[winstonthewonton]

Hi,
I have a hedgehog named Winston and he just turned two not to long ago and I was wondering where I should put him. We had a situation with the bedrooms and where everyone slept so he got kicked out of his bedroom. I put him in my room but I had to move him. He poops and pees in his wheel and it made my room smell terrible. I decided the laundry room was the only available space. I put him in there but our laundry room leads out to the backyard and we have the dogs and people going through there. Not to mention the furnace and the washer and dryer (they aren’t to loud). I just don’t know if it is causing him stress or not. Is it ok?

 

[Ragou]

What kind of cage does he have? If cannot escape and the dogs cannot access it either, I see no harm. The furnace can keep him warm, this is good. Well, the washer and dryer might cause him stress however, I am not sure they aren't quiet enough, since hedgehogs have sensitive ears. If you're cleaning his cage regularly, the smell actually doesn't have to be a problem. Try to reduce the smell by optimizing your choice of litter and I recommend introducing a chinchilla sand bath which he will definitely enjoy bathing in and it absorbs pee to a fair degree too. You can try toilet training him. Not all hedgehogs can achieve this, but you can give it a try. What i do to reduce pooping and peeing in the night is that I take him out of his cage after waking up into a washtub and he does his business there while getting his insects treats.

 

[winstonthewonton]

Thank you so much for responding! He has just a plastic clear container (the top is not on). I have tried so hard to potty train him but he refuses to use his litter box. I am definitely going to look in to the dust bath though. For some reason he never really gets scared of certain noises, so I’m not extremely worried about the washer and dryer. Plus they aren’t really loud. Thank you so much for your input, it was extremely helpful!