# Stiffing the air and licking lips



## npatton (Feb 24, 2015)

Hey everyone! 

So I've had my hedgie Peanut Quill for about 3 weeks now. He is a 1 year old re-home. I've noticed that for about a week and a half he is sniffing the air and licking his lips like there is something that smells good in my room and I can't for the life of me figure it out. I had a marshmallow air freshener but I've unplugged it for now. I don't have any food in here (I do have his food though). It seems to stress him out so much that he's been biting me sometimes. He wants to try and find it and he tries to crawl into places where I wouldn't be able to reach him, so it scares him when I try and pull him away. But I have no idea what it could be causing this... Has this ever happened to anyone before?


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## rodanthi (Feb 7, 2014)

Hector always sniffs and licks his lips when I put him down in a room, I think its just their way of "listening" to the world around them, since smell is such an important sense for hedgehogs. I wouldn't worry about it unless he is licking a runny nose.
As for the climbing places he shouldn't - ideally you should hedgehog proof a room before you let them loose, as like you have discovered, they have a knack for squeezing themselves into dangerous places. If you can't hedgehog-proof a room then I would look into getting him a play pen and putting thing for him to explore in there. 
As for biting - try and figure out what makes him do it and anticipate it by keeping a fleece blanket on hand and sheidling your skin with it.


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## rodanthi (Feb 7, 2014)

The other thing to consider is that if you think biting you is to do with a smell, then he may be trying to annoint with you. Hector likes how my boyfriend smells so my boyfriend has to be very wary of Hector sniffing/licking him, because a bite may follow! If that's the case it should be easy to tell when he is going to do it because it isn't as sudden as a fear bite. There is usually more curiosity involved.

As for smells, do your hands smell like food or a soap/shower gel? Any smells on your hands from work? Hedgehogs sometimes go for cigarette smells too. Minimise the possibility of your hands smelling by washing them well with a low/no fragrance soap before handling. That should help rule stuff out.


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## teddythehedgehog (Jul 27, 2013)

Hedgehogs sniffing and licking are just parts of personality the biting could also be a warning to leave him/her alone. They let you know when theyve had enough


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