# Burrowing Under Liner



## Cmstreib (Sep 4, 2012)

Hey everyone, I've had my hedgehog since July and I'm loving him. He makes a great pet for while I'm at college. The maintenance is fairly low and he's something nice to take my mind off of my school work and projects and just having him around is a good stress reliever. A little while ago he started to burrow under the liner in his cage and sleeping under there instead of in his igloo. I thought this habit would go away after a few weeks but it didn't. It's been a few months now and I've found that if I want him to actually get some exercise during the night I need to pull him out from under the liner every night right before I go to bed or else he will just stay under there. He will go in his igloo when I put him into his cage, but he will only stay there for a few minutes before coming back out and then finding a corner of the liner to peel back and slip under. He's gotten quite good at finding ways to get under the liner too! I've tried putting a heavy rock in each corner, taping the liner to the floor of the cage, and even rearranging the cage every few days to keep him from remembering which corner he can get under, but he always seems to find a way under and if there's no easy way he will force himself under. He's quite the determined little hog and a lot stronger than I expected too. 

I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this with their hedgehogs and if there is anything for me to worry about with this behavior. Is it normal for a hedgehog to do this? Will it go away eventually? Or what are some ways to convince him to use his house again over burrowing and tearing up the cage? Thank you for your help.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

The "liner diving" is a very common thing for them, I think it helps with their instinct to burrow. I use an extra piece of fleece in my cage laying loose on top of the liner and Thistle will burrow under that instead. 
My concern would be that he isn't always being active at night. I would check that the cage is warm enough and that he has 12 hours of light during the day, and dark at night, giving him a clear sense of "day" and "night". 
My hedgie helps me with stress relief and clearing my mind too


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Try giving him a sleeping bag or even just a blanket. You can also add fleece strips to the igloo. Most hedgehogs aren't crazy about an igloo on its own because they have so much open space. Hedgehogs like to sleep in something cozy that's close around their bodies.

For the lack of activity, it sounds like it happened with the change of seasons. What's the heating and lighting set up and what temperature is the cage at?


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## Cmstreib (Sep 4, 2012)

I have a good heat lamp over the cage and it usually sits around 73 ish. Lately it's been really cold here in Colorado so it may be getting below 70 during the night. I feel like the problem may be that he's getting too much light. I have his cage setup under my bed in my room (bed is raised up about 2' off the ground so there's plenty of space), but being a student I have some late nights. Could too much light and not enough dark be responsible for him not coming out from under the liner?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

70 is definitely too cold, so you should use a space heater, CHE (ceramic heat emitter), or crank the heat lamp up to make sure it doesn't get that low. Using a heat lamp can also be the problem because they create a small amount of light. Between that and your late nights, that's most likely the source. Try to keep him on a light schedule with 12-14 hours of light, and if you're staying up in the room after his light should be off, put a blanket over his cage to keep it dark. Also a space heater or CHE will work better in that regard.


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## Cmstreib (Sep 4, 2012)

Sorry, I wasn't clear that I have a ceramic heat bulb heating his cage. But I'll try setting up a blanket to put over his cage to make it dark and see if that helps and I'll see what I can do about keeping it in the mid 70's. Thanks for the advice.


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## Cmstreib (Sep 4, 2012)

So, it's been a while since I added a blanket in front of his cage to block off the light in the evening and I've noticed that he's using his wheel a lot more, more food seems to be missing in the morning and he generally seems happier and more eager to explore when I bring him out in the evenings. Thank you for the advice.


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