# Potty training my hedgehog?



## Klabbs7 (Jan 24, 2014)

Hi all, I've seen a lot of buzz on here about potty training hedgehogs. I will be a first time owner in a month or so when my baby is ready to come home. I was wondering if someone could tell me how to train hedgehogs? I've heard putting a litter pan near the wheel works good. If possible, could someone give me step-by-step instructions?

Thanks!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Looks like this thread was overlooked!

Not all hedgehogs can be potty-trained, but not harm in trying.

For the purposes of this conversation, a litterpan is anywhere the hedgehog goes to the bathroom. It can be an actual pan filled with some sort of litter (not kittylitter -- it can get caught in privates -- but some people use paper bedding), a folded up paper towel, or even just a scrap of fleece. Some people use tiny baking trays as pans, others use lids from plastic containers, and others just put down the paper towel or fleece without a pan at all. (If you're using fabric, a bit of white vinegar in the wash will reduce the urine smell.)

To potty-train, move all poop to the litter area. Obviously, you can't leave it there indefinitely, but don't clean it out daily or else it'll never smell like poop! (If you're using fleece, the fact that you can't completely remove the urine smell might actually help!)

An alternate tactic is to take advantage of where your hedgehog already goes to the bathroom, and move the litterbox to that location.

Even many potty-trained hedgehogs go on the wheel, while some just can't be potty-trained at all. In this case, you can put something (litterbox) under the wheel to catch run-off and to wipe poopy-feet.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum! If you haven't seen it yet, check out this lovely care guide.


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## jlindsey428 (Sep 23, 2013)

I successfully potty trained my hedgehog! I describe it here!

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/18-fun-stuff/39553-potty-training-success-story-time.html#post298761

hope this helps! I would add that you should probably start potty training immediately. The younger they are the more chance of success! Good luck!


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## MightyMichelle (Jan 13, 2014)

My hedgie is semi potty trained. I'm pretty pleased about it, being a small creature and all.
Hedgies naturally don't poop where they sleep, as it gives their location away to predators. So that's already easy. The biggest problem is the wheel. Hedgies love to terd on the go.
I find hedgies, like a lot of other pets, are creatures of habit. I pull Clementine out of her bed usually the same time every evening. The morning terd is usually the biggest, so to get them to do that, and then clean it up right away, is basically the goal. Clementine goes on a fleece square in a closet. She basically chose the spot before I decided to train her, she already liked pooping there. Again, creature of habit. So I just put the cloth rag there, and since she already pooped there, it smelled like it, so it continued. She'll still terd on the wheel, it's tough it get around that. But I put Yesterday's News cat litter under the wheel so at least it collects her urine.
So if you catch the "Good morning" #2 ritual, it's pretty easy to maintain from there.


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## Casandra (Jun 23, 2016)

*potty training*

Hi everyone, i have a female hedgehog bout 13 weeks now and the breeder i got her from said she was litter box trained and when i brought her home she used the litter box but now shes starting to pee and poop in her sleeping place to how can i stop her from peeing and pooping in her bed????


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## Prue (Feb 20, 2016)

Please start a new topic, Casandra. This one is from more than two years ago, and the members probably aren't active anymore.


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## Casandra (Jun 23, 2016)

im just trying to figure out how i can get her to stop potting where she sleeps thats all


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please start your own thread if you want answers to your questions. Questions on old threads will not be answered.


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