# Incontinent hedgehog?



## Pixiecor (Jun 28, 2014)

I recently rehomed a hedgehog from an owner who said no longer had time for her. Her story was that she had been a breeder hedgehog that somehow ended up in a pet store, but she's just under two years old, or something like that. She appears to have cataracts in one eye either way. This is my first hedgehog and she is very outgoing, as I understand, for a hedgehog. I've had her a week now and I've been able to handle her okay and have been keeping her handling sessions down to about 15-20 minutes in a dimly lit room till she's more acclimated to the house. All is going pretty well with that. She still quills up on occasion, but she still crawls all over my husband and I and does general hedgehog-y stuff.

My main problem is coming from the bathroom end. Mainly, she is having potty breaks all over my husband and I, as well on her exercise wheel. Daily. To the point I have to take out her wheel and clean it every single day. It's occasional green diarrhea but usually normal feces and urine. She just doesn't seem to care where or when she goes. I've read that they generally tend to go within 20 minutes of awakening, but she seems to go even AFTER that window. 

Are there any tips or tricks to train her out of this habit? Is she sick? Should I be making a vet appointment for the little gal?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

(Almost) all hedgehogs poop on their wheel, that's normal and daily cleaning is part of hedgehog ownership. 
Diarrhoea is never good of course, and green faeces are usually a sign of an upset tummy. Stress can cause this, so if she's new she might still have stress poops. Has there been a change in her food recently? Sudden changes in food can cause this as well. 

Hedgehogs do poop quite a lot but I always have the same routine with my hedgehogs; I wake them up, take their house out so they can't go back to sleep and give them a couple of minutes to eat, drink and poop. After that I take them out and most of the time they won't go potty on me. But accidents can always happen, of course.


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## Pixiecor (Jun 28, 2014)

Draenog said:


> (Almost) all hedgehogs poop on their wheel, that's normal and daily cleaning is part of hedgehog ownership.
> Diarrhoea is never good of course, and green faeces are usually a sign of an upset tummy. Stress can cause this, so if she's new she might still have stress poops. Has there been a change in her food recently? Sudden changes in food can cause this as well.
> 
> Hedgehogs do poop quite a lot but I always have the same routine with my hedgehogs; I wake them up, take their house out so they can't go back to sleep and give them a couple of minutes to eat, drink and poop. After that I take them out and most of the time they won't go potty on me. But accidents can always happen, of course.


She's on the same food they were feeding her previously. I'm slightly dubious as to the quality and may change it in the future, but with her being so new to everything, I'm sticking to the same stuff for now till she's acclimated to the house and not quite so stressed.

I generally give her plenty of time to use the toilet before handling, but she still seems to have accidents nightly. A friend suggested it might be because our dog (a small terrier/chihuahua mix who is curious but not aggressive) is nearby while she's out and she's doing it out of defense. Would it help if I shut them out of the room?


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## lilsurfergrlsp (Dec 13, 2013)

Having your dog out of the room would probably help, especially if she's never been around dogs; it could be causing additional stress from the rehoming. Since her previous owner didn't have time for her, I doubt they tried to potty train her. You could try it, it might take a long time (and might not even work at all), but it never hurts to try. You can watch for signs that she needs to potty, such as getting more squirmy, or her little tail will lift up. At that point, just put her in her litter pan right away. Hopefully you'll break her of this habit, but like Draenog said, all hedgie's have accidents  good luck!


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## Amanda:) (Dec 9, 2013)

Typically, all three of mine will start to concentrate really hard and spread their back legs apart, and that's when I know to get them in their cage now! I've heard that's pretty typical, too. Start keeping an eye on her when she goes still after moving around a bit, and that's probably when you're gonna need to move fast! Good luck with her!


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