# Climbing INTO cage?



## brian1546 (Dec 5, 2009)

Hey everyone, new guy here. 

I've had spunky for about 6 months now. We bonded well and had lots of fun over the summer, but class got in the way in fall. By that I mean only that I had less time to spend actively playing with him, he was still well fed, watered, cleaned up after, etc. 

Since then he's gotten a little huffy at me, and doesn't seem to want to have much to do with me. Running off as soon as i put him in my lap, and just generally wanting to not have much to do with me. 

He has also picked up a strange habit of trying to climb back into his cage whenever he's near it. He was a busy little climber when he was young (for like two or three days before his wheel came in the mail), but calmed down quickly once he could run on the wheel. 

I don't believe it's because he's terribly hungry, as I usually let him snack after waking him but before playing with him, same with water which I give him access to even outside of his cage. It's nice and dark in my room when I take him out too. 

When he does get back in, he'll hide for a bit, but will run to snack and drink before hiding again. 

I'm not really sure what I'm asking, but is there anything that I'm really doing wrong? 

Thanks for your support guys!

~~Brian (and Spunky)


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Sounds perfectly normal to me.
His cage is his "safe haven". He smells his home and he wants to go back to it, because that is where he is safe. 
Sometimes, I bring my boy outside with his carrier, and if I put him on the grass and as he shuffles around, he'll find his carrier and immediately crawl inside, because all of his fleece are in there. They will run towards the place that they feel the safest, seems like a normal reaction to me.

The only thing I'd suggest is making sure that if/when he does climb, that he can't fall anywhere, as you don't want him falling and breaking a leg and/or getting internal injuries.


----------



## rivoli256 (Mar 1, 2009)

My little guy first learned how to get out. Then he decided to put himself back to bed short before Mommy got up & it was time for a nap for him (he's very much diurnal). I was shocked. It's one thing to get out but to put himself back to bed??? But he did. Of his own volition. & it, too, had nothing to do w/ food/water. He doesn't eat around that time. He was just ready to go to sleep. 

This stopped, however, once he discovered snuggling in bed with Mommy was even better than snuggling in his own.  :roll: :lol:


----------



## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Trying to make his way back in his home makes sense to me. Just make sure he's safe when he makes his attempt. With him running off your lap, it sounds like you picked an appropriate name for him!

Mine will snuggle with me about 20 minutes to an hour before she gets it in her mind that it is time to go home. Wherever we are in the house, she gets antsy and starts trying to walk to her home all by herself. It can be rooms away and she knows the direction to go to get there. Typically, I'll hold her for just a minute or two more, telling her what a smart hedgie she is; then she'll climb up me and onto the couch (I sit on the floor in front of the couch when I play with her), I'll stand up, turn around, and hold my hands out and ask if she'd like to get her kibs (kibbles); then she walks right into my hands, and off we go to find her home. It's neat, because once she's in my hands and we're walking back to her home, she'll settle down until it's time to climb in.

If you can keep a nice, consistent schedule with him over the next few weeks, you might be able to develop a little routine where he knows it's outside-of-cage time for "X" amount of time and then his hedgiedaddy will help him back in afterwards. He might be able to learn to view you as a good thing... ie, the one who brings him back to his safe haven after playtime.


----------

