# Hedgehog puffs, bites and is really grumpy!



## Eliwi (Nov 25, 2013)

Hey everyone! So this is the story with my (sister's) hedgehog.

My friend decided to give my sister a hedgehog for her birthday this year (he breeds them), but it didn't work out somehow, so he asked one of his friends who had a few hedgehogs if he could buy one from him. The guy said yes, and my sister and his friend went to pick the little guy up. The thing is, he was living in TERRIBLE CONDITIONS! He basically had no house, just ran around everywhere (the house was filthy), which caused him to have a lot of hair around one of his legs :/, he was overweight because they just fed him cat food, and was overall really dirty and sick. My sister felt horrible about this and agreed to take him so we could take care of him. He's old, but we don't know exactly how old he is.

Anyway, we took him to the vet and turns out his leg was purple/black from lack of circulation and couldn't be saved. It was HUGE and horrible, and the little guy was obviously in a lot of pain. The leg had to be amputated, so he now has three legs (which is 'ironic' because my sister was picking out names for him before seeing him and we all agreed on Pulpo -octopus in Spanish-). The little guy has recovered well from his leg, he can walk fine and is actually pretty fast. We put him on a special diet and he's now healthy and clean but grumpy as ever!

He's been happier than before, I can tell, but he still huffs and puffs every time someone comes close. I take him out everyday so he can walk around my room (he loves it because there's a lot of hiding spots), and he just walks for hours... then falls asleep somewhere. He doesn't really let anyone pet him, he bites A LOT and charges at you when you try to pick him up, even though we've never hurt him . My sister is pretty bummed out because of this, she really wanted a hedgehog that was loveable so she could pet him, but Pulpo doesn't like it. At first we thought it might be because of the leg problem, but it's been over 8 months and he's still grumpy every time. 

Is it normal for him to be this grumpy just because? I think it's just his personality, but I would like him to be a little more.. open with us, to at least let us pet him. I know that he's old and it's hard to teach old pets (and people) new tricks ha, but I'd still like to try. One of my friends who has a few hedgehogs of her own, told me to put a sock or something that smells like me into his house so that he grows used to the smell. I did that for a while but he still tried to bite me everytime lol. I change his water (my sister feeds him), and I take him out every day for a walk, so he's used to us talking to him and stuff, but still. Grumpy-head haha. 

Anyway, I'm happy that we could give this little guy a better life, but sometimes I reaaaaaally want to just cuddle!  He's like a mean grandpa lol.

Any advice? Thank you for reading, I know it was a lot of text >.<

TL;DR: My sister's hedgehog is grumpy all the time. We think it's because of his leg problem (amputated), but it's been over 8 months. We want to pet him and for him to be stress-free!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Thank you for rescuing the poor little guy!

Have you seen this book? It has a lot of really good info about care, feeding, etc.

Some hedgehogs never really like to be "pet." You can sometimes have better luck by picking your timing -- meeting their natural schedule (so evening or early morning), being in a dark room, giving them something to hide under when you cuddle. Most hate baths, but some hedgehogs are so grateful to their saviour from the terrible water that they'll be cuddly afterwards.

The smelly-fabric thing does help, although your feet don't really smell like your hands, so a worn shirt can work better than socks. Sleeping with some fabric (fleece, so it doesn't have threads that will tangle his legs) is another way of giving him your smell.


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## Dtmcewen (Nov 27, 2013)

I have had charlotte for over a week now, and I have handled her every day since we I got her. She is so grumpy! I feel like handling her this much by now would have let her know its okay and she shouldnt be scared. shes always huffing and balling up. She has been nipping me recently.. which the only thing i can think of is ive been putting meal worms in front of her face as a treat recently.. i dont know if that has been teaching her to reach out and bite? Not sure.. 

I know I have to have patience more than a week, but i thought she might have warmed up to my scent a little bit more in a weeks time.


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## Beloved Doll (Nov 21, 2013)

From the sounds of it, it sounds like he had a pretty bad life before you guys came along and improved his life massively. If you look at other animals and people who live through abuse and / or neglect, some are permanently "broken" and can't develop trust towards people again because of what they went through. Since he is an older hedgehog, it is possible he will always be this way.

I want to first give a big thanks to you guys for rescuing him and giving him a much better life.  Even though he isn't showing appreciation, I know he feels a lot better and is much happier than he had ever been. It may not seem like much to you but his whole world has changed for the better.


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