# Why does my hedgie flinging himself around his litter pan!?



## Jessicaaa58 (Jan 9, 2014)

I have two litter pans in his cage, one under his wheel and a corner one. For some reason he only goes into the corner on to sleep or fling himself around. He jumps, falls over on his side, balls up, stands up and leans to one side and runs around while he rubs his side in the litter. Is this a normal thing or what!? He does this every night.


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## brittbritt (Dec 19, 2013)

Since adding a litter pan to my Tuesday's cage she gets in and curls into a ball and rolls around in the litter. Then she lays on her side and kicks the litter all around. She makes such a mess I've thought about taking it out but haven't since she has so much fun in it every night.


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## xxkrysta (Dec 26, 2013)

I think they're giving themselves a dust bath, like chinchillas do? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Probably just having fun in it!  What kind of litter do you have? If it's a clay cat litter (clumping or non-clumping), I'd really recommend switching to something else. Clay cat litter is not safe for hedgehogs in general, but especially for males. It can get caught in privates and cause issues - there's been a couple stories of males mutilating themselves chewing at something irritating their penis.


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## hedgiebum14 (Jul 25, 2011)

rose used like to roll in stuff too


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## Jessicaaa58 (Jan 9, 2014)

Lilysmommy said:


> Probably just having fun in it!  What kind of litter do you have? If it's a clay cat litter (clumping or non-clumping), I'd really recommend switching to something else. Clay cat litter is not safe for hedgehogs in general, but especially for males. It can get caught in privates and cause issues - there's been a couple stories of males mutilating themselves chewing at something irritating their penis.


I use Tidy Cats non clumping litter. He never has any of the litter in his private parts, thankfully!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It'd still be a good idea to change, in my opinion...I usually take the stance of "avoid problems before they actually happen", especially if other people have experienced an issue before. There's other litters that would be a lot less risky.


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## Jessicaaa58 (Jan 9, 2014)

Lilysmommy said:


> It'd still be a good idea to change, in my opinion...I usually take the stance of "avoid problems before they actually happen", especially if other people have experienced an issue before. There's other litters that would be a lot less risky.


What's a good brand of litter to use?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

A lot of people will just use a piece of paper towel. Some other options for actual litter are Carefresh (or another fluffy paper bedding like Kaytee), or Yesterday's News newspaper pellets are another popular option too. The only thing to watch for with them is that he doesn't try to eat them, but many hedgehogs don't bother, it's just an occasional thing.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

He's probably just taking a dust bath. It's pretty common here to give them sand to bathe in and lots of hogs love it.


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