# why is my hedgehog biting me?



## hedgehogbella (Oct 12, 2014)

I have heared that some hedgehogs might bite you is your hands smell like food. When I lay on the couch with my hedgehog she bites me. She doesnt bite my hand. She usaly bites my feet or chest or legs. It can realy annoy me sometimes. Any ideas why she is doing this and how to stop it?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Hedgehogs like strong scents, and the places you've mentioned can be smelly (feet) or may be where you put perfume or cologne on (chest). The best thing is just to prevent her from being near those areas long enough that she's tempted to take a bite.


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## David147 (Mar 6, 2015)

There can be several reasons that a hedgehog would bite you. You may have been bugging him or doing something that scared him, so he bit to protect himself. You might have had something on your fingers that smelled like food, so he was taking a nip to see if it tasted nice, too. Or he may have learned that biting gets him put back in his cage. 
For the first one, if your hedgehog's new to you, he might be scared because he doesn't know you and doesn't know that you're a friend. You may be going too fast with the bonding process. Try just holding him in your lap on a blanket, maybe with part of the blanket over him. Don't try touching him, just let him sit quietly and fall asleep if he wants to. He will slowly get to know your scent this way and start to relax around you. If you have a younger hedgehog, he may be quilling, which is painful. If you're trying to pet him, he may have bitten you because it hurts when you press down on his sore skin. Also, try to keep your fingers away from his nose/mouth while you're handling him so that he doesn't see something strange coming towards his face. 
For the second scenario, make sure that you wash your hands before you take your hedgehog out. If you're handfeeding treats, you may want to just put the treat down in front of the hedgehog instead of letting him take it from your fingers. They can't see well and he may mistake your finger for another treat. 
For the last one, make sure that you don't put your hedgehog back into his cage right after he's bitten you. If he does bite you again, blow gently into his face to discourage the behavior. Hopefully, he'll learn to stop biting soon.


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## rodanthi (Feb 7, 2014)

Hector always goes for my feet cos he likes smells....that one is a fact of life so I just have to keep him away from them. May be the same for you.
Other areas she may not be biting you on purpose - e.g. if she is playing with your clothing or something and she gets you by accident. Happens when Alba is trying to eat my shirt buttons sometimes.


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)

My hedgehog will almost always nibble on me if I have denim jeans on. I guess he just likes the texture. He'll tug on it too.


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