[Nicole]

okay, so I have a dilemma.
I went on a weekend trip to wisconsin last weekend, i was only gone for two nights. I filled his bowl up all the way with his food so he would have enough (i usually just give him enough for one night) and i gave my trusted neighbor who always takes care of our pets while we're gone, detailed instructions. he changed the water every night and kept the light schedule correct. When I cam back all of the sudden his wheel was squeaking like crazzyyy, so i took it out for a night. Then the next night it did it again, and his tube that he usually sleeps in was ripped completely open so i took out the tube and put the wheel on the bottom floor. The wheel was squeaking like cray again! I didn't know what it was from and it was 4am so I just took it out again. The next night I put some cooking (canola) oil on it and it stopped squeaking, also i bought him a new tube that day so everything was back to normal. Here's my problem. he is petrified of me!! and he's never been like this! even the vet said that he was the most friendly and open hedgehog he's ever had. Now he is popping and hissing and balling up like crazy! i dont know what happened or what to do. He's never acted like this before and i'm very worried. Did I completely freak him out? Also, I need to move him into another room but now i dont know what to do because he's acting so strange. It's like someone snuck in and swapped hedgies! What should I do?

 

[dorasdaddy]

He may be injured. Or your pet sitter may have tried to handle him, got poked and reacted in a very negative manner. What kind of wheel is he on? Comfort wheels are very noisy, and Silent Spinners are not only noisy but dangerous to hedgies as well. What ever the case, you cant punish your hedgie (by removing the wheel) just because his wheel is noisy, he has to have that for exercise and to have something to do.

this si why it is usually not recommended that you leave your hedgie over night, much less for two nights....especially in that care of someone that doenst have experience with them.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Hedgies tend to do best when they have a regular routine and person they know and can trust.

The first thing I'd do is check your hedgie over for any sign of injury. Feel along his huffy little body for any spots that appear odd to you or painful to him. If you find anything, bring him to the vet.

Next thing to do is get his house back in order... as close to its regular shape as possible (even if it's in a different room). Check the temperature and lights. Look through his house to see if anything out of the ordinary is there. Bugs? Dishes out of place? Wheel turned the wrong way? Change in noise level? Anything?

Then I'd go back to creating your normal routine with him. Keep it nice and consistent: ie, the time you take him out to play, when you fill his dishes, when the lights go on and off, etc... My thought is that with patience, he'll come around.

Oh, also... I don't know too much about the particulars of your hedgie, but depending on his age, could it be possible he's starting to quill... hedgies can become rather grumpy when they're starting to grow their adult quills in.

It's possible that being wheel-less for a night really bothered him. My hedgie growled at me when I took her wheel away for a night. Literally growled... Didn't know hedgies could do that before then. It's funny, she'll just huff at the vet who's poking her all which-way... but mess with her wheel... oh boy are you in for it!

Edit to add: how about changes in smells? I was just thinking about how my sweet little cuddle bug turns into a chomping monster if I go swimming (pool chemicals) or put a certain lotion on.

And, aside from his behavior change, what about the basics: how's his water intake? food consumption? poops and pee?

 

[Nicole]

okay thank you.
everything else seems fine, maybe once he's had a few nights with everything back to normal he'll be okay. Plus if i change him to another room, i'll be able to keep a better routine, especially with the lights, because he's in my bedroom now and i'm not the most routine person out there, haha.