Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Things just went nutz here (some good, some not so good) and I'm finally getting around to taking some relaxation time.
I couldn't find one section of the forum that this would fit in, so I figured General would be the best place for it.
First, let me say that I'm proud to say that there's a new hedgie in the house! Her name is Amy, and she's Tonya's polar opposite. She's extremely skittish and generally unfriendly. Her previous owner said that she is the most difficult hedgie she's ever worked with (which is why she needed to rehome her). This has been a learning experience for me and I'd like to share some observations.
Amy has always had a female roomie, so I figured housing her with Tonya would be a good idea, especially since they seemed to get along ok when we introduced them. I didn't forsee the issues that would come up, nor did I think it would be that big of a deal.
My first observation was that Amy was refusing food, including mealies. I observed her drinking a bit of water, but that was it. I have separated them and she's now taking in food. I'm at least confident that she will not pass due to starvation or dehydration.
Amy had no problem taking over the wheel. She loved it so much, in fact, that when it was Tonya's turn to run she would jam herself under the wheel to slow it down. Most other times she would sleep in her bag, so it at least seemed like she was being mischievous at the very least.
Perhaps the most unexpected behavior was that of Tonya. I really thought that Tonya would mellow Amy out a little, but the exact opposite happened. Tonya became skittish and irritable at first. This could probably be attributed to her thinking "Amy's freaking out so I should be freaking out too". Luckily that wore off fairly quickly, but there's something else. Tonya seems... well... depressed, or at least jealous. She's even more mellow than before during our cuddle time and it's almost impossible to get her to hiss or raise a quill. Please note that I don't try to upset her. I'm just saying that things that used to startle her (and that I would expect her to be startled by), like me reaching to scratch an itch or clearing my throat, have almost no effect on her any more. Diet, excercise and sleep are all normal as far as I can tell. Any input?
Amy is definitely less upsettable than she was when I first brought her home, most likely due to her becoming acclimated to her new surroundings. She still wants nothing to do with me, but I expected that. She's about 16 months old so it's pretty well engrained in her (and she's always been this way with people). Is there hope of her not staying balled up and hissing without me leaving the room or holding my breath for 10 minutes? Don't get me wrong - I accept her for who she is and she is no less deserving of my love than a hedgie who's not a spaz.
[attachment=0:12h79uae]TnA 1.JPG[/attachment:12h79uae]
I couldn't find one section of the forum that this would fit in, so I figured General would be the best place for it.
First, let me say that I'm proud to say that there's a new hedgie in the house! Her name is Amy, and she's Tonya's polar opposite. She's extremely skittish and generally unfriendly. Her previous owner said that she is the most difficult hedgie she's ever worked with (which is why she needed to rehome her). This has been a learning experience for me and I'd like to share some observations.
Amy has always had a female roomie, so I figured housing her with Tonya would be a good idea, especially since they seemed to get along ok when we introduced them. I didn't forsee the issues that would come up, nor did I think it would be that big of a deal.
My first observation was that Amy was refusing food, including mealies. I observed her drinking a bit of water, but that was it. I have separated them and she's now taking in food. I'm at least confident that she will not pass due to starvation or dehydration.
Amy had no problem taking over the wheel. She loved it so much, in fact, that when it was Tonya's turn to run she would jam herself under the wheel to slow it down. Most other times she would sleep in her bag, so it at least seemed like she was being mischievous at the very least.
Perhaps the most unexpected behavior was that of Tonya. I really thought that Tonya would mellow Amy out a little, but the exact opposite happened. Tonya became skittish and irritable at first. This could probably be attributed to her thinking "Amy's freaking out so I should be freaking out too". Luckily that wore off fairly quickly, but there's something else. Tonya seems... well... depressed, or at least jealous. She's even more mellow than before during our cuddle time and it's almost impossible to get her to hiss or raise a quill. Please note that I don't try to upset her. I'm just saying that things that used to startle her (and that I would expect her to be startled by), like me reaching to scratch an itch or clearing my throat, have almost no effect on her any more. Diet, excercise and sleep are all normal as far as I can tell. Any input?
Amy is definitely less upsettable than she was when I first brought her home, most likely due to her becoming acclimated to her new surroundings. She still wants nothing to do with me, but I expected that. She's about 16 months old so it's pretty well engrained in her (and she's always been this way with people). Is there hope of her not staying balled up and hissing without me leaving the room or holding my breath for 10 minutes? Don't get me wrong - I accept her for who she is and she is no less deserving of my love than a hedgie who's not a spaz.
[attachment=0:12h79uae]TnA 1.JPG[/attachment:12h79uae]