# Timid, bitey hedgehog.



## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

Hey all,
I got a new hedgehog 2 weeks ago. 
He is 2 years old, and was neglected. His previous owners had no thermostat, heating source, cooling source or anything.His cage was covered in feces and stunk. Like..I've had him 2 weeks and his cage hasn't even got close to the level of gross it was. Given I do spot clean and clean his wheel every morning, but if you put it all together..No where near as bad. I don't think they handled him much if at all. He was on a hedgehog food that wasn't the best. I switched him to a premium cat food. He loves it. He refuses to eat any live insects, I doubt he's ever seen one. He is excessively timid, growls, huffs and puffs, doesn't like to be pet (so I don't pet him), and a biter. Now I wouldn't mind if he was just huffy and puffy. Or even if he bit 2-3 times. Or even if he was a mouthy nibbler. No. I'm talking about REAL hedgehog bites. Death grips he won't let go of. Breaking skin. Teeth grinding. 2 weeks and he has bit me and others over 7 times. I take him out for 1-2 hours a day. He sleeps during most of this which is fine. He has given me different bites to convey meaning but some of them are with no warning, and I have tried various reactions to them. I have tried making a big deal out of it, tried not making a big deal out of it. Nothing seems to work. If he's in a death grip the only way I can get him to let go is to go to the sink and run him under water or yanking away. Relaxing or pushing in only makes him grind harder. He's nibbled one time my friend (with warning) because he thought she was food, he bit me one time when he wasn't pleased that I was picking him up out of his cage with no warning, he bit me one time for being outside of the shirt I had on my lap with no warning, he bit me one time because he wanted out of the bath and I was blocking the way, bitten twice for no good reason, and once because he was displeased with me trying to keep him from falling. I never put him back or set him down to reward the behavior. He has my t-shirt in his cage, and it's the only thing he sleeps in. I got fleece gloves that are coming on the way, because I've heard fleece is better and absorbs your scent. I know no gloves are best, but it hurts so much when he bites me and I can't stand it. I've been bit by mice, rats, cats, dogs, lizards, ect, and hedgehog bites hurt the worst. I am picking him up correctly, and holding him correctly. He's adorable and fun to watch explore, and play, I just CANNOT deal with a long term biter. I'm afraid I'm going to have to re-home him. I'm rather regretting getting a hedgehog from craigslist and I feel like I should have seen the warning signs in the listing. I was just so excited to get my first hedgehog and he seemed so cute, and the way the listing read he seemed shy but sweet. I had everything ready, finally everyone I was living with was on board, it was financially right, and he was so near by. He's a terrible starter hedgehog because of how bitey he is. A retired breeder probably would have been best. I figured that with his age any known problems would be apparent, and I unfortunately expected people to be honest, and for the safety of him and humans would have disclosed something like that.  I don't know what else to do. I don't think he hates me, I think he's scared. I know he might warm up to me more, but for him to bite so many times in such a short period of time, I feel like he will always be a biter, and probably has been his whole life. His playpen came just now so maybe that will help. Anything else I can do with a hedgehog that bites this frequently?


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Did you read th sticky on top of this part of the forum about bitting hedgehogs? Read it and try what if says and always keep fleece between you and him, don't give him opportunity and the gloves are a bad idea.


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## GourmetMommy (May 9, 2014)

{{{{HUGS}}}} it is hard for sure. 

My Cashew was also a biter and unfortunately she was right up to the end. We got better at not letting it happen but she would get new people quite frequently even after I had warned them. 

Reggie does not seem to be a biter although last night she did nip at my hubby. He did keep her on his lap for a few minutes but when her put her back in her bin she went straight for the food so I think it was hunger. 

Don't give up on him and yes keep fleece between you and him. Get some pouches and blankets so that you can safely bond.


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## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

Yes I had read the sticky. And many other postings. Nobody seemed to have a hedgehog who bites this often and is so quick to bite.. I am worried he is going to really hurt me. I didn't want to try and use rubbing alcohol out of fear I'd hurt his nose. I have a suspicion he has never been to the vet, so I found a local one. Even if he is treated for anything he has, I think he it is ingrained in him now. (Still going to take him anyways, just in case..) Before I read that posting I found some gloves I have. These gloves aren't fleece but they are fabric, thick enough so he can't hurt me, but also thin enough we can feel each other. While the gloves are a bad idea generally, this has already made a WORLD of difference. His quills are coming down, he is letting me pet him, no nibbles, hasn't tried to anoint on them.. I have a feeling they wore gloves around him, probably his whole life. I think if it comes down to wearing gloves to make sure he has a home I will do so. Hopefully it doesn't have to be that way, but I just don't know with him right now. My options pretty much is to tough it out, take him to the vet, and he still might be a biter, or to try and rehome him. I really wish they would have told me. I feel pretty deceived about it all. I'll continue to spoil him and try and get him to come around. I really don't want to rehome him. I feel like the second I brought him home that I got myself into it kinda thing, and the only reasons I'd rehome is if someone could treat him even better, or if it's an emergency and I can't have my pets. It's just frustrating. (((HUGS))) It's a learning curve for sure. Guess I'll be really experienced with tough hedgies.


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## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

Also out of curiosity, what is the difference between using a piece of fleece, and gloves made out of the same fleece? Wouldn't that basically be the same thing? The same thickness, same type? Or if not wouldn't mittens made of fleece be pretty much be the same?


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm not sure but I think it's the idea they give them. Maybe if they are fleece it's better? Hopefully Lillysmommy or Nikki can answer that, they have more experience and knowledge. 

If you get to a point that you can't take it anymore, I'd suggest you go to the hedgehog welfare society website and relinquish him, they can keep him or find him a new home that is better equipped to handle him. 

Getting animals from Craigslist is always a bad idea since as you saw, people lie a lot. Also, if you decide to rehome him and getting another hedgehog, I'd suggest you get a baby from a reputable breeder, not even a pet store.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I think the main problem with them is using previously-used gloves that may have other smells and/or substances on them that aren't safe for hedgehogs, and using leather gloves (which are what's shown frequently when hedgehogs are on TV or at zoos). IMO, new cloth or fleece gloves/mittens would be fine as an alternative to using a fleece blanket, and even better if you sleep with them a few days before using so they smell even more like you. I wouldn't suggest them for most hedgehogs, but for a severe biting situation, I could see how they would be useful.


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## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

Perfect that's exactly what I was thinking of doing. He seems to do much better with them. I'm hopeful that maybe if he bonds with me a bit more and learns biting is unnecessary and doesn't do any good, and I learn to listen to any context clues before the bite, that we can be in better sync with that. I think he just needs a lot of human contact because of how little he was most likely handled. I've got plenty of time for that, and the gloves seem to keep me in better control as well. He probably can sense I'm less nervous and more confident. Just as long as the bites don't get too hard where I'm getting terrible injuries, or he won't stop, we should be fine. If he gets worse with the biting I'll probably have to give him up. Yeah I noticed with the craigslist thing :/. I was thinking I'd be helping him out by doing so because I figured that he was used to human contact, and that not many people would want a 2 year old with how many babies I kept seeing on craigslist. I had a breeder I really liked, but they were a good few hours away, and I was admittedly trying to save a little time, money, and give a good hog a home.. It seems to have done more harm than good, I ended up spending way more time trying to bring him around with the biting, the same amount of money if not more anyways, and you really get what you pay for. Too many assumptions on my part. Lesson learned there and then some to go with a breeder from now on. Well atleast he's got a good loving roof over his head for now. Hopefully, he'll come around to it. We'll get him to the vet, get him all checked out, in case there was anything else they "forgot to mention", or if he's not feeling so hot. He seems so curious and like he could be a such a sweet boy, I think they just ignored him so long, and didn't give him all he needed. Thank you for all the advice


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## AliZ (Feb 8, 2017)

I am in a similar situation. I adopted my Hedgie two weeks ago off a resale site from a chaotic, busy family. He wasn't in the same dirty conditions, but he wasn't well socialized and didn't have quality food or a working heat lamp or areas to hide in. I knew I was taking a risk, but my heart went out to him. All my other pets are rescues too. I am slowly adding things to improve his life like fleece cozies and new litter and a lamp. He was getting Iams kitten food but nothing else that I know of. He is VERY picky. He doesn't like any wet food. I tried to give him wet cat food, safe fruits and veggies and he sniffed at them. Banana was completely offensive to him and almost comical how upset he got about it! He has days where he is almost cuddly and seems to enjoy his cheeks being rubbed. However, he is a biter. Last night Mr. Tumnus clamped down so hard that I couldn't get him to release! He caught me be surprise because his body language was friendly. I think he had to go potty so he was probably irritable about that too. He's a very adventurous Hedgie so I am learning to adjust my hopes for him and just enjoy him for what he is. Mr Tumnus might not ever be cuddly, but he will spend the rest of his days with a mama who loves him and will be kept safe from hyper children dragging him all over the neighborhood or having his ears chewed by other hedgies. He's a wild man at heart so I have been keeping that in mind. I grew up taming Feral cats so Mr Tumnus' behavior wouldn't normally daunt me, but this guy might want to stay a wild man. For now, he's making for great sermon illustrations! Last week my Pastor was reading from Acts on the religious leaders gnashing their teeth at Stephen before they stoned him and I shared that I knew all about gnashing teeth from Mr Tumnus!


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## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

Aww. He is so cute. :smile: I still have no clue how Stitch's cage even got so bad.. :-| He only goes in one spot by his wheel and his cage is still set up very similar to how I got it. He has had so much improvement in the since I posted this. The only things I did was use one of my cloth gloves at first then started using it less and less, got his playpen and now I take him out only once a day. I've had much success with this. Now I only use one glove to pick him up out of his cage. This makes him much more comfortable and keeps me from fumbling trying to get him out of the cage. I give him a small warning and talk to him before I pick him up. Once he is out of the cage he is easy to pick up and I don't feel like he'll bite me anymore. He seems to trust me much more, and is getting more comfortable. He was most likely scared and stressed. The fleece gloves didn't work out because they would have had zero protection against a bite. It's like if you have a loose piece of fleece vs a tight piece, the loose will work out better. I'm glad I had the patience to stick it out with him a bit longer but if he would have kept biting me I would of had to give him up. Don't give up hope on him, and it sounds like you are much better equipped to handle a biter than I was. I have only ever had to train a stubborn dog, and my mouse would bite but they were looking for food bites. I did have a rude hamster one time that bit hard similar to this and we had to relocate him. The rest of all my animals have honestly been angels. And I have had a lot of creatures of various varieties. My hedgie still is cautious about different ways of being pet. He doesn't really like his quills stroked unless he has them down and is running his quills against me. I'm not yet qualified for cheek strokes in his eyes. :lol: I am allowed to pick him up, put my hands under him and gently pet his belly, and touch his feet and rub them if he's in a good mood. He's a very sweet boy he just needed some love and understanding. I feel like we are bonding or at the very least he thinks I am safe. When I set him down, inside or out, he runs back to me to wherever I am sitting or laying and burrows up my pant leg or under my leg. He seems much more content and overall like he is doing better. Still won't touch wet cat food, fruits, eggs, veggies, or mealies at all. He will eat only cat treats as a treat and his cat food. Hopefully your hedgie will learn to trust you as well..


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## AliZ (Feb 8, 2017)

Your Stitch is so adorable.


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## Bitey (Feb 6, 2017)

So I just rehomed Stitch today. I did it through the Hedgehog Welfare Society as someone reccomend. It was definitely the best choice for the both of us. He found the most wonderful home with a new teacher, who has hedgehog experience and understands that he bites. She held him and got to meet him and I can tell she is going to be a wonderful home for him. She says she will keep me updated on how he is doing. I honestly feel so happy and relieved about the whole situation. I bit off more than I could chew with him, and I was scared to admit it and questioning if that would be best. I tried my best but I know I didn't have everything that he needed. Most likely he bit me, because of my lack of experience and maybe we just weren't quite the right fit. I would get very scared when he bit me. I don't regret getting him, I had wonderful times with him and I know that I helped him out of a bad situation in which he was neglected and he needed someone to help him open up to the world. I beat myself up over rehoming for awhile, thinking I had failed him, but then my friend pointed out, that if I didn't get him, he might not still be around to find a wonderful home. I've shown him music, we've gone exploring, he's gotten baths, and treats, he's gone outside because of me and learned so many new things that he never got to know cramped cage. I'm so happy that I had so many good times with him and that I was a part of his journey. It feels so nice to know that even though I wasn't his forever home, I helped him find it. If you are considering rehoming, the Hedgehog Welfare Society is absolutely wonderful. It made everything entirely stress free, and let me know that just some person with 100 dollars (like me) could just get him and not really be willing to do everything that the hedgehog would need. I got to be included in the whole process, and they do an application process so you know that, they really care. If you are considering rehoming but beating yourself up, don't! If you've done all you can and you know it, it is in their best interest (and your sanity) to find them an amazing home. Sweet little (not so little now, he's a big boy because of me!) Stitch, I hope you love your new owner. She seems very nice, and she's really going to put in the love, effort and time, you so rightly deserve. I'm so happy for you, it's making me teary-eyed. I'm just so glad that we met and did so much together. It was truly an amazing experience, and I'm glad I got to be a part of it. That's all for now my friends, thank you for all of the suggestions for Stitch! I'm glad I had such a great forum to turn to for advice. And I'm sure Stitch was as well, as it helped him find his perfect owner.


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