# How to show my hedgehog that I love her



## NougatTheHedgie (Jan 21, 2018)

Nougat is great! She makes an awesome midnight companion and a great pet in general, though I don't know if she knows that I love her. She wanders around and has fun on her own during the night. How can I show Nougat that I love her?


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## NougatTheHedgie (Jan 21, 2018)

And also, is it normal that when I sometimes touch her, she raises her quills and makes a huffing sound.


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## PJbottoms (Jun 2, 2018)

Some hedgies are just grumpy like that. Also how are you touching her? Are you letting her see your hands first? If you touch her from behind where she can't see then yeah, she's gonna hiss and huff. 
You can show you love her by just taking good care of her. Hedgies aren't the sort of pet that's going to show affection like a dog or cat. If she's explores you freely and can curl up on you somewhere and go to sleep, it means they feel safe. That's probably the best sign you can hope for in my somewhat limited experience.
Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm still somewhat of a new owner myself.


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## NougatTheHedgie (Jan 21, 2018)

So am I I think Nougie is just one of those hedgies that are naturally grumpy I tried to touch her from the front and she started huffing really loud...


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Even from the front will make them raise their quills, they are prey animals so it's their first line of defence if they think something is about to attack it. It takes a lot of patience and care to gain their trust. And it also just depends on their personality and how they've been raised. It took a little over a year for me to see a real difference in my boy. He'll still huff and puff at me if he doesn't want me to pick him up or do something but then he totally relaxes once he's either in my hand or on my lap and will dose off. I think he's learnt I am the hand that feeds him as I always offer his food in his bowl by hand first every night. Any sudden movements or sounds will still cause him to bend his head in defence (it's like a natural reflex I guess) so just try to let her sniff your hand before you touch her and move slowly and quietly around her. All the patience and persistence will pay off eventually


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## sonicphonic (Jun 24, 2018)

Is that Nougat on your avatar? Well so cute and need a lot of love. I am totally newbie here, I mean I have previous experience to raise a hamster as a pet, but a hedgehog is truly something new. So, I need to learn a lot and get to know this little creature behaviour.

One of the thing that people want to show love is by kissing and touching, apparently, I just read a random article about the hedgehog from the internet you can get an infection called salmonella and pass it on. Maybe after we bath and clean the hedgehog, still there is a risk? (I do kiss my cat sometimes, but I do not know maybe that is not good for this kind of pet)

Thanks for any explanation.


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