# Help! I am worried about my hoglet!



## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

Henry is a 6 month old hoggie. I am worried about his happiness and mental health. I am trying to be a good hogmom, but I feel like a failure.

He is quite easy to handle, rarely balls up and seems to like (or at least tolerate) being held. His vet told me not to wake him during the day, so I wait for him to wake up at night to take him out, but that usually only leaves us with 30-60 minutes of time together. Sometimes I just hold him on my lap, other times I let him run around a large room with little hog obstacles and things to explore. Here is what worries me:

When I put him in a room, if the light is on at all, he wont move. So I turn off the light except for a nightlight and then he runs around, but not in an exploring type way. He just seems to pace and run/dart aimlessly. Sometimes he just runs back and forth against the same stretch of wall over and over. It doesn't look like he is having fun, it seems more anxious or even OCD like. I have noticed him doing this in his cage too. He will run in his wheel, the hop out, run in a circle and go back to the wheel.

Is he unhappy? Bored? Undersocialized? I want him to be happy and feel safe. Can I wake him up early or during the day to spend more time with him? Any suggestions for environmental enrichment?

His cage is the midwest G-pig 4' x 2' cage with a 2' x 1' loft, variety of hidey boxes, tubes, toys and a Carolina Storm wheel. I am planning on building a second loft with some soft of digging/burrowing substrate today. Anything else I can do?

Thank you for any suggestions!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Not moving with the light on seems pretty normal to me - he's a nocturnal prey animal, so he may be trying to stay inconspicuous so predators don't see him in the light. 

What kinds of things do you put out for him to check out? Have you noticed him interact with any objects in particular that might give a clue as to what kinds of things he likes? Does he try to burrow in & hide at all when he finds something to sleep under?

It might be worth trying to make his explore area a little smaller to see if he might be too stressed with such a large open area, and to focus his attention more on the things you have for him to check out. Try hiding treats around too, so that he can find those - cooked chicken, mealworm pupae, frozen crickets, little bits of wet cat food, etc. are some possible ideas. Some hedgehogs like cat treats too, just make sure they're decent quality & small enough. 

You don't have to wait for him to wake up to take him out either - it's okay to wake them up, just make sure it's more in the evening/night time. Some hedgies wake up quite late, so their owners would never see them if they waited for hedgie to wake up. And to be honest, it's even okay to take them out during the day IF you let them sleep, and make sure they're not stressed while out. A lot of people will get their hogs out during the day for some snuggling while watching TV or a nap on the couch or something. 

It sounds like he has plenty of room in his cage! I've noticed similar behavior from my previous girl & others have said the same thing - that their hedgie will run on the wheel a bit, check the cage to see if there's anything different, then keep running. Does he interact with the other things in his cage? You could also try hiding treats in his cage, which Lily absolutely loved. I'd hide frozen crickets & such and she'd make her rounds of the cage when I first put her back in to find them all. You can use toys meant for other animals to make into foraging-type toys, just make sure you check for safety (hedgie can't get stuck somehow, won't swallow anything inedible, etc.). I have a bird hide-and-go-treat toy that I hid crickets in & Lily quickly learned how to shove the door aside with her nose to grab the cricket.

You could also try splitting his food up in to a few different bowls to place around the cage, so he has to look for his food a little more, and you could change up the locations a bit each night to give him something to do. A dig box is a great idea, and you can also hide treats in those.

Don't worry - you're not a bad owner.  It sounds like Henry has a fantastic cage & you're doing great with him. He's just being a hedgie!


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## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

Thank you so much! You have made me feel better! He kind of acts like one of those animals in a substandard zoo with the pacing behaviors and I was feeling a bit like a hedgie slum-lord!

I got a little fence thingy to make the room smaller and will hide little goodies around - he does love to eat!

I also got things to make another loft for him, which I am calling his "snuffle box" - it will have bedding to burrow in and a terrarium portion with growing grass and natural substrate and I will put his mealworms in there to forage for. 

I have had a lot of hoggies in the past (it has been a while!) and I have never had one act like this little guy. And I am, admittedly, a worrier. 

Thanks again!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Hmm. I just had a couple other thoughts - that pacing by the walls in order to stay near something solid that feels more like cover. Or will he take an opening if there's one? I wonder if he might like something like a little maze where he can follow along a wall but isn't just pacing back & forth. 

(I'm totally guessing here, by the way, just throwing things out there. Some hedgies act weird & with still not knowing a ton about them in general, a lot of the time our interpretations of their behavior is just guessing!)


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'll apologize if you already answered this, but how long has he been with you? Is he fairly new?


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## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

Thank you guys for your help - Kalandra, he is six months old and I have have had him for three months.

I got Henry a playpen that is a little over 4 feet in diameter and put his toys (tunnels, bridges, balls, leaves, logs etc) in as well as hiding bits of food around for him. We are working on building a maze as he does seem to hug walls when he is in a room.

I am so sad though, I really think something is wrong with him. It is as though he is unable to be still or relax at all when he is awake. He is no longer willing to sit on my lap like he used to, he just struggles frantically. He runs at top speed, constantly. In a room he will run until he bumps into something and then just turn and run more. He paces walls frantically. He does not stop to investigate anything. He does this until he literally collapses, then gets up and starts again. I feel so bad for him. It is like he can't stop. He will run until his tiny feet are sore. He does sleep all day, but every waking moment he is running. My husband has starting calling him Forrest Gump.

I don't know what happened to my little guy. This all started a few weeks ago and I dont know why. And I don't know how to help him. I just feel helpless and sad. I love him and want him to be a happy hog.


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## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

Forgot to add that his behavior in the playpen is no different from in a larger room. Just constant aimless running. Same with in his cage - I stayed up late watching him last night and he just ran around until he collapsed.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

A couple things come to mind. 
What is his light schedule? When it's dark, is there any extra light from say street lights, electronics, other rooms or night lights? 
Is there possibly any new smells in the house that may be causing her to be anxious? It isn't always something we can detect. It could be something as simple as the neighbor got a dog and you pet him when you check the mail.


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## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

He has natural light through a window, so the light cycle goes with natural day/night. There is maybe a little filtered light through a window, but this hasn't changed. I can close the curtains to see if that helps.

I am a vet, so there are always new smells.  But nothing new in the house. It just seems like such an abrupt change in his behavior. 

The only other thing I can think of is that 1 month ago, he discovered his wheel and I suspect fell and hurt himself bc he was very out of sorts (wouldn't come out of a ball which is not like him) and had a bruise on his tummy. He went to an exotics vet and had x-rays and there was no serious damage. He seemed to go back to normal within a day or so. The really odd changes in behavior started abt two weeks later. Is it possible he hit his head and is actually brain damaged? He doesn't have any overt neurological symptoms other than the behavior I described.

Thank you for your thoughts. It helps just to know others care about him. Dh doesn't get why I am so distraught.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Light pollution could be a contributing factor. It could possibly be screwing with his circadian rhythm. 
The dog thing was the first possible example that came to mind. Depending on your personal schedule, he could be smelling something from work that he's trying to get away from. He doesn't want eaten, so he runs. Stops running, sniffs a bit and still smells it so he has to keep running or tries hiding. Clothes, shoes and our bodies will carry those smells.
By no means we can't say this is by far the only explanations but just possible causes.


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## winniecooper (Aug 17, 2015)

Thank you - I will try anything. I will clean out his cage completely today and try make sure I wash my hands and change clothes after work. I will also close the blackout curtains at night. 

It exhaust me just to watch him. He just can't stop himself.


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