# Bath Success, Drying Fail



## hegemon (Dec 29, 2012)

Hi Everyone,

I just gave Hegemon his first bath. Surprisingly, he actually seemed to enjoy it. He was not trying to get out of the water, and was looking happy until I tried to brush him with the toothbrush. He got startled at first, and he tried to ball up, and ended up inhaling some water. Poor guy. He recovered and seemed to enjoy the rest of the bath. However, when I took him out to dry him, he just balled up and wouldn't let me dry him well. His tummy is still wet (he's in my lap, sleeping, kind of balled up) and I don't want to put him in his home until he is dry. I have read that some people used hairdryers, but I think he will freak out. 

Also, Hegemon kept biting the towel, which is the first time he has ever done something like that. He has never tried to bite anything (person, blanket, etc.) other than food. It was weird. 

Hopefully, you all can help me with some drying suggestions. I'm glad he seemed to like the water, though! Thanks!


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## alex_le_renar (Feb 21, 2011)

Hi!

I am glad to read that Hegemon is a clean gentleman right now! As for the drying, what I am doing with Marquis de Sade is the so called (at least in this forum)  burrito technique. Yep.
You just roll him in the towel like the stuffing in a tortilla and let him sleep on your lap. IF you are extra busy, you can put a fleece on a couch/ bed and then the burrito on top and then another blanket on top. Marquis de Sade prefers a pillow as the top layer, but some hedgies might find that too heavy.

After 20 minutes or so, I take the towel out and I let him sleep half an hour more on the fleece, that absorbs the rest of the moisture.
Hope this helps


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## hegemon (Dec 29, 2012)

alex_le_renar said:


> Hi!
> 
> I am glad to read that Hegemon is a clean gentleman right now! As for the drying, what I am doing with Marquis de Sade is the so called (at least in this forum)  burrito technique. Yep.
> You just roll him in the towel like the stuffing in a tortilla and let him sleep on your lap. IF you are extra busy, you can put a fleece on a couch/ bed and then the burrito on top and then another blanket on top. Marquis de Sade prefers a pillow as the top layer, but some hedgies might find that too heavy.
> ...


Thanks for the reply! I was burrito-ing him without even knowing it! He is still a little damp, but now he's just lying next to me on a fleece blanket. I guess he'll take a little while to dry since he doesn't want to be dried off, but I've got all the time in the world to let him sit here with me


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## ponylover317 (Nov 20, 2012)

I agree with burrito-ing, and sometimes I just put Layla on all fours, wait for her to one un-balled, then pick her up with a towel and use the corner of it to rub her belly with.....of course, then I use a hair drier, but the rubbing really helps get excess water off her belly!


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

I wish I had seen this post when I first got Percy. Once I put him back to soon and his entire fleece corner was soaken wet and he was sleeping in it after his bath. I thought he was fully dry. If I hadn't checked on him half an hour later he would have gotten a cold I'm sure. Now I keep him in a towel for at least half an hour to an hour and still check on him before betime to make sure he's dry.


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