# Cinnamon harmful to hedgies?



## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

So i have discovered ants in the guinea pig cage... its near the door and its getting colder and had been raining alot so it IS the time of year for spiders and other insects to invade our homes... 

got home today and saw a bunch of ants in the guinea pig cage... no trails no ants anywhere else - honestly it was kinda weird. 
The only thing i can thing of is i let the neighbors big fluffy cat inside earlier and maybe they were in his matted long fur?? is that even possible?


:-( So i dont want to put down ant traps because i am afraid of the hedgie eating poisoned ants... i heard cinnamon kills ants and repels them. Is there any danger to the hedgie eating an ant of two with cinnamon? i mean i havent seen ANY in his cage - but just want to make sure.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

I don't think Cinnamon is poisonous. Can't you take the hedgie out and clean the cage?


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

For what it's worth, when I've used ant traps (the borax and corn syrup kind) the ants concentrate around the traps and I only ever found a few strays more than 10 feet away. Is there another room you can put your hedgehog in that's far enough away for that? And with all the ants being drawn to the trap it will give you an idea where they are coming from so you can set more traps in the appropriate places.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Also know that any method you use can take weeks, if not months (ant nests can be huge and it will take a while for the poison to be distributed among the entire colony), so be prepared to be vigilant about keeping an eye out for ants near your hedgie.


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## zamxonk (Mar 6, 2013)

Really, we don't know about cinnamon and hedgies. There isn't any research, and as pet owners it behooves us to be cautious because we want to protect our hedgies.

Personally, I wouldn't use it anywhere the hedgie could get at it, because cinnamon has medicinal uses. I don't know if powdered cinnamon still has those uses or not, but hedgies are so small that a tiny amount could do something unexpected and for me it wouldn't be worth the risk. 

I'd say, wipe down the area around the hedgie cage to erase any scent trails ants might have left, then create a barrier between the cage and where the ants are coming from with cinnamon, traps, or chalk. Ensure your hedgie can't escape (and get at the traps or cinnamon or chalk), and have playtime elsewhere if you can.


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