# Sneezing or a regular sound?



## kmoore_116 (Aug 15, 2016)

I just got my 11 week old male hedgehog from a breeder yesterday and am brand new the hedge life. I noticed earlier that he was making what seems like a sneezing sound? He hasn't been licking his nose and is acting what I assume is normal for them. He didn't sneeze when I had him out earlier, only in his cage. His bedding is the white care fresh, should I switch to a fleece liner? He is not right under the vent but is close to it, I've got it mostly closed and blowing away from him. He's got a heat lamp and the thermostat goes from 72°-78°. Ive read a lot about putting my old T-shirt in the cage with him so he gets used to my smell, so when I saw him sneezing I thought it could be from the vent so I put my shirt over where the cold air could be hitting him. But he's still sneezing. It sounds like he's just huffing or something. Should I take him to the vet even though he's not showing other signs of a URI? 

Also, he's been drinking a lot, is this normal for them? He went from a water bowl at the breeder to a water bottle now.


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## Prue (Feb 20, 2016)

Sneezing sounds like a sharper huffing sound while nothing is causing them to huff. Typically when it's only huffing they remain stationary and raise their quills, but if it's sneezing their head will jolt forward a bit and their quills remain almost flat. 

The sneezing could be a variety of things combined. Carefresh is indeed quite dusty, and it could be contributing. My hedgehog was sneezed and suffered from very dry skin after just one week on carefresh-style bedding. I would highly recommend switching to fleece. Air vents also blow dust particles around, so that could contribute as well.

Cold drafts can cause hibernation attempts if you're not careful. I would recommend moving the cage as far as you can from the vent, unfortunately trying to block it might not be enough. If his cage temperature is fluctuating that much it's also another hibernation hazard. Try to maintain 74 degrees and above at all time. If it goes a couple degrees up and down it's not a huge deal, but 6 degrees of variation is a bit on the risky side.

How frequently is he making the sneezing sound? If he has no other symptoms then I would resolve the air vent, bedding, and temperature and then give him another inspection. It's likely just the dust from the carefresh, but keep an extra close watch on him for the meantime. If any other symptoms develop (loss of appetite, decreased activity, runny nose, eye discharge, abnormal poop), I would definitely spring for a vet visit.

As for the water drinking, it seems that it varies quite a bit between hedgehogs. I hear from some owners that they never see their hedgehogs drink, and the complete opposite from others. My hedgehog drinks a lot of water, at least compared to some I hear about on Hedgehog Central. In your case, it probably looks like he's drinking a lot, but water bottles are deceptive. Not much water comes out at a time, and it's much more effective drinking out of a bowl. Point being he probably spends a lot of time trying to get not that much water. Speaking of water bottles, they are actually advised against on this forum. People have has hedgehogs that chip teeth and get tongues stuck in the bottles, bowls are a safer, more natural option. If you do switch to fleece, there won't be bedding bits getting in the water, so a bowl would become much more manageable. Obviously it's your choice in the end.

I hope some of this helps! Good luck with your little guy, I hope the sneezing stops.


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