# What can I do...



## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

To keep Moose busy while I clean his wheel. 
I always try to clean it while he is sleeping but I guess the sound of me lifting the wheel wakes him up and whenever he discovers his wheel is missing he goes bananas. It makes him really anxious that his wheel isn't around, in his smaller cage he used to climb the sides of the cage which is what drove me to buy him a large cage but now he has discovered how to pile things up so he can climb on top and reach the bars and scale the bars again. I am usually home alone so I can't always ask someone to keep an eye on him while I clean and I've tried leaving him snacks to keep him munching and distracted, new toys and scents... but nothing works... he is just SO determined to climb his cage when his wheel goes away.

It makes me so nervous. I was wondering if anyone has any advice? If you've had this sort of problem, how did you solve it? How can I keep my little monster from climbing his cage when his wheel is away for scrubbing.

(This is something he only does when I take his wheel out, it is not a normal behaviour for him at all)


----------



## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

What time are you doing this? 

I grab mine first thing in the morning, about 6 a.m. and they are all dead asleep.


----------



## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

When Hercules is done playing and wheeling for the night he goes back into his pigloo and "shuts the door". It's the cutest thing, he pulls his fleece blankie over the door to the pigloo, almost like he created a door for it. I just wait till he's in there and take it out. Does Moose have a pigloo or some place he likes to sleep during the day?


----------



## indygo88 (Aug 21, 2010)

I can't help, but I just wanted to say I WISH my Cricket was as active as Moose was. Once she's in her tube (where she sleeps), I have to MAKE her come out, unless it's the middle of the night & nobody's bothering her. She'll come out on her own then, but never any other time. So cleaning the wheel is definitely not a problem for us. Moose sounds like a hedgie with lots of personality (although mischievous!).


----------



## E-Che & Tonja (Jun 30, 2010)

I would recomend getting a second wheel and just trade tham out every day that way he allways has a wheel even when one is getting cleand

Megan


----------



## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

Moose sleeps in his castle while he isn't running on his wheel, and he could be dead asleep but the second his wheel leaves his cage he's up and running around looking for it. It's really bizarre, he KNOWS when it's gone and it wakes him up. I do it usually mid day, he's mostly active in the morning and at night. 
He's just so in love with his wheel that when it leaves his home he knows and he just NEEDS it back I guess lol.

I wish I could bring him with me while I clean it, but I'd have to take him down to the basement where it gets very cold, summer or winter. For now I'll just wait until someone else is around to keep an eye on him while i take his play thing away.


----------



## CoxMD (Apr 30, 2010)

Buy my flying saucer and then you could have two wheels!  

That's very strange, the sun could explode and Basil wouldn't notice while he's asleep.


----------



## spastic_jedi (Nov 11, 2009)

Moose is a very strange hedgie. That's for sure. He wakes up to his wheel being gone, the Simpsons being on tv and Great Big Sea playing on my iTunes. Silly little creature.


----------



## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

For my newest hedgie I have to put her in a temporary plastic tote cage while I clean her wheel and spot clean. She doesn't mind me taking it out but she gets very excited that I am there and does everything in her powers to climb on me and try to get me to take her out. I'm too afraid she will fall while I'm distracted so I put her in the temporary cage while I clean. It's at my feet so she usually will press her nose next to one of the holes to smell me then sits calmly til I'm done. I can't remember the exact size but I used it at one time when she first came home as a quarantine cage, it's around 106 qt I think. She has a way of making me feel so guilty cause she will just sit there like a puppy would and looks at me like why aren't you holding me...she's got the look down perfect lol


----------



## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

Other than sleeping time (which I think is great since we're "usually" up during the day when they're asleep... If you have a travel carrier, how about putting him/her in there? Cleaning shouldn't take too long.


----------



## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

I clean my wheel during the day when I have time in between classes. I just wake Phinneus up and take him out and let him crawl into "his" towel. He goes right back to sleep and I can clean the wheel, replace it, and then put him back without his having realized something happened.


----------



## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

I'd do the cleaning early in the morning. Normally I wake up at 6am and clean the wheel and cage while Rex is asleep. I use a vacuum and he doesn't even move in his bag when it turns on! Most hedgies are fast asleep by 5am, so if you wait till morning to clean, your baby should be fine.

If you try the early morning cleaning and he still comes out and freaks out, you could go with the other suggestion of having 2 wheels to change out. Sometimes holding him while he feels frantic during your cleaning may help. I've heard of people having those over the neck hedgie bags to put their hedgie in while they clean the cage in the morning. 

Hope you figure out what's best for your baby!


----------

