# Is it bad to handle your hedgehog too much?



## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

i got a hedgehog who is about 10-11 weeks old, he seems to becoming more shy these past few days, for the first couple weeks i would have him out for about an hour a day, now I stepped it up to about 3 and he been balling up a lot more.


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

He is probably getting ready for his adult quilling at 12 weeks old. That is why he could be becoming more shy. To help him with quilling give him a nice warm oatmeal bath to soothe his skin also add some flax seed oil to his final rinse water, this will help control dry skin.

When you take him out of his cage, do so very gently scooping him from the sides and holding his belly. Try not to touch his quills as he will be sore and it will make him angry and ball up lots. Don't pet his quills even when your cuddling him.

Have you noticed any quills laying around his cage or after you cuddle with him? Is he scratching at all?

Did you give him a shirt that you had worn for a couple of days so he could get used to your scent and help with bonding?

He may like it a bit warmer 75-80F also.

Edited: for spelling


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

Cage is around 75 degrees and has an under tank heat pad so i dont think it is temperature related. i hadn't noticed any quills coming out so i wasnt sure if it was quilling but i did give him a bath with warm water, will give him that oatmeal bath too. how long does quilling usually take?


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## rivoli256 (Mar 1, 2009)

while i won't address the quilling issue, i will say, in my experience with my 6 rescues...with varying degrees of friendliness of the scale from "hey, love me!" to a giant, hissing ball of "leave me alone NOW!"...the more i (& my parents) have given them attention & play time, the happier, more relaxed, & more social they have become. it has taken a long time for some of them to really come out to a "hey, how are you mom?" level & want to poke around & snuggle of their own accord, but that is fine...i do a lot of just getting them out of their cages so they have supervised exploring &/or sleeping  & let them crawl on me or snuggle as they like. for the grumpier ones, i make sure we have time -quality & quantity, just sitting together, usually when i am reading a book or watching TV. i have all males but some of them get along pretty well & for those that do, they get supervised hedgie play/sleep time (ok, let's admit it, it's sleeping...always sleeping!  ). this has worked out well. it just takes a lot of patience on everyone's part! & some stay grumpy...as we all know...but the continued interaction is good for them. even just letting them snooze next to you/on you while you hang out. 

i will say: do listen to your hedgie,pay attention to the changes in habits & likes/dislikes...sometimes they just change their minds, sometimes it's an indicator of something more, so it's important to know your ball of quills. it sounds like you are doing this well. kudos!


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

today he was back to his normal completely non shy self, still no quills coming out too. my main concern was if over handling the hedgehog would be stressful to him, i am used to reptiles were it can be stressful to have them out too long


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

The general consensus: as long as you're not forcing the critter to stay awake, you can have him 'out' as much as you want. Always provide a place to hide and obviously try to keep noise, movement, other scary stuff to a minimum...but otherwise, go to it!!

Snarf will sleep on me (in his beloved hedgie bag, of course :roll: ) for hours at a time when I'm reading...I gently put him down, move him, etc but he rarely even wakes up.


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

haha, thanks for the advice guys. my first hedgehog so i am always overly worried i will do too much with the little guy


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