said it sounds like he might be hungry. My guy will pretty much only ever nibble if he hasn't had food yet since he got up. It might not even be about a taste on you, but more about it being in the environment. There's never a lick before a nip with my guy either, like there are with some hedgehogs. With their strong sense of smell, if you're having food for breakfast with him around, the smell of food and a hungry hedgie tummy might mean he goes for the first thing that looks edible. Which ends up being you. Maybe you guys could have breakfast dates with a bowl of food for each of you. Cereal for one, kibble for the other.


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## JustOnePost (Dec 27, 2011)

Nancy offers some wonderful advice as have others, being an owner of biters with habits similar to your description you will need to develop alternative handling for your hedgehog, remove any chance of exposed skin from your hedgehog and use fleece pieces or a fleece blanket to pick your hedgehog up, I did this with a biter who consistently bite and drew blood and after two months she stopped trying to bite and I was able to adapt more casual handling techniques as she realized she wasn't in danger.

Like you described she showed no signs nor quilling up and would just find skin and bite.

Continue bonding while avoiding the bite opportunity and hopefully the thought will phase out of your hedgehog's instinctive reaction/action


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## cthom (Nov 15, 2011)

thank you all for the wonderful advice guys! i will try feedeing him first and yes breakfast dates sound like a wonderful idea!  and no i dont smoke just to let you all know. not to good for you or hedgies id think.... but yes ill try feeding him first. and i normally alwas take him out with his snuggle sack.


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

spray his nose with water when he bites. got mine to quit and i dont think its abusive. its just water


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## GoldenEyes (Nov 4, 2011)

jngy slate said:


> spray his nose with water when he bites. got mine to quit and i dont think its abusive. its just water


Ummmm... aren't you not supposed to get their noses wet because it could cause a respiratory infection? :shock: :?


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