# Grumpy Hedgie???



## Mooshoo (Sep 9, 2009)

We got Hamlet a little over a month ago when he was 8 weeks old, and I figured by now he'd of warmed up to us a little, but no luck...he's just as grumpy as ever! We play with him for an hour or more every night, but he still huffs and puffs when we go to get him out of the cage, he calms down after about ten minutes of us holding, petting, cuddling him up in a blanket, but still isn't very social, most of the time he'll just go back to sleep, and huff once again if we wake him up or move him. He runs on his wheel every night once the lights are off and if I sneak turn them on he stops and gives me a deer-in-headlights stare and then scuddles under his blanket and waits until I leave the room to continue running. He wont eat any food out of our hands and we actually have yet to find any foods (besides his main diet of dry kitty food) that he actually likes, we've tried bananas, apples, chicken, corn chips, turkey and meal worms. (He wont even eat meal worms!!!) 
This being our first hedgehog we were just hoping on some advice on how to get him to bond with us. I know he's quilling, but I can't help but feel like he should like us, at least a little bit by now. Everyone says it takes time, but I can't help but wonder if he is just a grumpy hedgehog?


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## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

Harley didn't like treats, including mealworms, for a looooong time. the first thing i got him to try was a bit of hard boiled egg, it's still one of the only things he'll eat besides his kibble. if you can, i'd try to find a sample size bag of one of the higher fat cat foods on reapers list and use that as a treat only. if you aren't using natural balance green pea and duck in your kibble mix, try that one. Harley looooves it and usually eats all of those kibbles first.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

He could just be an overly defensive hedgehog. However if he is still quilling, give him time. Continue to hold him and interact with him but be patient. Quilling can be extremely uncomfortable and can make even very sweet hedgehogs total grumps. A month is actually not a very long time for some hedgehogs to learn to trust you and bond with you. While yours is a baby, I have a 2 year old that after 3 months we are still working on bonding. He gets better each day, but still quills up if I move and he doesn't like it.

Keep attempting to give him mealworms and other treats. I finally got the before mentioned hedgehog to eat a mealworm for the first time last week. I had taken a mealworm out and offered it to him, he ignored it. I left the mealworm on his blanket as he explored. After a few minutes he came across the mealworm on his own and gobbled it up. For a few days after he continued to eat them but only if I was not involved in the process. Today, he sits on my lap and gobbles them up as soon as I drop them.... so there is hope.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

Sounds like normal hedgehog behavior. I have had Quillbert for 2 1/2 months and he still huffs and balls on me when I go to pick him up. It doesn't mean that he doesn't like me, it's just how he reacts to being picked up from his cage. Reading this article helped me understand that I had some unrealistic expectations about his behavior. Now that I know better we're both happier for it.

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13


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