# I accidentally smacked my hedgehog



## Mojoex (Nov 8, 2014)

I was playing with my hedgehog, Django, and he gave me an unusually hard bite on my wrist (sometimes he's just a jerk like that), well long story short this time I accidentally smacked him on the chest with a quick flick of my other hand. I feel bad about it, and I'm wondering if he's going to be harder to handle from now on. He doesn't bite often enough to make me worry, but traditional methods of handling the biting like pushing or air blowing just don't seem to matter to him. Any advice?


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

NEVER smack your hedgehog again. There is no excuse for it.
Pushing? I don't know what that is
Air blowing doesn't do anything. Just keep your hands away from their mouth... mine has never bit me. 

You can seriously injure your hedgehog doing that. It is an act of animal abuse, especially if you have to take him to the vet. 
You need to learn how to properly handle your animal


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Prickerz, calm down. The OP said they accidentally clipped the hedgie with their other hand, which is pretty understandable with the shock & pain of a bite. The hedgehog is obviously not injured, they already feel bad about it, so cut the abuse talk. Guilting someone for an accident that they already feel bad about is not acceptable.

That said. Mojoex, do you wash your hands and arms before you handle your hedgie? Sometimes they bite if something smells good. Do you wear any kind of perfume or cologne? Some people apply those things to the wrist, which is why I ask.

If it doesn't seem to be scent-related, try to pay attention to his behavior before & after a bite. See if you can figure out a pattern for when he bites. There can be many different reasons, and sometimes it's hard or impossible to figure out. Some reasons include hungry, particularly grumpy day, being surprised, being prevented from doing something, etc. Some hedgehogs are just mouthy though, and in that case, it's best to just keep your skin away from their mouth. If you get to a point where you can recognize when he's about to bite, try to give him something else to bite. Grace (GracefulChaos) has found that that works well with her biter. If you notice anything that might be helpful with his behavior, let us know & maybe we can help with figuring out why he's biting. 

Also blowing air & pushing towards the hedgehog don't usually work, so it'd be best to stop those methods. Usually they can do more harm than good by frightening the hedgie more. Also avoid putting him back in his cage or putting him down when he bites - if you are, it's possible he's doing so because he learned that's how he can be left alone.


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## sc2001 (Oct 12, 2014)

mojoex, I've only gotten bit by my hedgehog once and I also had a bit of a startle response. I had to force feed my hedgehog some pumpkin when she was constipated to loosen everything up a bit. She really did not like the syringe being all up in her business. I accidentally put my finger right by her mouth and she bit hard on it. She probably thought it was the syringe again and she was probably sick of the whole process. But anyway, as soon as She bit me I dropped her. I was holding her over my bed so she only fell like 6 inches and it was a soft landing but I felt SO bad anyway. But then I cuddled with her and gave her treats to say sorry. 

So anyway the point it that those things happen. So don't feel bad about it. You obviously didn't mean to harm your hedgie in any way. 

For advise listen to anything Lilysmommy has to say. She knows what she's talking about!!


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