# Tips for inducing self-annointing and other ?'s



## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

1.) Im a new hedgie owner and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for what hedgehogs like to annoint themselves around?
I've seen youtube vidoes where some like the smell/taste of cooled down hot tea,/coffee/lotions..What do your hedgehogs annoint them selves around?? I havn't seen my Bella do it yet and I think it's amazing and really want to!! My friend is the only one who thinks she was about to do it when she was around lavender scented dryer sheets but I wasn't there  

2.) Also, she seems EXTREMELY anti-social..well, actually I dont know if anti-social is the word because hedgehogs arent really social animals anyway..shes really just anti-everything. I have a little igloo in her tank and she NEVER comes out, when I take her out of her tank she likes to run around my room and sniff and doesnt stay balled up for more then a second if at all, but in her cage she will not walk around. She just sits in her igloo all day and night. I don't think its because shes still uncomfortable because when I take her out and hold her shes as curious as can be. I took her to the vet and they did a fecal test and a skin scraping and everything came out negative for parasites and such but she BARELY eats, she didn't even show any interest when I tried to feed her meal worms and NEVER eats the chopped up carrots and romain lettuce that I put in a bowl for her. She did seem to like the banana baby food I gave her but I basically had to shove it in her face for her to try it. I just find it kind of odd that she won't even eat a mealworm, when after reading that most hedgehog owners little friends LOVE them. I'm just scared that shes not getting all the protien and nutrients she needs(not from the mealworms since theyre treats, but from the other healthy food Im trying to feed her) but I cant really force her to eat it.

Any suggestions?? Might it be just that shes not used to me?? Have any of your hedgies acted this way when you first brought them home?? Any for 1 & 2 would be very helpful!! Thanks!

3.) Oh, and just one more question...Does the fact that shes albino make a difference in her behavior from all the other kinds of hedgehogs??


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## Callie255 (Dec 24, 2008)

1.) I have seen Bruce annoint 4 times. The first time was at the pet store when the lady picked him up with a leather glove. From what I hear leather makes just about any hedgehog annoint because of its strong smell. The second time was his bedding (carefresh). Then he annointed on my friend because of her shirt. The last time was on the bedspread in the spare bedroom. Be careful with lotions and dryer sheets, those can be toxic to your hedgehog.

2.) How old is Bella? If she is a baby, she will sleep all the time. I thought something was wrong with my guy too when he was sleeping all the time but I was told that thats what babies do. He stays in his igloo all the time too, except when I take him out. Do you have a wheel in her cage? It took Bruce a while to get warmed up to his but now he uses it every night. I only know because I clean poop off of it every morning. Also make sure she gets 12 -14 hours of light every day. She needs to have a day and night so she will know when its night. Since they are nocturnal she will only be up at night. Also make sure she is kept between 75-78 degrees.
Insects are important to hedgehogs diets. Are you feeding live mealies? You could try the canned ones or the frozen ones, if you are feeding live. You could also try crickets; live, canned or frozen.
Bruce doesn't eat much of anything I have offered him in the way of fruits and vegetables. He did like the scrambled eggs I made him, without seasoning.
What kind of dry food are you feeding her? 
Are her stools normal?

3.) I don't have enough experience with hedgehogs to know that answer. If I had to guess I would say every hedgehog is different, no matter the color.

Hope this helps some! I am still new to this myself but this forum has shed so much light on properly caring for my little guy.


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## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

I will definetly try to get some leather around her sometime! and also, thank you for letting me know about the dryer sheets...I thought something was wrong. My friend doesn't know anything about hedgehogs and while I was in the shower she was playing with Bella and when I came back, she was surrounded in dryer sheets because my friend wanted to see her annoint, too. I moved her away from them though because it looked like she was about to pass out. Thats scary though because I didn't know they were toxic!  Is there a list anywhere on this site that lists all things toxic to hedgehogs? I have read up a lot on here but I havnt seen that yet.

Here's my answers to your questions:
How old is Bella?-Not sure, the girls I was talking to in the pet store weren't good at answering any of my questions and didn't bother asking the owner. I'm calling tomorrow. I know shes not a baby though because shes pretty big.

Are you feeding live mealies?-Yes, I tried feeding her the live ones and she pretty much ran away from them

What kind of dry food are you feeding her?-I'm feeding her some from the bag the pet store sold me called which is also what they had her on "Premium Edge Kitten:chicken,salmon and vegetables"

Are her stools normal?-That's actually what convinced me to take her to the vet. I've read that green stool is a sign of sickness and I noticed that she started to get that and it was a little mucosy but not too bad. The vet did a fecal testing and checked her out and said she thought she was pretty healthy and that it could've been because shes in a new enviornment. I got her on Dec.23, and took her to the vet on the 27 or 28th..but its still green sometimes so I don't know.


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## iamdbf (Aug 28, 2008)

The only thing Jade ever annoints off of is me or my clothes. I'm so proud+I feel special.


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## r_k_chic47 (Aug 28, 2008)

my hedgehog always annoints from the smell of cologne, even if he's smelled it before :lol:


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Our little one annointed over cilantro and became a lime green mess. Then another time my girlfriend had just got done eating an orange, and thought she had washed her hands. Evidently she missed some between her fingers because Dora went straight for it and promptly annointed. One other time i was sitting on the bed right after a long day at work and had just peeled off my sweaty socks (gross i know) Dora came over, took one sniff and annointed away. Raw carrots also caused her to annoint the first time.


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## Grouchyhog (Jan 21, 2009)

In the health section, near the top of the topics, there is one called "Things toxic to hedgehogs" and its everything toxic to them, 






and, ive had oscar for 8 days now and hes slowly becoming more active inside his cage as time goes on, and yes. sleeping all the time is a baby thing, and so is pooping all over you and your house, and quill loss..


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## Sara&Marshal (Dec 24, 2008)

Shes not a baby shes over a year old and shes never active unless I take her out and let her run around. Shes so inactive that she actually poops and pees on herself in her little igloo because she never comes out..


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## Mallasfamily (Feb 6, 2009)

Unless I am mistaken sometime HH will self- urinate in their beds when they are in a new home (maybe they just can't figure out which door leads to the bathroom LOL). And unless you sit and watch them 24/7 you can't know for certain they aren't moving around. Is the wheel used at night? Maybe they run around the cage. My Little girl will not come out if we are in the room. If we have a day at home she doesn't leave her igloo but at night she wheels and if we aren't home during the day sometimes more food is missing. We have had her just short of 2 weeks now and she anointed over an old baby pillow of mine that had not been washed in a while and a lick of banana baby food.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

dorasdaddy said:


> Our little one annointed over cilantro and became a lime green mess. Then another time my girlfriend had just got done eating an orange, and thought she had washed her hands. Evidently she missed some between her fingers because Dora went straight for it and promptly annointed. One other time i was sitting on the bed right after a long day at work and had just peeled off my sweaty socks (gross i know) Dora came over, took one sniff and annointed away. Raw carrots also caused her to annoint the first time.


Cilantro made ours do it too! :lol:

She didn't seem interested in the taste (she nibbled on it a little, but I don't think she really ate much of it). Both times I offered it, she'd nibble a little and then go about with the green anointing.


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## supercocoa (Feb 22, 2009)

Junie aways annoints herself in the same spot on my chair. It's quite cute, actually.  She'll lick it first a bit and then annoint away! I don't know why she likes it so much... maybe because I always sit in it.


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## nexxerus (Mar 9, 2009)

When I take Isabelle outside she self-annoints often but I can never pinpoint the trigger. It seems to happen around tree roots so I'm thinking there might be some interesting insect homes that I can't see. Leather only did it once. Now she just likes to chomp on it. All the other times have been seemingly unprovoked. They have such a strong sense of smell so they can probably pick up on all sorts of things we can't. Another thing to add: I didn't get to see a self-annointing until I'd owned her for several months.

As for the food thing, Isabelle ONLY eats canned meal worms. They're packed in some sort of "delicious" (yeahright) smelling oil. She turns her nose at the live ones. She'll eat live crickets on occasion but if I put a dozen in there's a good chance she'll have 6-7 cage mates for the next few days.

Just don't be discouraged. Maybe your hedgehog is going through quilling. Are you seeing any discarded quills in the igloo? That may explain the moodiness, which might be exacerbated by moving to a new place. Good luck with everything!


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## sillybowtie (Oct 6, 2008)

Cilantro made ours do it too! :lol:

She didn't seem interested in the taste (she nibbled on it a little, but I don't think she really ate much of it). Both times I offered it, she'd nibble a little and then go about with the green anointing.[/quote]

Ace ate all of the cilantro and was a green leprecon afterwards. I should of taken a picture for the March calendar photo contest. I have to remove anything leather on me becuase he will chase it down to get a good smell of it.


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## hedgieluver (Feb 18, 2009)

Guess theyre goin green and inducing enviorment friendly habits


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## rivoli256 (Mar 1, 2009)

Henry has never annointed. He nibbles, he bites, he chomps, he chews. Me. :shock: :lol: But nothing more. The closest thing is what I described in another post as his own version of speed annointing: nose & side quills & belly fur pressed against my side as he runs & occasional licking/tongue out. Pretty ingenious - spit gets on skin, spit from skin gets on quills, no contorting, & he gets to run around like a madman. He does this at night when he gets in bed with me & gets ready to play. He'll do this several times, all around my entire body. I've discovered of late he really like to rub his head, ears in particular, on my cheeks & mouth...& belly & butt on my neck. Go figure! :roll: 

He also despises mealworms...& insects in general. WILL NOT have anything to do with them - live, frozen, canned, or otherwise. I have had to accept that my little insectivore is self-loathing! LOL He's perfectly happy with kibble & meat & fruit & eggs & he loooooves flax oil. He's not at all bothered by his lack of native diet. & this little guy is a wild orphan rescue. So don't feel bad. 

He used to stay in his house all the time. Now, I can't keep him in it. He gets out, hangs out in my wall locker, gets in bed, hops in the house for a snack, hops back out to run around...whatever might strike his fancy. I've had him since the beginning of November & everyday he's more & more a defined personality & happy & comfortable. It really does just take time.


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