# Do all hedgehogs have strong urine?



## La'Miyah DuBose (Jul 5, 2016)

I have the Carefresh odor control bedding but his cage smells like strong pee. He also peed on a piece of fleece which smelled really strong. So do they just have strong smelling urine, or is it just my hedgie?


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

If it smells stronger than you think it should, my first thought would be that he might be dehydrated. Have you been able to see the color of the urine? It should be clear or very pale yellow. If it's darker than that then I would think that plus the smells means dehydration. I would then add some moisture heavy treats and inspect how he gets water. If you're using a bottle, I would add a bowl as well. If you're using a bowl I would make sure there's not tons of bedding winding up in the bowl and make sure he's not knocking it over and thus not having enough water available.

Another thing to keep in mind is smell is in the nose of the beholder. Some people are more acutely aware of or more bothered by certain smells than others. For example, my husband doesn't do well with fresh hedgehog poop smell, but it largely doesn't bother me unless there's a reason for it to be oddly bad.


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## La'Miyah DuBose (Jul 5, 2016)

It was darker than pale yellow, but I have seen him drinking water and he is acting normally.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Drinking water and drinking enough water are not the same. 
Darker than pale yellow is possibly a sign he isn't getting enough water. If I remember correctly your using a water bottle and had a concern about him not drinking. Water bottle make them work to get their water. If you had to do so much yoga just for one drink of water you will quickly code less water.

Sorry after posting this I checked your previous posts and it was apparently a different new owner, my apologies for mixing things up. However the water bottle thing still holds true if you are using one.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

You'll also note that "acting normally" is not something that can be used to determine health issues in hedgehogs. They will do their best to put on a show and make it seem like they are ok when in fact they are not ok. That's just in their nature. They don't want to appear weak. To a small prey animal this can mean the difference between living another day or being something's snack.

So, are you using a bottle or a bowl? Are you keeping track of how much he's drinking? It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I use a small ceramic bowl and I fill it to the brim. That way I can tell if there is any missing in the morning at a glance. And after doing that for a bit I was able to tell if she drank about the same as normal, more than normal, or less than normal. If you're using a bottle you can mark the starting amount of water each night and see how far down from that it went the next morning.


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## La'Miyah DuBose (Jul 5, 2016)

When I picked him up the breeder said he knew how to drink out of a water bottle but before I got him I got a water bottle and a bowl just in case. So when we got home he was eating, but not drinking so I put the bowl in there and then he started drinking. And I also fill it up to the brim so I can make sure he is drinking and he has been drinking the same amount for 2 days. So maybe the smell just affects me strongly. But I will keep an eye on how much he drinks just in case.


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