# My new hedgehog smells like baby vomit or sour milk?



## Brunswick (Feb 20, 2012)

Hi,

Since the first day I brought home my baby hedgehog he has had quite an odor to him. To me it smells like baby vomit(there is no sight of vomit anywhere) or sour milk, so I thought maybe it was because he was young and still smelled like his mothers milk, or was still getting used to the food because he had just finished weaning, or he had never been bathed, maybe a mix of all three. I gave him about a week to adjust before I decided to give him a short bath to get rid of the smell. I used Aveeno Baby moisturizing wash with Oatmeal. He did great with the bath and the smell seemed to have vanished for the evening. The next morning it was back, every day after the bath it has gotten worse.

He is quilling so next time I think I will just bath him in an Oatmeal bath instead of using the baby wash. I checked his skin all over and it seems perfect other than all the little quills poking through the skin ~ouch~, poor guy 

Val is surprising good at using his litter box. He is about 90% potty trained! There is still the occasional poo in his igloo which doesn't help with his smell. His poo does not smell like sour milk, so I think the smell is emanating from his skin. He only pees in his litter box and I don't believe that urine is the source of the smell either. I change his fleece liners every three days and spot clean every day.

I then thought that maybe it was from the food that he was on. The breeder had him on Purina Cat Chow Naturals. 4 days ago I started switching him over to Wellness Indoor Health, he is still on 3/4 old 1/4 new and seems to be transitioning nicely!  He really likes it and eats it out of the bowl first. His stool is still solid and doesn't smell as bad as it did on the Purina alone. HE still smells like sour milk though! (I hope it gets better once he his on completely switched to Wellness)

He is in great spirits and from what I have read on this forum and he is acting the the perfect baby hedgehog. 

I looked around on the forum and couldn't find anything pertaining to our circumstances specifically, since I don't think it's his food. 

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the smell besides bathe him and keep his liners clean?

Thanks a bunch,
Gina


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## vasogoma (Feb 25, 2012)

I literally have no idea what this might be, but I hope everything is right and back to normal as soon as possible.


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## Brunswick (Feb 20, 2012)

vasogoma said:


> I literally have no idea what this might be, but I hope everything is right and back to normal as soon as possible.


Thanks, me too. I've been holding him for over an hour now and he just decided to crawl up under my chin to cuddle  As cute as it is...~YUCK~ the smell is making me nauseous but I just can't bring myself to move him,lol. :roll:


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## Brunswick (Feb 20, 2012)

So I did a little bit more searching on the forum this morning and found a post that was a bit more similar. The most popular question on that post was "Does your baby have an ear infection?" So I checked his ears a few minutes ago to make sure that nothing was wrong with them and they look fine. It also doesn't seem that the smell is coming from any particular part of the body, just the skin in general. The post conclusion was that babies have more odor than adults do. So my baby is supposed to smell like this? Is this true?!? If so, Gosh, I can't wait for him to grow up!!  

He gets kind of sweaty sometimes when we cuddle. Maybe his sweat is a contributor to this smell?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Never heard of this before, my hedgie didn't really smell at all... How old is he now?
Maybe someone else knows what it could be, I'm curious as well!


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## Brunswick (Feb 20, 2012)

Draenog said:


> Never heard of this before, my hedgie didn't really smell at all... How old is he now?
> Maybe someone else knows what it could be, I'm curious as well!


He is exactly 7 weeks and 1 day old. I know, it is driving me crazy...I hope he is just a stinky baby and it will pass. I don't have a sensitive nose either...I work in healthcare so I smell some pretty terrible things.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Hey I want you to know that I have the same issue! Diggory smells so sour. Like sour milk or cat pee. Baths help but it returns very quickly. I asked on here and was just told that it is because he is a baby and some hedgies outgrow it and some do not. (He is 11 weeks old by the way.)


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## Brunswick (Feb 20, 2012)

alyssinreality said:


> Hey I want you to know that I have the same issue! Diggory smells so sour. Like sour milk or cat pee. Baths help but it returns very quickly. I asked on here and was just told that it is because he is a baby and some hedgies outgrow it and some do not. (He is 11 weeks old by the way.)


I am so glad he is not alone!! A huge relief. I was starting to get worried since there were like 40 views and no comments, I thought maybe he was secreting some crazy toxins or something. He is perfect in every way....I suppose I will just have to get used to his one and only flaw


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## atichy (Jan 30, 2012)

Brunswick my little girl Sassy started to smell a lot like what you are describing when she was small. She has a large cage with fleece liners, an igloo, snuggle sack and carolina storm wheel. I keep it clean but she still dives under her liner under her litter tray and sleeps. When I pick her up she would be warm but damp. She is not about 4 months old and that odor is starting to go away. I only gave her 2 full baths and a lot of foot baths for the poopy boots. She has since grew out of poopy boots LOL. Hopefully your little baby will grow out of his smell also because it sure is a bad smell.


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