# 2 years and only tolerates me



## RainKing (Mar 30, 2013)

So I've had my hedgehog for about 2 years and he's just a bit over 2 years old. I've been feeding him, giving him water and a large area to play in with tubes and a wheel. Give him meal worms as treats when he unballs, spend time with everyday even though that lasts at most 10 minutes because he does want to just run around and in his wheel. I've been placing a used a shirt inside his cage for him to learn that my scent is home.

But after these 2 years, he still balls up whenever I enter the room. I enter silently as to not startle him with the door and always say "Hi, Appa" so he knows I'm around without me just popping out of no where. Whenever I pick him up (with 2 hands by slipping them under him by his sides) he always balls up and I spend the time calming him down before he tries start running away from me. I've seen and read about hedgehogs learning who their owners are and even go to them to play. I have never played with my hedgehog and cuddling is almost out of the question. Giving him a bath isn't as bad as it used to be he doesn't like it like other hedgehogs I've seen. If I try letting him run around my room (hedgehog proof), he will just find a spot to hide for literally the rest of the day/night (even with the lights off). My hedgehog literally does nothing but eat, drink and run so . . . any suggestions to help my hedgehog be friendlier? I know that there are plenty personalities but my hedgehog really has no emotional attachment to me. I've had goldfish who would be happy to see because they knew at least they were about to be fed.


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## fionas_mommy (Oct 27, 2012)

this is just me speaking from my experience with my own hedgie. What time do you take him out? I would take out Fiona during the day sometimes (maybe 3-4 times a week). If it was closer to noon, she would usually find a place to hide if I let her run around my hedgie proof room. If it was closer to say 4 or 5pm, she would run around for a bit, explore, and maybe hide sometimes...but that wasn't her "objective" I guess, altho some days she just didn't want to be bothered so she hid. Cuddling at this time was essentially non existent. She would maybe climb over my leg to get to the other side, but thats really it. If I put her in a playpen without anything to hide in at any time during the day, she ran around alot (mostly doing laps around the playpen) but still no cuddling. 

Many people don't suggest taking a hedgie out very late, but I worked late so I would take her out every single night after I came home and showered (between 10-12pm). At this time, all she wanted was to cuddle. She would sleep on my lap, in the crook of my arms, under my shirt collar, a little snuggie pouch I had, anything. Maybe she would be a tad restless (especially if she had to poop) but mostly she would sleep on me for a half hour to an hour before I put her back, shut off the lights, and let her wheel/eat for the rest of the night. 

I always joked Fiona was a little grump...maybe 5 times in our whole time together, I lifted up her house to take her out and she DIDN'T ball up/huff. It was just her personality. Even if I spoke to her first, altho it helped a little. But she always was grumpy when she first got up, no matter the time. Can't blame her...so am I :lol: so I never saw a problem with that, because after a couple min she calmed down and let me hold her (or play, depending on the time of day). The only difference is, however, she didn't huff at every little sound (like me coming in the room). I felt bad that she lived with me in a college dorm/apt and it was loud..people banging on the floor, yelling, the TV/music on often. I protected her from what I could and never had my own TV/music too loud, but she heard plenty. I guess that desensitized her to noise lol but still never appreciated being woken up!


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