# Tips for taming a hedgehog



## r.shtrbug

I acquired a 7 week old hedgehog two days ago. The previous owner spent at least two hours a day handling him, and with her he was very calm and content. I need advice/tips on taming a hedgehog. My mother is a Vet, and I have grown up around a variety of animals, but I am new to hedgegos. I was making some progress with him, until he tried to escape his cage and I stopped him. Our relationship has digressed… I have a lot of patience, and I know that always pays off, but can anyone give me advice? I’ve discovered mealworms are the way to his heart. Is it better if I try to calmly hold him while he is still mostly asleep? Or will that make him grumpier? I’ve already read four books on hedgehogs, but they don’t seem to cover this very well and the information is contradictory in some of them. I’m not expecting him to wake up in a day or two and decide we are best friends, I know this takes time, but I want to make sure I’m helping instead of making it worse…


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## moxieberry

To start, I'd say take whatever the books say with a grain of salt. There are really no good, up-to-date books out there about African pygmy hedgehogs.

Was the previous owner someone who bred him, or someone who got him from somewhere else and only kept him for a short while? Either way, it takes time. Two days is nothing, and at 7 weeks he's probably started quilling, in addition to having to adjust to a new place and not knowing you yet. Try sticking an old shirt in his cage after you wear it to sleep for a night or two, to help him get used to your scent. Hedgie bags/sleeping bags are also a godsend for starting the bonding process - he can be inside a bag, which imitates a burrow and will let him feel secure, and you can hold him on your lap and just let him sleep. If he'd rather not be in your hands, just go with the flow of what makes him comfortable - if that means he prefers to crawl on you or explore instead of being held, that's normal. Some hedgehogs are never going to be cuddly, they all have their own personalities. Just keep taking him out and handling him as much as possible - 30-60 minutes per day is a bare minimum, but if you can make it more like several hours, that's even better. Bonding with a baby can be difficult and frustrating because they can be very very grumpy while quilling, and it can last for weeks or even a few months - you might be seeing the grump from that discomfort, rather than the "real him". Give him treats (mealies are great) when you have him out of the cage, so he associates them with you, and don't put him back in his cage prematurely if he's grumpy or huffy - you don't want him to learn that acting that way gets him left alone. I also highly suggest taking hedgehogs out on trips to the store, running errands, whatever else - it helps to socialize them in general, so they get used to different places, sounds, smells, and having different people around. None of the bonding or socialization might seem to be working until the quilling is over, which can seem to go on forever - especially for a first-time hedgie owner - but in the end it's worth it.

Good luck, and congrats on your new baby!


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## LizardGirl

The absolute best thing I've found personally is to hold them with bare hands. It's fine to pick them up with a blanket, but immediately after doing so if you get them right side up (feet down) in your hands and let them feel secure that way, they "cheer up" much faster. Confidence in handling is always a plus, they seem to pick up on it and respond better. Gently brushing the visor quills back to encourage a more relaxed pose helps with mine, though some don't like to be touched on the visor quills period. Just be patient and persistent and either he will warm up to you, or you both will reach a compromise where you're satisfied with his attitude. 

I don't go much more in-depth than this in my book, but feel free to check out the link in my signature for an actual up to date book. I published it just a few months ago and the full PDF download is free.


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## moxieberry

No good, up-to-date books but LG's, is what I should have said, haha. I was thinking in terms of anything you'd find in a store.


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## r.shtrbug

Louis and 3 siblings were a surprise to the previous owner. She just aquired a female hedgehog and four days later she gave birth (a big surprise for the owner). I have soem concerns about the breeding, and I have asked the previous owner if it was possible for the father to be related to the mother...Louis seems fine now, but I've rescued some "oops" inbreds before and they're never very healthy...
I did see him with his previous owner, so I have high hopes that he will at least become content with me like he was with her. His first day was very stressful with his first bath, car ride, crowd of excited people, and a new home. I'm trying to spend an hour and a half to two hours with him as much as I can...I've been easing up to it a little more each day. I'll definately try the shirt advice. I've been using a pouch. With live mealies I can bribe him out of it into my bare hands eventually. Thank you for the warning on the quilling, the books mentioned it a little but they didn't go into much detail about it. This weekend I'm going to try to spend a lot of time with him too. Thank you both for all the advice, if anyone has any additional tips/tricks/cautions I'd love them.


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## Hillybean

Hello,
congrats on the new hedgie!

Best advice I can give is each hedgehog is different and they react differently to different people. I think the reason why book and online information is vague on handling, is because they are each so different.


Examples:
I have my hedgie male that is VERY grumpy if you wake him up and handle him. He will literally bite aggressively to show he is not happy. When he is awake on his own, and moving around his cage..then I can handle him and he will be fine...no biting.

I also have one that is okay to just be picked right out of the cage. He then wake moves around and poos.


In general I recommend you wake them and try to get them moving before you handle them. That way they have a chance to poo..but pooping is just part of having a hedgie. I always recommend wearing socks all day and then put the socks in with the hedgie. They get to know your smell. Music playing in the room he is in might also help him to get use to noises. Talk to him, read a book to him, sing songs to him, etc..just anything for him to learn your voice. My oldest three respond to my voice and will wake up and un ball..making it easier for me to handle them. If you wear a hoodie, put him in the pocket, or turn it around backwards and put him in the hood. 

Another thing that many people do, is sit down of an evening with him watching tv. Have him in between fleece (fleece below him and above him) this will help him to feel safe.

Light when you handle him can either be on or off. Some hedgies do better be out with a dim light or it off at first and brighter or light on when they get use to you. Some are fine with the light from the start. It really just depends on your hedgehog.

I hope that helps!


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## r.shtrbug

I've had a lot of progress with him today. I was talking to his previous owner and she suggested the reading too. About 40min of Dr. Seuss and a bunch of mealworms and he was out crawling on me with quills completely relaxed for the first time. He is still grumpy when I pick him up, so I start him out in a pouch until he calms down. I'm sure he'll still have some bad days to come, but today has been a good day so far! Thanks for all of the tips!


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## kurai18

I'm so glad you made progress! 
Sometimes it's so hard with these little grump monsters but when they finally open up it's so heartwarming 
Another thing that worked for me is, ever since Pineapple was a baby I always made her eat mealies out of my hand on my lap.,
and never gave them to her in a different situation.
Since she's a runner not a cuddler it's hard to get cuddle time with her normally,
but whenever I bring the mealies out now she will run straight onto my lap and plop down and eat.
Even if I start messing with her kissing and scruffing her up a little, she'll shake it off like 'Eww yuck I'm too grown up for smooches!" 
run away for a second and then run right back and plop down on my lap and she's so cute I just can't resist and always end up giving her more than I intended


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## r.shtrbug

New update, just incase anyone else with a similar situation reads this set. Louis and I are doing great. I'm not going to say he frolics with glee to the sound of my voice or anything, but he lets me pick him up without too much fuss and will sit on my lap. I've discovered that a footy bath helped him open up to me, so we've made it a daily or every other day routine. He needs it anyway because he always gets poop stuck on his feet from his wheel. He will now uncurl at the sound of my voice too. There is still room for improvement, but even if he doesn't get any more affectionate than this, I'll be happy. It's really funny, I don't know if this is reccomended or not, but when he is in a really "huffy" mood, I huff back...it confused the heck out of him the first time. We have a comical routine now where he huffs at me, I huff once, tell him to "hush up grump grump" and he sits there in defete until he decides the mealies are worth it. He's only in a "huffy" mood about 25% of the time now.


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## Krystal

r.shtrbug said:


> when he is in a really "huffy" mood, I huff back...it confused the heck out of him the first time. We have a comical routine now where he huffs at me, I huff once, tell him to "hush up grump grump" and he sits there in defete until he decides the mealies are worth it.


I know this thread was a long time ago... but..That is so cute.:grin:


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## Lilysmommy

We try to discourage people from bringing up old threads from years ago. It tends to confuse people & clutter the forums up with threads where the OP or previous people are no longer active. Please stick to commenting on recent threads.


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## Lelani

*New hedgie Adam*

Thank you so much for this. I got my hedgie, Adam, yesterday and he has been huffing at every little noise. It was a bit of a disaster picking him up the first few times, but I am also learning and trying not to stress him out. He has started uncurling sooner today already.
As I am writing he has started eating and drinking, much to my relief.
He seems interested in his new cage and has done some annointing- super cute.
I will try all the advice given here, thanks in advance.


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