# Stopped using the wheel?



## Nicolas (Jul 19, 2013)

Hello everyone!

This is my first post, so, a bit of background info:

I got my Hedgehog Spartacus a year ago. He's always been kind of grumpy, doing the sh-sh-sh sounds a lot when we take him out of the cage, but after a while he gets used to our hands and stops complaining.

We take him out of the cage every day (or every other day if we're busy) for about 20 or 30 minutes. We feed him worms, or take him in our hands, or let him run around a bit. Usually though, he tries to find a place to hide and just goes to sleep there.

Sometimes we take him out for a longer time, like if we're watching a movie, we'll sit him down on our body while we watch. He's never been very sociable though, whenever he gets the chance, he goes back to where his cage is, and waits for us to put him back in. I guess maybe he just likes his home a lot? He usually waits for everything to be dark and quiet before coming out of his little house.

Anyway, up to a few weeks ago, his favorite night time activity was running in his wheel. He usually became very active shortly after we go to bed; if I went to the bathroom a few times during the night, I'd hear him running in his wheel, sometimes seemingly for hours. I used to have to clean the wheel in the shower every single day because, well, it was full of dried crap. 

However, I don't think he's ran even once during the last 4 weeks or so. I don't hear him running at night anymore, and, the biggest sign is that the wheel has been perfectly clean for all this time; I haven't had to clean it for weeks.

Plus, he seems to be a bit on the fat side lately...

Did he just get bored of his wheel? This was his favorite thing to do; he has various toys and things that we put in his cage, but he doesn't seem very interested in them (stuff like a sock, a little rubber hedgehog, a ball, a toilet paper core, etc)
I don't want him to get bored, I want him to enjoy his life, so what should I do to make him want to run again? 
Is it possible that he is just sick, and will run again once he feels better? He doesn't seem sick though.

While we're at it, any suggestions of stuff to do with him when we take him out of the cage? When we take him out, he always seems like he's just eager to go back in there.

Thanks a lot everyone!


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

How are his nails? Does the wheel still spin easily and freely? Are his feet clean? Has there been any change at all in the nighttime light in his space such as tv or computer monitor or even a hall light? 
Those are all what come to the top of my mind and what I would investigate first. Others may also have some good ideas.


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## Nicolas (Jul 19, 2013)

Yup, the wheel used to be a bit noisy but we changed the back part (the part that's attached to the bars) and now it spins wonderfully.

As for the nails, they seem the same as they've always been... a couple of months after we got him, we were wondering if they were getting long, but the veterinarian told us that they seemed fine. Now, they seem ok to me, but I wonder, perhaps I should try cutting them just a tiny bit... 

No changes in lights at all.

I wonder if it just depends on the season? Maybe he runs less in Summer? It's not the heat though, we always have the air conditioner set perfectly even when we're not here.

I've heard that some hedgehogs just lose interest in their wheel after a while. But, if so, then I want to find something fun to replace it, since he used to love it so much. I don't want him to get bored!

Letting him run around freely at night is another option if he's bored of the wheel, but there are many places where he might go and refuse to come out (like under the fridge or under a shelf), and it would be a massive pain to try and get him out of there! So that's kind of difficult.

For now I guess I'll look into trying to cut his nails, if I can manage it! He's very calm after a bath, so I guess I should give him a bath before I try that. Thanks for all the advice! If there's any other general advice you could give me based on everything I said (besides the wheel thing), that would be welcome too!


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## Nicolas (Jul 19, 2013)

Mhh, you know, now that I think about it, I might just try to let him be free in the kitchen at night. Up until now, he's never been out of his cage without supervision. However, maybe he just outgrew being in his cage all the time? I think I'm gonna block off any area where I don't want him to go, and I'll just let him run around at will tomorrow.
Is this a good idea?


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Definitely the nail thing. I wouldn't let him free roam for the very reasons you mentioned plus a lot more. 
I have heard of hedgies going through phases, but unless they are elderly or ill I haven't heard of them just stopping wheel use unless there was an outside influence. 
Umm...
Maybe he just feels safe in his cage. Perhaps a bit more time with him more often? My hedgies have a pet pen (think play pen) that I let them run in most nights. 
Maybe offer (carefully) New and different treats, lower calorie kinds. There is a giant section on those in the forums. My kids enjoy crickets for a special treat. 
Has he been pooping properly even though he's not wheeling? He may be feeling constipated. Sometimes a warm bath will help, sometimes diet changes. Sometimes more drastic measures. 
I'm really just tossing ideas out here as to his change in behavior.

No on the entire kitchen. Just an area that is blocked off so he is unable to get under or behind anything. No spare foods or extra dirt or crumbs. Nothing he can chew on that might hurt him.

Plus his temperature needs to be maintained. It's very difficult to do with an open area like that.


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## Nicolas (Jul 19, 2013)

Ah, alright then! I won't let him run around freely just yet. I'll try to cut his nails first and see if that helps.
And no, he doesn't seem constipated, I pick up his droppings every morning and everything seems fine.
Thanks a lot for the advice!


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## luna (Apr 13, 2014)

somethings I do is make a dig box for mine with small rocks not small enough to choke on and ripped up fleece and then hide her favorite treats in it like meal worms and she will spend some time digging and finding them. I also made some tunnels out of 2 liter pop bottles then lined them with material. in my case i use my sons to small pajama pant legs and she like to crawl through them and sometimes just hang out in there. I uploaded a pic of one of the tunnels i made. I also leave a paper towl in her cage for some reason she enjoys dragging it around. maybe she hates its and is trying to get rid of it? either way shes playing with it


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## Nicolas (Jul 19, 2013)

Hey, he ran yesterday night!
I don't know for how long; I didn't notice it at all, but my wife said she heard it.
Today when I woke up, I found that the wheel was dirty, so he did use it for sure, at least a bit!

Basically the only thing I did differently was that I put a curtain over the kitchen door's window, so maybe it was a bit darker than usual. I'm not sure if that's what did it, but at least he ran.

That hand-made tunnel is really good too! Actually, we have a tunnel that we bought, and we can change its shape between straight, curved, S shaped, etc. I sometimes leave it in his cage at night, and I think he likes it, but I dont put it there every day because I'm afraid the cage would get cramped with all the stuff that's in it (wheel, house, food/water, etc)

A box with hidden snacks is a very good idea, too! I think I'll make a small box and fill it with the small soft pieces of paper that fill the floor of his main cage. Then I'll mix in some worms, and little pieces of chicken and liver that we sometimes buy. Hopefully he should have a fun time digging that stuff up!
Thanks for the great idea!


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## GothicBreena (Jun 30, 2014)

The Hedgie play pen is a really idea.. I went to petsmart to buy one but they only had super huge ones, and ones you had to buy the bars part and the floor liner separately. It was expensive and they weren't getting any of the smaller ones with the built in liner anytime soon so I went to walmart and bought the storage cubes with the plastic corner pieces and I bought a plastic looking , puppy pad that can be washed and is like a plastic like material to put underneath the cage part. I also made sure the bars weren't too far apart so he couldn't get stuck or hurt.. So that may be an option for you instead of letting him run around the kitchen area.. He also may not like it if the fridge kicks in and has a hum or sound he'd hear. My hedgehog at my moms doesn't like the sound her deep freezer or fridge give off so I moved him into the dining room away from the distractions.


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