# How to make my hedgie trust me?



## lexie1017 (Mar 24, 2015)

I have had Daisy for about 2+ months now and I get the vibe she still doesn't like or trust me. She balls and hisses at every slight movement and noise. Yes they are shy animals but the amount that she does it concerns me. Today, she started biting me when I was holding her and tried to move her (its not because my hands smell like food, its a don't touch me bite). She has NEVER bitten me before (only once but my hands definitely smelled like food) and I feel like our bonding progress is going backwards. I know younger hogs need more sleep (Daisy is about 6 months) but she sleeps all day, I've never seen her out unless I take her out of her cage. I know they are nocturnal, but she probably sleeps for 20ish hours, and at night eats and plays on her wheel for only a short time before she goes back to bed. She finished quilling about 3 weeks ago, could it be she is still uncomfortable? I don't want her to live her life afraid of me. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## Raven13 (Mar 3, 2015)

I'm not too experienced at this considering I just got my first hedgehog two days ago, but I will say that I am following the instructions the breeder gave me for "making a friendly hedgehog" and they are working remarkably well for me. Basically what she says is do the opposite of what they want and don't be skittish around them. 

So let's say you go to scoop your hedgehog out of their cage and the start hissing at you, don't just let them be, pick them up anyway and don't put them back in their cage until they stop hissing. 

Or they pop at you when you try to touch them, don't stop touching until they stop popping then put them down which is their reward for behaving (aka showing the behavior that you want).

Generally she said just annoy and "torture" him. In order to get them out of their ball she taught me to jostle him around on flat hands, gently but enough to where he feels unsteady and needs to pop his feet out for balance, soon they'll learn they need to keep their feet out when with you because when they ball they just get annoyed.

Beyond the annoying him of course she encouraged sitting with him and letting him sleep in a cuddle sack with me for bonding time.

I have been balancing the desensitization time with the bonding time and after just 2 days, mind you while he is quilling, he comes out of his ball within 10 seconds of me picking him up and stops popping/hissing within about a minute and will even let me pet/massage him.

It seems like it's just repetition and time, I hope that helps!


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## Remy's Mom (Mar 18, 2015)

I've had my Remy less than two months, and he was very docile when I first got him. Since his quilling though, he acts more like grumpy teenager. It was more difficult to bond with him since he was in such obvious pain, and I didn't want him to associate me with pain. Typically, unless he is super tired, he hisses at me, and tries to headbutt my hand. Before his quilling, he liked to be pet all over. Now, he doesn't want his quills touched, but sometimes he lets me pet his face. I put him in a cuddle sack for the first time today since we went to the vet, and the change has been amazing. I put my hand inside to let him sniff me before I took him out, and he laid his head in my hand almost like a nuzzle. I guess he feels more secure that way. I also have better luck if I give him some time to wake up a little before I get him out. I've read on other boards that bonding can take months to a year, so your little one may just be one of those that takes a bit longer. As far as activity levels, I know Remy also became more active when I changed the food he was eating to a higher quality. He also used to only play a little bit on his wheel, but now it seems like he's on it all the time.


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## JazzJunkie (Mar 6, 2013)

All I can say is time. I've had Moxxi almost 2 years and she has only now finally begun to trust me. She was an especially untrusting grumpus <3 sometimes it just takes lots of time and patience. Good luck with Miss Daisy she is beautiful!


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