[Allison]

ive had my hedgehogs about 3 weeks now, and he hasnt had a problem with biting until recently
he bit 3 people this week, when normally he doesnt

we do have a new handsoap, apple, but one person he bit was up her arm
is it possible he could still smell it, maybe some soap splashed up?

the other common denominator is that i wasnt there anytime someone else was bitten, could he just be nervous around people without me?

hes pretty friendly otherwise, rarely curls up around new people

i am just wondering if its likely its just the soap (which i personally think it is)
but if it could be something else, im wondering if theres a way to make it less frequent?

 

[Viki]

Unscented soap is what is recommended as they are sensitive to smells which could cause them to bite. If your hands smell like food they will bite so I am assuming apple soap smelled interesting to your hedgie.
Hedgehogs also bite if they have some internal issues such as parasites or even bleeding. They also go through quilling and can be grumpy. I am really hoping Willow is just bitey because of her quilling. Also some hedgehogs are just biters. Willow and I use to have many issues with biting but I did a ton of research and this site said to hold her in a fleece blanket and they will normally bite that instead. I have been doing this for a month with my prickly friend and she LOVES to bite the fleece instead of biting me with no warning. Yesterday she actually sniffed my fingers twice and walked away. Also I don't use unscented soap, I have a spray bottle 25% vinegar and 75% water. I spray my hands with that and then wash it off. My hands never seem to be an issue with Willow any more and my hands aren't as dry as they get when I wash with soap. I hope this helps!

 

[MurE]

I find that Poggles will attempt to lick and then bite anything that smells new. That includes all new people, new soaps, new laundry detergents, new places that you have visited, new things you have touched. He basically wants to annoint with the new smell, but he can't resist attempting to eat it. So I keep a close eye on him anytime he starts licking my hand obsessively. I know that he'll want to take a teensy bite soon, so I keep my hand ready to pull away.

I try to keep things consistent for him by always washing with the same hand soap before I handle him, but sometimes he can still smell the difference (ex. if I go swimming and he can vaguely smell chlorine, or if I ate some messy food with my hands). It's a good idea in general to just be on guard whenever he licks something a lot.