# Hedgehog sprawled out in cage



## Willow14 (Jan 26, 2016)

I just adopted my new hedgehog Willow last week, where she was before their wasn't the best heating but now at my home she has a CHE and a heating pad on one side of the cage to make sure its at the correct temperature. I have noticed that she will lay in one of her smaller houses thats closest to the CHE and lay flat on her belly with her legs sprawled out. Is this just because she is comfortable? I just wanna make sure that she is okay. 

ps. Also if anyone also has any tips on slowly getting your hedgehog comfortable with you, I bring her out everyday for at least 30 mins but I can tell she is still pretty scared and I just don't want to stress her out.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm still new here but the first questions usually are if you have a thermostat to control the CHE, if you have a thermometer and what's the cage temperature, if you have a lamp setting for the light 12 - 14 hours cycle and to remove the heating pad since it's dangerous. 

Your hedgie might be too hot if no thermostat. 

You need time and patience to get your hedgie comfortable with you, some are easy and some can take a year. Put a t-shirt you have worn in the cage so he/she can get used to your scent and notice you are not dangerous and trying to eat him. 

More advise will soon come from the experts.


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## kschroeder (Oct 30, 2015)

From what I have read and experienced it is called splatting! It either means that she is too hot or comfortable. Nala used to bite! It was awful. I did the t shirt trick and slept with all of her snuggle sacks before she used them. We are pretty bonded but I still do it just to keep making sure. I will also let her sit in the sack on my lap so she is still comfortable in her home but is near me and getting used to my scent. I have had her for 4 months and I am still trying to figure things out but I do a lot of research on here.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Heat pads are dangerous for hedgehogs and shouldn't be used. You should only be using a CHE that is plugged into a thermostat. What is the temperature in the cage? Is it the same all over the cage?


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