[chestnutlili]

Hi I just recently got Chestnut about 3 days ago he’s about 5 months old. I have been looking at forums, google, and watching youtube on how to bond with hedgehog but I’m still having a hard time. Every time I tried to hand pick him up he does the huffing, puffing, and balls up and I don’t want to make him too stressed out . One time I hand picked him up and he did not like that tried to roll off my hands . If I use his snuggle pouch he’ll calm down in seconds, but then he doesn’t wanna leave the pouch. I read that we’re suppose to let it lay on us for a 30mins to 1 hour to get used to us but he won’t leave the pouch and I don’t want to force him to get out either. He is very calm though in the pouch on me while I’m doing homework. I have tried tricks like giving it treats but all he really does is sniff and takes it and burrows back into the pouch to eat it. I know to give it a couple of days but how do I know when he’s ready to be hand picked up? Thank you and appreciate in advance for any advice !!

 

[Bugspi]

Well, if you can’t pick him up, then this is how I bonded with my hedgie. Do you use a special kind of soap before you take him out? If not, you should. When you have it, put your hand on the ground right near his snout, don’t move it away even if he does hiss or react. Also put something that has your smell on it (like a dirty T-shirt) in a hide he sleep in most. He then can associate you smell with good things. Then after a few days, slowly put your hand under him, stop moving it in further under him when he reacts, continue when he calms down again. You can also put him on your lap to get started with.

 

[RemiTheHog]

Hands off bonding is a thing though, you could sleep with the bag inside out one night so it smells like you if your hedgehog loves it. Take your hedgie places like the pet store and desensitize them to people talking, especially you! Free roaming around your room is also good, they’ll want to explore and your scent will be everywhere! Clean up your room room and block off any small spaces, wires, anything they could get stuck in. I do it around 9 my time when it’s super dark, so she feels more comfortable. I put out her wheel, her digbox, a hat or shoe sometimes, snuffle mats etc. to play with. My hedgie loves to attack the shoe and hide under the hat. Also it just takes time and a lot of patience. When I first got my hog I was worried I would never be able to bond with her and nothing seemed to work but eventually it did!

 

[Bugspi]

Hands off bonding is a thing though, you could sleep with the bag inside out one night so it smells like you if your hedgehog loves it. Take your hedgie places like the pet store and desensitize them to people talking, especially you! Free roaming around your room is also good, they’ll want to explore and your scent will be everywhere! Clean up your room room and block off any small spaces, wires, anything they could get stuck in. I do it around 9 my time when it’s super dark, so she feels more comfortable. I put out her wheel, her digbox, a hat or shoe sometimes, snuffle mats etc. to play with. My hedgie loves to attack the shoe and hide under the hat. Also it just takes time and a lot of patience. When I first got my hog I was worried I would never be able to bond with her and nothing seemed to work but eventually it did!

Oh really?? I never heard about method before…

 

[RemiTheHog]

Yep! It’s a popular one for hedgies who are having a harder time bonding

 

[chestnutlili]

Hands off bonding is a thing though, you could sleep with the bag inside out one night so it smells like you if your hedgehog loves it. Take your hedgie places like the pet store and desensitize them to people talking, especially you! Free roaming around your room is also good, they’ll want to explore and your scent will be everywhere! Clean up your room room and block off any small spaces, wires, anything they could get stuck in. I do it around 9 my time when it’s super dark, so she feels more comfortable. I put out her wheel, her digbox, a hat or shoe sometimes, snuffle mats etc. to play with. My hedgie loves to attack the shoe and hide under the hat. Also it just takes time and a lot of patience. When I first got my hog I was worried I would never be able to bond with her and nothing seemed to work but eventually it did!

I might try going outside with him to stores since the weather has been warm enough here. Did you take your hedgie out later in the evening or afternoon? What materials would you recommend bringing, like treats, water, something warm ? For now, I have a snuggle pouch put inside a mini tote bag for now (bout to buy a carry pouch soon).

 

[RemiTheHog]

If it’s been warm you could bring them around any time, while you are getting him used to it, try non crowded areas like parks or a small pet store. I have a scarf bonding bag I got off Etsy. It’s really nice and it helps if you don’t have time to play with them but still want to bond. Depending on how hot it is and how long you’ll be gone you might want to bring water, or bring it anyways just in case. Treats are great, they can calm down a scared hog if it gets a little to loud. I also bring wet wipes or something like that in case they use the bathroom -which they probably will- to clean it up. If it’s colder you could bring something warmer like a warm heat pad, nothing to hot. When it was super hot in the summer I would take a thawed ice pack, like not frozen at all and put it in there with her to keep her cool. As you are starting don’t bring her out for to long at a time and work up to that. I hope this helped! And good luck bonding =]