# How bad do hedgehogs really smell?



## Catluvscats

So, I've heard a lot of people say hedgehogs don't smell at all! But, on the other hand, someone people say that they smell A LOT! Just wondering what everyone else thought as unfortunately this is one of the reasons I am not allowed one


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## DesireeM81

Honestly, I don't think they smell at all while my fiancee says he can smell them. Besides there poop (every ones poop smells) they don't give off an odor like ferrets or male rats. There is no discernible difference between males and females scent wise and neither gender marks or sprays. However, their wheels can get smelly without daily cleaning and their urine can smell strong if bedding isn't change.


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## HedgiePome

My boyfriend thought Cookie smelled (he did a little bit), so I got a box of baking soda and stuck it next to his cage. The smell is gone and everyone is happy. Some people get air purifiers to help with the smell.


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## coffeebean

the urine and feces smells. keep the hedgie and cage clean and there isnt a smell. 
this is my experience anyways


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## xorenaa

I only notice a smell when I leave my room and come back in or when there's a draft of air from outside, like if my roommates walk by or open/close a door. Even then, it's not super strong nor does it bother me, and it goes away pretty quickly. Poop and urine are the smelliest parts, but that's handled with daily wheel and litter cleaning and consistent cage cleaning.


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## Teddi4211

The actual poop, for me, smells so bad it could trigger a gag reflex. The actual hedgie doesn't smell in my opinion. Still, even scrubbing the wheel every day and spot cleaning the cage, the scent lingers in my room.


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## AlexandPersephone

I would not be able to have a hedgehog if they stunk. I currently live with my parents who strictly forbid anything with a strong body odour. I do make the effort to spot clean every morning. My little lady is litter trained and sleeps on fleece bedding, which I switch out every 3rd night... They really shouldn't stink but some people are hypersensitive to smell.


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## AlexandPersephone

Sorry I really need to correct my last message: they shouldn't have a strong body odour but the cage can get very smelly very fast. Plus, when necessary they should be bathed...


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## shinydistraction

I remember when Nico first came home one of the things I didn't really know anything about was if there was going to be a distinctive hedgehog smell and how strong it was going to be. Which frankly made me nervous. I had decided against a ferret partially because the overwhelming consensus was that they smell. However, my little girl came home and it turns out I was worried over nothing. 

They do have their own scent. Every living creature does. But it's not by any means strong. I remember sitting by the cage shortly after getting her and remarking that there was a mild smell, but that it was not unpleasant. To be honest I kinda liked it. But having had her for a while now I don't smell her at all. The poop is another story. If not kept up with it can smell really bad really fast. But daily cleaning of the wheel and spot cleaning daily make a huge impact. I've even made a point of asking visitors to my home if they smelled anything and so far no one has noticed the smell of hedgehog or poop.


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## TrendyK9

I really have to point out that wether something "stinks" or not is 100% going to depend on the person doing the sniffing, because everyone has different ideas of what "stink" is and everyone is different when it comes to odor sensitivity. That's why you have some people saying there's no stink at all, and others who say there is.

Regardless, output from ANY animal is going to smell like something. I clean up poop ASAP otherwise i can smell it in the living room, but other than that i have nothing to complain about. I just joke that "well, i know Hamish is up!"

I also have to throw out (since i know you also asked about convincing your parents) that if someone doesn't want a pet in the home but is "convinced" into it anyway.... then even the cleanest of pet/cage can "stink" simply because they want to be difficult about it. If they're resentful of the pet, nothing is going to make them happy about it being there no matter what you do so yeah... to them, it will "stink" 24/7!


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## bluegie

All I can say is that hedgehog's scent is pretty minimal. Roll smelled like a fried duck though when my brother (aka his father) didn't bath him for over a month. I know we are supposed to give our hedgehog a bath once a month only, but he didn't give him one for 45 days (and it was summer...).


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## Nancy

TrendyK9 said:


> I really have to point out that wether something "stinks" or not is 100% going to depend on the person doing the sniffing, because everyone has different ideas of what "stink" is and everyone is different when it comes to odor sensitivity. That's why you have some people saying there's no stink at all, and others who say there is.
> 
> Regardless, output from ANY animal is going to smell like something. I clean up poop ASAP otherwise i can smell it in the living room, but other than that i have nothing to complain about. I just joke that "well, i know Hamish is up!"
> 
> I also have to throw out (since i know you also asked about convincing your parents) that if someone doesn't want a pet in the home but is "convinced" into it anyway.... then even the cleanest of pet/cage can "stink" simply because they want to be difficult about it. If they're resentful of the pet, nothing is going to make them happy about it being there no matter what you do so yeah... to them, it will "stink" 24/7!


I think Trendy has summed it up perfectly. Smell is subject to the individual person, and the individual hedgehog.

Smell from a hedgehog is an issue for many people and even though the hedgehog itself has no smell, it's feces does which many people find to be too much even with daily cleaning.


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## Draenog

I do find them smelly, but only their poop. Not the hedgehog itself. It helps if you clean the wheel daily and spot clean the cage


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## Katten

I was told that they reek by Tinkerball's former owner, but I haven't found that. I switched her food when I got her and gave her a litter box under her wheel and changed her to fleece bedding, so that may have contributed. I also have an open box of baking soda next to her cage. 

Fish can affect how a hedgehog's feces smells, so if you are finding that your hedgie seems extra stinky, check and make sure there's no fish/seafood ingredients in their food.


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## Tongue_Flicker

Animal smell is just based on your care; husbandry, diet and sanitary measures. I keep far more "smelly" animals as to what other people have experienced and yet they dont smell at all. Sometimes it's just the cage not the animal itself


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## lena21

*hedgehog smell?*



HedgiePome said:


> My boyfriend thought Cookie smelled (he did a little bit), so I got a box of baking soda and stuck it next to his cage. The smell is gone and everyone is happy. Some people get air purifiers to help with the smell.


Did your hedgehog knock over the box of baking soda? or did he leave it alone?


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