# Very very anxious



## Taya (Nov 3, 2017)

My boyfriend has had his hedgehog for 7months now since she was a hoglet. He cares for her like crazy and lives and reads every comment on these forums.
Taya has progressively become more and more anxious. 
She constantly huffs and puffs and takes a very long time to uncurl and it is only getting worse. We have her out every evening in her cuddle sack. We don't even have to be touching her, but she will continue to huff and puff whilst in her cuddle sack if we even move slightly. When she does come out she has been known to bite when being handled.
Trimming her nails is near impossible and definitely a 2 person job. It's horrible because it takes over an hour because she just constantly balls up and we feel like we're just causing her way too much stress, but it needs to be done.
I just don't know what to do. She seems to be so stressed out all the time that even treats don't seem to have a good effect anymore. Her housing is at a constant temperature, she has a great heat lamp, she runs on her wheel every night, we keep her diet diverse and full of protein, she has had regular vet visits - is a healthy weight.
All of the forums say to just persist and continue trying but it is really hard when we've been doing it for 7 months now and any kind of human interaction has her absolutely terrified. We can put her on the coffee table or in a play pen and she will adventure and run around but as soon as one of us is near or has to pick her up it is back to a constant hissball.
What can we do? We have tried nearly every technique we've read on the forums, it's just kind of disheartening


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

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time with bonding but keep on perservering and I'm sure your hard work will pay off eventually . All hedgehogs are different and some just are less social than others, and some just take longer to fully adjust and feel comfortable.

I'm sure you've probably tried it but just in case you haven't try putting a worn tshirt in her cage sleeping area and keep doing this... Also try to use unscented hand soap and avoid different smells on your hands (eg hand cream or from cooking/eating). Offer her her favourite treat when you are holding her or when she is being good in her sleeping sack on your lap (offer it on a small dish or use tweezers to avoid getting your fingers bit! If she doesn't like being touched yet, just let her relax in her cuddle sack on your lap, it's still counts as bonding. Eventually try touching the top of the sack (most hedgies enjoy a rub/massage eventually once they realise you're not any danger, I'm not even sure my boy realises it's my hand that gives him the rubs he loves, as he definitely prefers it more through the sack, as opposed to skin contact!). Just move very slowly around her and speak softly to her. You could also try putting relaxing music on in the background (apparently classical music can help relax animals too, even our exotic pet store sometimes plays it in the store for the animals  ). Above all, just go at her pace and keep it up! Good luck ^^

Also, with trimming nails, just do one foot a night so it's not so stressful for her and you, and reward her with a treat during and after


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## wendythehedgehog (Oct 22, 2017)

I have a biting hedgehog too. When clipping her nails, the breeder gave this great tip if she doesn't want to be held. This would only work if you have an open air cage.

Simply grab her and put her on top of the cage. She will get a little confused and open up and try to start walking. When she does this, she will get stuck in the bars and her feet will be hanging through. Just grab her hanging get and clip as fast as you can. It will be impossible for her to bite or completely curl. Just use small clippers and try to do one foot in one cut.


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