# New Hedgie Pooping in its food/water



## rboelens (Sep 24, 2010)

Im a new hedgehog owner, and I beleive I have a fairly young Hedgehog as he is very small (I dont know the actual age). I purchased it from a Petstore as local breeders were not availiable at the time. I have done a bit of reading and understand some of the basics, and have been using google extensively (Which is how i came to find this site).

The main issue that Im having is that my Hedgie seems to be pooping all over its food + water. At first i trimmed down a low styrofoam pan for water, but i figured it was too low which is why he was soiling it. So I purchased some small pyrex dishes for his food and water, but this morning i found that he pooped in his water dish and his food dish.

I would have thought that some kind of biological behaviour would have animals know better than to poop where it eats/sleeps, but this does not appear to be the case.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Could be a few things...

If hedgie's water and food dishes are too close together, hedgie will sit (and poop) in the food dish while drinking water and sit (and poop) in the water dish while eating kibble. 

You mention your quilled one is very small - which I take to mean "young." Babies are poop machines, so it's likely you're finding more poop in more locations than you would with an adult.

If moving the food dish away from the water dish doesn't help, I also might suggest taking your little one to the vet - along with a stool sample. Your vet can test hedgie's poops to make sure it's not a virus or bacteria or whatnot that's affecting pooping. Might be a nice intro to the vet anyhow - always good to get a working relationship up and running with your vet before you run into big troubles.

Also: good job changing to the pyrex - there's a possibility that hedgie could snack away on the styrofoam and that could make hedgie rather ill. If the pyrex is still too tall for hedgie, you can check into the dishes they make for reptiles - heavy and low to the ground.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

How big are these dishes? If they are big enough for a hedgie to sit inside it, you'll have to get different ones. Ceramic bowls from the dollar store are popular.


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## rboelens (Sep 24, 2010)

*His Old Dish*









*His New Setup*









*His approxiate Size*









Based on these, would you be able to predict an age?

Also does this picture show enough of the setup to determine if the food and water dishes are a problem?

On a side note, I am aware the cage is too small (its for a hamster). Its a temporary cage till I can get one that I want in. I will be posting a thread later in terms of what im looking to do for it


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

He's a youngin, that's for sure, I've never really had young hogs yet so I can't say what age, I'd say under 16 weeks maybe? Cute little bugger.

Besides the cage you'll want to be thinking about a wheel, its a must have for these guys, solid surface, no mesh/wire running surfaces and no side support bars. Commerical wise there's really only a flying saucer or comfort wheel (12 inch or larger), or my recommendation is the Carolina Storm Wheel which is a cakewalk/bucket style wheel, its large but quiet and easy to clean.

The other thing I'd recommend is giving him a blanket or shirt or cut up fleece to burrow into when sleeping, if he's sleeping in the white plastic thing, makes them feel safe and cozy, just make sure there isn't any loose threads.


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## rboelens (Sep 24, 2010)

Yup, i already have picked out the 12" flying saucer wheel (on order)
1 soft snuggle bag (made for hedgehogs)
and a bunch of other stuff.

Im gonna make a thread soon with a list of the stuff i plan on getting to see what people think before i buy it.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

If you have not already picked out a cage, here's a great one: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... oduct+Type 

As Puffer's said, I also recommend the Carolina Storm Wheel, here is a link: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4844


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

The only time Kashi has pooped/peed in his food was when I took out his wheel.
I like to think of it as his way of "protesting" against me taking out his wheel >_>
Little bugger trashed his entire cage T-T
So maybe he's just restless? :/


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

I'd suggest smaller dishes like tiny crocks that would give more floor space, at least until you can get a bigger cage. Try putting food in one corner (say, far-left), water in the other corner, so he isn't able to sit in one and use the other. 

My other 2 bit opinion is that fleece is so much snugglier than those pellets. Easy to clean, one time purchase lasts a long time, I just love fleece for hedgie houses.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

smhufflepuff said:


> Babies are poop machines...


lol... what a nice way of putting it! :ugeek:



shaelikestaquitos said:


> The only time Kashi has pooped/peed in his food was when I took out his wheel.
> I like to think of it as his way of "protesting" against me taking out his wheel >_>
> Little bugger trashed his entire cage T-T
> So maybe he's just restless? :/


You removed Kashi's wheel?? I'd protest too!!! lol :lol: 
Without a wheel, the li'l guy has no way to get rid of its energy so he's probably just restless. I'd go stir crazy too if I didn't have my wheel to run on every night... wait, um, you didn't hear me say that. =P


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Tomato said:


> shaelikestaquitos said:
> 
> 
> > The only time Kashi has pooped/peed in his food was when I took out his wheel.
> ...


If you're referring to Shae about taking the wheel away, I believe that she had to because he was hurt. Please correct me if I am wrong Tomato and/or Shae.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

> You removed Kashi's wheel?? I'd protest too!!! lol :lol:
> Without a wheel, the li'l guy has no way to get rid of its energy so he's probably just restless. I'd go stir crazy too if I didn't have my wheel to run on every night... wait, um, you didn't hear me say that. =P


I took it out because he had hurt his foot.
I would never just take it out for fun or something >_>

tie-dye hedgie,
Yes you're right ^-^


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## rboelens (Sep 24, 2010)

I would think that hedgehogs would know better than to poop where they sleep. But really... do they? I just picked up the flying saucer wheel, a small mini tennis ball (used for cats), a fleecy pet bed thingy

























Im a little concerned that he might poop in his bed (the fluffy bed thingy) which would be a real pain to clean. Is this something I should worry about?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

According to the picture, it's a "mini" cozy cup... Those won't be big enough for a hedgie (I don't think anyway). Usually you get the medium or large sized "small animal" stuff.

Also, hedgies like being covered, so a lot of them prefer igloos and such because it gives them a sense of safety. I have yet to see a hedgehog use a cozy cup.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

If anything he'll flip it over and sleep with it on top of him.  Might also be an idea to put it in there upside down so he can get under it.


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## rboelens (Sep 24, 2010)

Will he poop in it?


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

He might. I leave an extra fleece blanket for my hedgehog, Col. Mustard, inside her igloo. She doesn't poop on her bed but sometimes after running on her wheel and getting poopy boots, she goes to bed and gets the blanket dirty. You may want to consider something that can be easily washed for bedding.


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

If you want to get ferret supplies, get the ferret igloo and put fleece scraps or a hedgie bag inside it. They love to burrow.

My Nara loves her ferret igloo and sleeps under the fleece. She also has a plastic pigloo. She's a princess and has her choice. 

Link: http://www.petco.com/product/12203/Mars ... gloo-12203

Hope the link works, but you can always search for ferret igloo.

Also, the bottom velcros out; watch out for threads. I check it every night.

Donna


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> I took [the wheel] out because he had hurt his foot.
> I would never just take it out for fun or something >_>
> 
> tie-dye hedgie,
> Yes you're right ^-^


Ohhh... my apologies. Is Kashi better now?
I assumed you took it out just to clean it, but never realized he hurt is foot, poor guy.


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