# Bonding of hedgehog?



## absenceofcolour

I have had Atlas, my hedgehog, since I believe mid June of this year, so I got him when he was 3 months old. The problem is, Atlas is still getting use to me. He won't let me pet or touch his belly, but he knows my smell and he will come out when I place him in my hand and pet him. Sometimes he will let me pet him for hours. He bites me, but not as bad as he use to. Can anyone tell me exactly how long it took to build a strong bond with their hedgehogs?


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## shaelikestaquitos

I got Kashi when he was 6 weeks old (he was born in April), and I have yet to be able to pet his stomach, or let alone the skirts of his quills.
He's coming along though  But I'm not sure he will ever enjoy getting his belly pet. He does like getting pet around the ears though and he doesn't mind when I touch his ears or his feet that much.

Some hedgies will just never let you do this... It all just depends on each individual hedgie.

Keep working on the bonding though ;D

Isn't it rewarding when you see them slowly coming around and trusting you? ^-^


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## Nell

What I've found with my hedgehog is...bribery with mealworms and treats works well.
If he knows your smell then having him sleep in an used t-shirt won't do much. 
Keep in mind having a hedgehog that is comfortable being touched everywhere is a rarity. They are very into personal space and such. 

As for how long it takes, it depends on the individual hedgehog and how compatible he is with your way of handling. My hedgehog seems to be adjusting to me so long as I take away his hidey holes he's mostly fine with being held and touched, only he keeps trying to run off in order to find hiding places. If there are places to hide he'll just book it and go to sleep :/ 

Sometimes I wonder if I should put off the handling for when he's older...he just seems to want to sleep.


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## Olympia

Nell, do you use a hedgie bag or a blanket when you take out your hedgehog? He might not try to run away from you if he has some place to hide on you. One of mine has days where she'd rather run around then stay on me. On those days, I put her in the playpen and when she's ready to find a spot to sleep, I pick her up in a blanket and often she'll sleep on me. Or just sit in the blanket with her nose in the air sniffing away.  I think you should keep handling him every day, you already have created a bond.

Absenceofcolor, I can't pet the belly of either of my hedgies and I don't think I ever will, they really don't like it. One is like yours, she loves to be petted on her back and head but she won't let me touch the skirt of her quills or her belly. I've had her for 11 months. The other only let's me pet the side of her head and sometimes under her chin. I've had her for 6 months.


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## jinglesharks

absenceofcolour said:


> I have had Atlas, my hedgehog, since I believe mid June of this year, so I got him when he was 3 months old. The problem is, Atlas is still getting use to me. He won't let me pet or touch his belly, but he knows my smell and he will come out when I place him in my hand and pet him. Sometimes he will let me pet him for hours. He bites me, but not as bad as he use to. Can anyone tell me exactly how long it took to build a strong bond with their hedgehogs?


I just want to say I really love the name Atlas for a hedgie! 
Also, I've had Pepper since, oh, February and he still isn't really into having his belly petted. Some just don't like it. Just be patient.  And don't expect him to ever act like a different kind of animal because, well, he is a hedgehog and they have their funny little ways!


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## Nell

No, I don't. He seems to get super temperamental when he's covered as opposed to when I handle him by himself. 
Should I be handling him with a bag?


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## shaelikestaquitos

Nell said:


> No, I don't. He seems to get super temperamental when he's covered as opposed to when I handle him by himself.
> Should I be handling him with a bag?


Having something they can hide in, in my opinion, helps with the initial bonding process.
When I first started handling Kashi, I used to take him out in his cuddle sack  And then I moved onto using old t-shirts and towels so that he couldn't really hide fully but didn't feel vulnerable. Now I take him out just on his own, and he does much better than he used to  He even cuddles with me out in the open now and he used to NEVER do that. He used to get all antsy, trying to find a place to hide, and would often huff at me, so yeah


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## indygo88

It's obvious to me, after reading a lot of these forum posts, that each hedgehog has its own personality. I've had mine for about 3-4 weeks now. At this point, I would say she's definitely not a cuddler, although I haven't given up on her yet. When I'm holding her, she prefers to try to get away, explore, & then find a hiding place. If I hold her up against my chest, she will almost always immediately take off for my shoulder, then try crawling down my back. She still huffs quite a lot, but I'd say she huffs a lot less than she did about 2 weeks ago. She still balls up when I pick her up from her cage, but she unballs pretty quickly, & I can pass her to someone else's hands without her getting too huffy. Initially I thought I'd never be able to pet her -- she always huffed & hid her head anytime I'd touch her back. But my husband broke her of that pretty quick. He just kept petting her & now she tolerates petting on her back (although not really anyplace else, as of yet) & will relax her quills after about the first 1-2 pets. So my suggestion would be to pet her firmly (yet gently) over & over. Like I said, my hedgie seemed to hate that at first, but she got used to it pretty quick (within a day or two).


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## caitlin.w

indygo88 said:


> It's obvious to me, after reading a lot of these forum posts, that each hedgehog has its own personality. I've had mine for about 3-4 weeks now. At this point, I would say she's definitely not a cuddler, although I haven't given up on her yet. When I'm holding her, she prefers to try to get away, explore, & then find a hiding place. If I hold her up against my chest, she will almost always immediately take off for my shoulder, then try crawling down my back. She still huffs quite a lot, but I'd say she huffs a lot less than she did about 2 weeks ago. She still balls up when I pick her up from her cage, but she unballs pretty quickly, & I can pass her to someone else's hands without her getting too huffy. Initially I thought I'd never be able to pet her -- she always huffed & hid her head anytime I'd touch her back. But my husband broke her of that pretty quick. He just kept petting her & now she tolerates petting on her back (although not really anyplace else, as of yet) & will relax her quills after about the first 1-2 pets. So my suggestion would be to pet her firmly (yet gently) over & over. Like I said, my hedgie seemed to hate that at first, but she got used to it pretty quick (within a day or two).


My hedgehog, Woodrow, acts the exact same way, and I've had him for four weeks now. I'm hoping eventually he'll come around to snuggling up to me or at least keeping his quills flat more often.


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## HappyHedgies

Yes all hedgehogs are individuals. Consider yourself a really lucky owner if you have a hedgehog who likes to be handled, likes having their belly touched or likes to cuddle because usually, hedgehogs are more huffy then sweet. I have about 20 hedgehogs in my care right now. I breed them as a hobby and its amazing how individual each and every hedgehog is.

Bentley for instance is a really sweet guy. He does love attention, likes being talked to and will walk over to us when we are sitting on the floor. He loves to climb through legs and sniff us out but as soon as you go to touch him he gets really upset. He has personal space and prefers all four legs to be on the ground so he does throw quite a fit if we pick him up. He doesnt dislike us though because he really likes being talked to. He will actually give us the cold shoulder the next night if we forget to say hi to him! To cute!

Kia, when we had her she was interested in interacting with us. She would come out and sniff at us and let us hold her for about 5 minutes. After she was done with being held though she would bite at us. She was not aggressive at all but I guess that's the only way she felt she could get her point across. She appreciated the attention but only for short periods of time.

Raven, he is a really big guy, a little on the shy side but calms down after we hold him for a bit. He will relax and hang out with us but you can tell he prefers to be left alone.

Eclipse, literally the friendliest little hog I have ever had. She is super outgoing, whenever im by her cage she always comes out expecting cuddles and tickles. She loves to cuddle and loves attention. 

Willow loves her belly being tickled, she is super curious but would prefer to sleep on her own but she does appreciate the odd cuddle session once in a while


All hedgehogs are different. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to figure out what kind of attention your hedgehog prefers but there are so many different ways to give attention. They are like little puzzles waiting to be figured out. This is why hedgehogs are not the right pet for everyone because a hedgehog usually wont change. Its almost like they are born with the personality they will always carry and the chances of you turning a hedgehog into a cuddler when it wont have anything to do with it is really slim. You could get lucky though because people have. Just take your time


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## danilious

My Hedgie hates his head being touched and face but I can touch his ears if I stick my hand out for a few seconds and then when I feel he has got a wiff of my smell he lets me pet the ssides of him and his ears and back he doesn't like being on he back and if he get agrovated he get a little mouthy and let me know his agrovated by huffing and popping. He not to fond of me trimming his front paws but I manage by have him in a blanket and sliding the clippers under his nails but yea every one is different and just have bundries that should not be crossed hehe


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## definitelydeven

I've had Princess Peaches for a little over a week and she's a little over two months old. She is albino  . she sleeps on my shoulders and will sleep in my lap if I have her towel. She's always more cuddly after baths but I don't think she is a cuddler because she likes to run to find places to hide, rather than stay with me.
I can pet her ears and her nose and under her chin most of the time. I can pet the skirt of her quills and sometimes I can pet her belly but after a few minutes she's rolls back over. 
It takes about five minutes for her to wake up and stop puffing at me haha.
I hold her about 4 hours every day but I'm afraid she isn't bonding because she won't stay with me. But I notice she's more comfy with me than anyone else. I change out shirts for her to sleep in so she knows me.
She won't eat meal worms or other treats only strawberries sometimes. I wanna know if there is anything else I should do I've never owned a hedgehog.


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## wyldfaux

I've had Mz. Pawley Pawket for 2 weeks now. She is just 7 weeks old (as of Sunday) and she lets me pick her up, pet her ears, rub her belly, chin and her quills. She is currently quilling and if I pet her hard (not soft like you would a cat or dog but with more pressure) she is perfectly fine and seems to enjoy it. I don't do it over and over because she is quilling and I do not want to cause her any discomfort but while she is young and getting use to me I am trying to handle her in as many different ways as possible.


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