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The following is a reply I made to the
following questions I received from a new
hedgehog owner:
"When we go to
get him out, he ALWAYS makes that hissing
sound and rarely relaxes for me to get him
out. Once we get him out he continues to
make the sound and prickles up almost the
whole time we have him out. He also pushes
his head at my hand as if he wants me to
leave him alone. My questions are: Is it
because he is still quilling? Will he stop
doing that and get more used to us? Is
there something I can do to make him more
comfortable with me/us? Any other
information you can give me would help!! "
As far as his
behavior...It sounds pretty common for a
hedgehog that has recently been take to a
new home...Since he is only 8 weeks old I do
think he is still quilling...Also check to
make sure he is staying at least 72 degrees
24 hours a day...If you do not have a
thermometer yet, you MUST get one
ASAP...Grumpiness (or being huffy as us
breeders call it) in hedgehogs that were
otherwise pretty friendly before they left
and are not quilling is almost always
because they are too cold...
Almost all
hedgehogs will make that hissing sound when
they are still in their cage or not in your
hands (like in your lap)...You should use
gloves to pick him up right away because he
will learn to be grumpier if you try to wait
to pick him up when he stops hissing...Once
you pick him up, just hold him quietly in
your open hands - DO NOT pet him or make
kissing or clicking sounds to him since they
are very sensitive to sharp noises...You
also need to keep holding him until he stops
hissing which can take 30 minutes or more in
a new environment...This is an initial time
commitment, but the more you do it (you
should do it daily), the less huffy he will
be...It takes time sometimes for them to get
used to a new environment...Remember that he
is more scared of his new environment and
all the smell and sounds than he is of
people...The biggest thing you need to
remember is that you should not be afraid of
his noises or think that he does not like
you...All he is doing is protecting himself
- hedgehogs don't think like people in terms
of not liking someone...They just want to
feel safe...The more they are handled
outside of their cage the more comfortable
and safe they feel in that environment...If
you pick him up and hold him for just a
little while and he hisses or acts scared
the whole time and then put him back in his
cage where he feels safe, he has not learned
anything about his environment outside his
cage other than that if he hisses the whole
time he will eventually get put back...So
you need to make time to hold him in the
beginning until he starts to relax and
explore...At first keep him in your hands
because for some reason they relax
easier...After he consistently relaxes in
your hands, you can start let him crawl on
you or on the floor of a safe room that he
can't get lost in...
When he pushes
his head against your hand that is usually
because they don't want anything on top of
them or to be petted...Hedgehogs really
don't enjoy being petted, especially if they
are quilling...It could also be that he is
trying to get under your hand to hide...When
they go under things they push up with their
noses to make room...So without seeing it, I
cannot be certain which he is doing...But if
you are trying to pet him and he is doing it
and then puts his spines up more or hisses,
then stop...Keep your hands under him for
the time being until he is more comfortable
with you and his surroundings...When he
starts to be more comfortable then you can
start trying to pet him, but start by
petting him on his back and not his
head...The head is the part of the body
animals and people want to protect the
most...If you think about it, people don't
go around touching strangers faces, so why
do we expect animals to do it as well...
Also, if you
cannot pick him up immediately with bare
hands then use leather gloves...This works
just fine and does not hurt the hedgehog or
make it harder for them to learn your
smell...They will pick up your scent just by
being close to you when you hold them...Wear
the gloves for as long as you need to and
then take them off when he start to relax
and put his spines down...Do not feel like
you are a bad hedgehog owner if you need to
wear gloves...Almost all of my hedgehogs I
use gloves with to get them out of their
cage...Very few don't ever put their spines
up or hiss and pop...
Here is
another reply I made to the
following questions I received from a
hedgehog owner who had taken theirs home
more than a month before:
"I had been wanting to contact you anyway,
because we haven't seen anything resembling
an "amazingly friendly" temperament with
her. Is this still due to her quilling?
Will she warm up to us more? She hisses and
pops whenever we do anything as simple as
reach into her house to refill her food
bowl. We try to handle her some, but nothing
excessive, to get her used to us, but now
she has started trying to bite us when we
pick her up. Are we doing something wrong,
or am I being impatient?"
Sorry to hear
that her temperament has not been good…I
wish you had let me know sooner…She may have
learned a bad habit now and it will take a
little longer to “fix”, but it is definitely
possible, but you will need to commit a
little more time to her…
First of all
check to make sure she is staying at least
72 degrees at all times – being too cold
makes them grumpy and is the number one
reason why they act grumpy after they go to
new homes…If you don’t have a thermometer at
her cage location please get oneASAP – see
the Shopping List page on my website for
ones that I recommend…Definitely get a
digital thermometer that records the high
and low for the day and resets every
24 hours…
She should
definitely be done quilling, so that is not
the problem…
You should be
handling her for at least 30 minutes a day
and if she is still acting grumpy after that
time then you need to commit to holding her
much longer…At this point she has learned
that acting grumpy/huffy gets her put back
in her cage where she feels safe (especially
if you do that after she bites you)…Use
leather gloves for a while if you are afraid
to get bitten…The key is to hold her long
enough for her to put her spines down and
start exploring around…This may take more
time right now since she is a little older
and has learned this bad habit…You probably
were not holding her long enough in the
beginning for her to get really comfortable
with her surroundings…
Most hedgehogs
do hiss and pop when you first wake them up
or open their cage…And most will not calm
down until they are picked up…This is why I
recommend using gloves…If you let them hiss
at you for a long time without picking them
up, they learn to do this more since they
got to stay in their “safe place” longer…If
they are picked up immediately when woken up
(use gloves – we do here), they learn that
being woken up is no big deal and that
nothing was about to eat them…The more they
are handled outside their cage the more
comfortable they get with their new
surroundings and will calm down quicker
every time you get them out…
Once you have
her out, keep her in your hands (with gloves
on is fine) with your hands flat and do not
pet her or make any kissing, clicking, or
other sharp/high pitched sounds…When she
starts to poke her head out and sniff
around, just keep still and let her start
walking in your hands…Keep moving your hands
with her for a while and don’t let her down
on your lap or anywhere else until she is
has all her spines down and is not hissing
or putting her spines up anymore…
After she has relaxed in your hands and is
trying to explore around, then you can put
her in your lap and let her explore
there...We like to put a fleece blanket or
towel on our laps to give them a more solid
place to walk (it also helps with any
possible "accidents")...They also like to
hide and explore under the folds of the
blanket which give them a safe place to
explore from...
When she has gotten comfortable in your
hands and lap, then it is time to start
letting her explore on the floor of a room
that is safe from places she could get lost
under...The best places in most homes is a
bathroom or kitchen (double check your
cabinetry at the baseboards for a crack that
they could squeeze through - in our kitchen
there is a crack that young babies can fit
in, but adults are too large for)...
As for the
biting, is there a strong smell that could
be triggering her self-anointing behavior?
Does she foam up in her mouth and lick it on
her body? New, strong smells cause hedgehogs
to self-anoint and they often lick first…If
she licks a lot on your hands while you are
holding her then put her down before she
bites…If she does bite first without licking
or before you have a chance to put her down,
then you need to try to keep holding her so
she does not learn to bite to get put down
(this may hurt – so use gloves to handle her
for awhile)…And when you do put her down
NEVER put her back in her cage… I can’t
remember is anyone living with you smoked or
not…If so, then this is probably why she has
started to bite…Even if the person does not
smoke in the house or handle the hedgehog it
is still a strong smell that everyone in the
house will have a little of on them…It is
new to her and initially may have been why
she started to bite…Put an item of the
smoker’s clothes in her cage for a few days
to let her get used to it…If no one does
smoke, then consider if there is some other
strong smell, such as perfume, hand lotion,
soap, etc. that might have triggered
this…Lightly rub some of these on pieces of
cloth and leave those in her cage for a few
days as well (But don’t put too much on that
she might get sick from licking it)…
