# Quilling and bonding issues



## raurora (Sep 6, 2013)

Hey guys!

So I finally got my first hedgie on Sunday and I was so excited!! But since then we have been having problems. First he escaped twice from his huge cage, so now he is in a storage container for now. We seemed to be bonding well, but he turned 8 weeks on Tuesday and is now quilling (Ive been checking his quills for the ball on the end) and now wants nothing to do with me. At all. I take him out every night, but the last 2 nights he never comes out of the bag. He sleeps a lot, he seems to be drinking and eating a lot too, I fill his bowls when I get home, in the middle of the night and when I leave for school. I feel so bad because this quilling HAS to hurt, but I really want to bond. I already love him so much and I just want him to be a happy hedgie. Any ideas? Tonight Ill try to give him an oatmeal bath, but Im afraid forced play time will reverse any bonding. Thanks!


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

What kind of cage do you have, and do you know how he managed to escape? 

As for the bonding, I'd say just keep taking him out and be gentle...I don't know much besides a warm bath to help him, as my girl was never bothered by her quilling.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Just like you shouldn't leave a baby alone when it's teething, you shouldn't leave a hedgehog alone just because it's quilling.  Keep handling him, be as gentle as you can, try to avoid touching his back, and try warm baths to soothe his skin.


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## raurora (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank guys! When I took him out last night he was interested and running around, I gave him an oatmeal bath and he ran around on my and my Boyfriend(who I want him to bond with also) and ate some mealies. I was feeling really good about it. Tonight, I took him out and he was not having it. Stayed in a ball for a while, then rolled onto his feet, sniffed around some but never fully calmed down or explored. Maybe I smelled different? I dont know. 

I had the Midwest Guinea Pig cage, the open topped one. The first time he escaped I thought I knew how and I fixed it. Then he escaped again so I just bought a storage container. Since he is only 8 weeks old and has a wheel I thought that would be big enough until I get my next paycheck and maybe Ill connect two of them. It is just frustrating because I made a liner, got this AWESOME huge cage and yet he wanted nothing to do with either. After he tried to burrow so hard into the liner (despite having 2 bags and a towel to cuddle in) that he made it pill, it was flannel, I broke down and got him paper bedding. He seems to like it just fine. I am also going out tomorrow to buy a heat lamp for him too since its starting to get chilly in the mornings and right now I only have a heating pad on one side of his cage. I just... I feel so bad that he feels so bad, even though his quilling seems light, Ive only seen a few quills and I dont see any bald patches, maybe it will start up in earnest next week. But I feel bad, and I just want him to be happy and I feel like I am not doing a good job :'( I have wanted one for years, I did my research but I feel inadequate.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Ahahahah, sounds like a baby hedgehog! They do what they want, and slowly train us in their needs. Feeling inadequate, being confused by why sometimes they want to cuddle and othertimes are all-huff, and otherwise being totally helpless and frustrated is all part of the learning. It's okay. He'll be fine. Just keep cuddling, even if he just wants to sleep on your lap & be left alone.


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## raurora (Sep 6, 2013)

So this is all normal? Should I tempt him to love me with ham and fruit? He seems ambivalent about mealworms but that could be because they are dead. I waited until I was sure that I could give a hedgie a good life before I got one and now I feel like I am failing at it ><

But hes so **** cute! Hes either a cinnamon or apricot pinto


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It's not your fault he's quilling, and it can be hard to help them during that time. It does suck for them, and some of them are quite intent on showing their unhappiness with the world during it. Like Abbys said, a bath can help his skin - get some whole oatmeal and put a handful in a sock or nylon, then squish it in the water until it goes cloudy. That can help soften his skin & soothe the pain a bit.

If you're getting a heat lamp, make sure it's a CHE so it doesn't emit any light. And you'll want to get a thermostat with it as well, to regulate the temperature and keep it steady for him.

I would go easy on the ham and fruit - ham is a fattier meat, and fruit is sugary. They make good treats, just make sure they're only occasional ones. Mealworms are a fatty treat too, but not bad unless you have a pudgie hedgie. I would try and get live ones though - hedgies usually take to them better and they're also safer (if you're feeding freeze-dried ones now). If you check in the Nutrition forum, there's some stickies about treats (Treat List, Guide to Insects, and Offering Fresh Foods/Treats) that might give you more ideas for things to try with him. Just make sure to introduce them one at a time so you don't upset his tummy & to watch for bad reactions! 

You're doing just fine with him. Hedgie ownership is pretty terrifying at first. :lol: But I promise you'll both get through the rough quilling patch and things should get better. Hang in there!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Bribery can be remarkably effective with some hedgehogs, and totally ineffective with others. My little friend is pretty funny in that he can be bribed by my father offering treats that he sneers at under all other circumstances. I haven't decided if it's because my father is actually Doctor Doolittle, if it's because my father is secretly turning everything into mealworm-flavoured joy, or if it's because my father lives in another country and thus smells FANTASTIC. But it was pretty disheartening after I worked months to earn prickly snuggles, had apologized to guests over him ignoring them, and then dad just walks in and is the subject of insta hoglet-love!

I think quilling is a test for new owners: to see if we can truly love our prickleballs when they're terribly-tempered, moody, and spazz at every touch. Try the oatmeal bath. It had no effect on my small friend, but has been a magic-worker for others!


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## raurora (Sep 6, 2013)

Well I havent tried ham or fruit yet. I thought I would wait a while for him to get used to the new housing. I just thought it might make him feel better. I try to take him out for an hour every night, can you over do bonding? He also seems to eat a lot. I fill his bowls maybe twice a day, if I wake up at night and see hes out. Is that normal? And is the lack of bald patches normal?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

An hour a night is totally reasonable, and a good target to try and hit each night.

He's a baby, he's going to eat colossal amounts as he grows. My wee friend ate twice as much before he was 6 months old, then dropped off afterwards. I think most people free-feed, so you can always just put more in than you think he'll eat.

Lack of bald patches is totally normal! Patches usually mean mites, a no-fun thing to add to quilling. :\

(If anyone corrects me, listen to them; I'm only a few months ahead of you in this experience!)


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