# Depression?



## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

Can hedgies get depressed? i feel like leo is either upset/depressed or just not too happy with me for some reason. 
my boyfriend hasnt been able to hang out with leonidas as much as he did when we first got him, its been a few days since leo has seen him, and ever since it seems like leo isnt as active or nice.. he even bit me a few times yesterday which he hasnt done before. ( i read about blowing on his face if he bites, but does that work? i cant exactly put him in time out for it  but i dont know how to handle that either. )


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

How's his heating setup? If he's getting lethargic, inactive, I'd check the temp of his cage and maybe bump it up if its low.

What food does he eat? Is he still eating and using his wheel as usual?

Keep handling him yourself so he can bond to you, as it sounds like you are more available to him. If you're having trouble with him biting you try keeping a blanket between him and your hands. (I use a small fleece strip to handle Whyte who doesn't bite but is very pokey and easily startled)


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

When I think "depressed," I picture your hedgie not being as active as usual. It may be due to less human interaction, but the first thing that comes to mind (particularly in winter) is temperature. Hedgies get slow and sluggish (a bad thing... it portends hibernation... which can result in illness and death) when they're not warm enough. At what temperature is your hedgie? And how constant is it - does it change and by how many degrees? Also, I'd look to the amount of light your hedgie is getting - they need ~12 hours of light a day.

About the biting, a few things come to mind if this is a new behavior... the first is that maybe you smelled yummy or yucky to your hedgie. Garlic, cigarettes (I don't smoke, but have been to places where people do), swimming pool water, and any meat scent on my hands is what prompts my hedgie to bite. The yummy things (meat), she'll do a lick, lick, chomp! The yucky things (me coming home from swimming without using the special soap), she'll just chomp with no lick-warning. The second thing is that your hedgie is upset somehow - illness, injury. Check your hedgie for obvious things like being poked by one of his own quills (yes, it happens... and, somehow, hedgies seem to blame their humans for that sometimes), toenails growing too long, dry skin...


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## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

his cage is at 71 right now. should i just close the door and turn up the heater a little bit? the 71 has been constant with maybe a degree or two warmer sometimes. the light is on from 7 in the morning to at least 7 at night, but he is always in his home during the day where its dark.. does that affect anything? 
He has recently been being swtiched to sunseed hedgehog formula, he still eats all of his old food that i have been slowly trying to take away first before he even touches the new stuff.
and he has been using his wheel all throughout the night, except im not sure if he did last night, this morning it wasnt messy like it usually is, but he did go potty on it. I heard him playing with his toy that has a bell in it last night though, and i heard him eating last night as well so i know he is up and active.
and i believe most of the biting happened randomly. i cant remember if i had handled any food.
I will try to look for his quills going into him tonight.. what does that look like? like a quill rounding into him? or like a fallen quill that he layed on or something? when i see fallen quills in his cage i take them out because i always worry about him getting one stuck to his tootsie!

thanks for the responses!!


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## Lovemyhedgie (Jan 13, 2010)

My Hedgie got sad when my boyfriend wasn't able to play with him as much either and I know I had a constant 75 degrees in his cage and in my apartment. The blowing on the face thing works when my Hedgie has bitten me or my boyfriend we just blow on his face and he gives this weird look with his eyes closed and squinted.


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## emeko (Nov 28, 2009)

heeyyparis said:


> He has recently been being swtiched to sunseed hedgehog formula, he still eats all of his old food that i have been slowly trying to take away first before he even touches the new stuff.


I had bad experience with Sunseed, and I've heard others say the same. What food was he on before that he eats first? Beck got lethargic on Sunseed as well, and his poops turned tarry and black, and ridiculous amounts of it. That might be your culprit there. I've read some things that blame the blood meal in it.


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## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

ill try the blowing thing next time he decides he wants a piece of my finger
and the food was this stuff from where we got him, there is still some left, and i give him about half of the old and half of the new stuff, so im not sure how much of the new stuff he is actually eating..
his potty is really dark.. like black almost, but he only goes alot when its play time :roll:


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## emeko (Nov 28, 2009)

See if you can find out what it is exactly that you're feeding him, and then work on weaning him onto a high quality cat food. There's a really good chart on the food forum that lists all the acceptable brands and mixes to feed. The dark poops are probably from the Sunseed. Beck got really huffy and irritable while he was on it. The poops almost had a sweetish smell too, right?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You should be feeding high quality, low fat cat food, its much better for them than Hedgehog food, which is designed for european hedgies, not African Hedgies.


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## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

i only got sunseed because theres a topic on one of these forums saying its okay?
ohwell. and i cant really say his potty is sweet smelling, i try my best to not sniff it  but sometimes i do get a wiff.. i dont think its sweet, but i dont know.


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## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

i called petco and they said i can return the food, hopefully get store credit or something so i can get cat food. which means i also have to go all they way out to BFE to get some more of his old food, the little bit i have left is just enough for one night. or should i keep him on what he is used to? i wrote down every single approved cat food name, so i dont mess it up  im kinda bummed that this food is making him sick.. but im happy that this could be the only reason why he is being weird. 

that didnt fully make sense all typed out, but it sounded right in me head :roll:


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sunseed is considered adequate when in a mix of good quality foods. On its own, it is not good enough nutritionally. It's also one of the foods that given the choice, the hedgehog won't eat it anyway.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

71F... I'd up the temperature a couple degrees.

Glad the biting seems like it was just a random bite, rather than a totally new way of interacting with you all the time. 

I think I'd hang on to the Sunseed and just add in something of improved quality. As Nancy mentioned it's okay in a mix. And hedgies can get upset tummies if you change their food too quickly. Then again, if Nancy's right about hedgies ignoring the Sunseed once they have something better... he might not eat it anymore even if you keep it in the mix. 

How's your little one doing today?


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## heeyyparis (Jan 5, 2010)

well i took back the sunseed, but kept the little bit that was in his bowl from this morning. i got some of his old food, and i got wellness indoor health. i havent put any in yet though because i dont want to overwhelm his little tummy. and i have had the door closed with the heater up so its been at 75 since i first posted 

i gave him some mealworms, and some wet cat food (its treat night!) and he woofed them down but went straight back to being extra grumpy and just wanting to hide. i didnt wake him up, i got him out when he got up to get some water  we'll see how tomorrow and this weekend go with him. i have been real .. scared i guess you could say.. to pick him up with my bare hands now, so i use the sleeve of the sweatshirt im wearing. i would like to get back into the habit of picking him up bare handed though, so i hope this biting thing doesnt keep going.


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## Emmasue98 (Aug 14, 2015)

I have a question. I just had a hedgehog in my care that little over three months old. She has an attitude that I don't seem to understand. She has been put in the same cage as her sister when she was separated from her mother and ever since then she quills up and hiss. Is there anything that I can do for her?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

This thread is 5 years old, please start a new one with your question.


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