# Bathing an Anxious Hedgehog



## Torey (Oct 20, 2012)

Hi!
I'm new! I had a hedgehog growing up, and recently acquired a one-year-old Hedgie from my kids' preschool. He didn't like all the noise at school and wasn't very socialized but is very much loved. His name is (of course, preschoolers named him) Sonic.

He's pretty much *always* a ball of popping, hissing, fury. I try to hold him every day when it's quiet-ish in our house, but he rarely comes out of his ball of anger even after an hour of snuggling. He will come out and wander around the house if I'm cleaning, but as soon as we get close, he balls up. He is up in the morning and at night playing in his wheel, so I know he is happy when he's alone 

He's not food oriented at all. I've been offering him lots of different options for things to eat, but all he will eat is his pellets. I'll keep trying but I want him to love him, so I'm trying to make him happy.

He desperately needs a bath. I've read all of info on bathing him, but I'm worried he won't uncurl. . . Any tips?

Thanks!


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## msredhead (Sep 28, 2012)

Aww poor guy! He's probably recovering from the kids lol!

From what I've seen, they won't ball in up water...but you can always try a foot bath first and see if that will help out a bit. My Auri HATES getting a bath, and she's a complete ball before and after, so I guess it's dependant on the hedgehog. I wish I could help more, but I was told to try the footbath first just to get her to walk around a bit.

Have you tried baby food? Or the chicken cat treats? Sometimes it takes something like that to break them out of their ball!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It all depends on how he behaves in a bath, what will work best for him. 

Some of them will still curl up in the bath and uncurl long enough to take a gasp for air, and then curl back up again. Those ones I hold in my hand and pour water from a glass over their backs. Sometimes they will uncurl in my hand but if they don't, no big deal. Often in time they will get used to the bath and start to relax more, but some never will. 

My little TW boy Waylon was simply terrified of being in the sink even with me holding him in my hand and pouring water, he was scared to death. What worked best for him was leaving him in the hedgie room and using a bin. I put a towel on the bottom and just enough water to soak the towel. He would walk around and didn't mind it at all. I could pour water over his back and he was fine with it. For some reason, I think being in the bathroom was what terrified him the most and possibly brought back bad memories for him. 

If you use a tub or a sink make sure there is something on the bottom so he doesn't slide around. Not having secure footing scares them.


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## msredhead (Sep 28, 2012)

Nancy, thanks for that tip... Auri slides a lot, so I will try the towel thing next time for sure!


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## msredhead (Sep 28, 2012)

Oh my gosh!!! I gave Auri a foot bath tonight, and the towel was genius!! she just stood there... walked around... LOVED IT!! Snuggled into her towel afterwards and didn't ball up like she usually does! YAY!


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