[r_k_chic47]

Well, I have a C&C cage and for some reason no matter what options I give him, Pepper seems to be OBSESSED with getting under his liner and staying there. And every time he does this, it pretty much ruins his whole cage cuz it tips his food and water over and whatnot, and he doesn't know how to get back out so whenever he does it I have to take him out. Now, I've tried duct-taping the liners down but no matter how much I use, he still finds a way to get under it. I've tried putting "heavy" things around the sides to hold the liner down, but he just frantically moves them out of the way and gets under it anyways. He does have fleece strips, a litter box with Carefresh in it, a fleece tent that I made him, and a small fleece blanket that he could easily hide under instead, but he'd rather cause me more work by going under the stupid liner.

Can anyone give me some insight on how to keep the liners down better or prevent this behavior altogether?

 

[basmati]

Perhaps you can cut your liners into smaller ones, so that your hh can use one as his 'Linus blanket'. When the one gets tossed up, it won't then upset the rest of your cage.

I use shavings, a square foot of blanket, and a kleenex box, and mine will burrow under the blanket, have the shavings surrounding her so that she is on the plastic, and she'll have the kleenex box snug over top. It may be for security.

 

[r_k_chic47]

Well that's what I have the small fleece blanket (well, its about a square foot or two) for, so he can snuggle up in it. Are you saying I should lay one liner on top of another (like having two layers) and only tape/hold down the bottom one? Then he'll get the satisfaction of digging under the top one without completely messing up his cage? yeah that might work but idk, I want to see if anyone else has suggestions first

 

[GoodSmeagol]

I am new to hedgehog care, so my thoughts could very well be wrong.

My cage I have split into 2 liners, 18"x18" the cage is 36"x18"
I useded old screen frames, cut my liners to 22"x22", I have velcro tape on the bottom of each corner of each frame.
the 4 corners of the liner, has the otherside of velcro on it.
So I stretch the liner over the frame, and fasten all 4 corners to the frame.

When Ball tries to dig up one corner, it cant because it would have to lift the entire frame.

I too have a shoe box with a arch cut out to allow Ball to walk in, it is filled with fleece strips.
I still use the box my hog was delivered in as her 'nest' currently filled with my tee shirt.

I am lucky she only does her dirty on or around the wheel, so I use an old cafeteria tray with paper towel to catch it, makes daily cleanup a sinch.

 

[drpepperheather]

I'm not sure how to keep him from going under the liner, so I can't really help with that. But, I just wanted to say that I have a 12-inch by 12-inch square marble tile (from Home Depot) in one corner of my C&C cage so that my hedgie has a cool place to lay if he wants. The thing is pretty heavy, so even if he managed to get under the liner I don't think he could flip it or anything. Maybe you could try getting one of those and putting it in one corner and just put Pepper's food and water on that, which may at least prevent him from tipping those over if he gets under his liner?

 

[r_k_chic47]

That actually does sound like a pretty good idea, Drpepperheather. I think I might try that =] GoodSmeagol, where did you find the velcro? And is it okay to wash the liners with velcro on it or will it release the glue?

Thanks for your responses

 

[GoodSmeagol]

Sorry I should have stated.
It is the sew-on type of velcro, no glue. That was a concern for me, so I spent 15min sewing...
I got it at home depot, 2.5metres of velcro for $5.99
I cut it into small cubes, about inchxinch.

One of the things I like about my framed liners;
the liner has 2 layers of fleece, ontop of the screen frame.
I poured water onto the liner, and pretty much most of it went straight down to the bottom of the cage, leaving only about an inch2 of wetness of the liner it self.

So when a liner is soiled, I lift out the frame, change the liner, wipe the bottom clean with chlorohexadine, and walla.

================ -Liner
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -Screen
________________ - open space under screen
=+= =+= -liner wrapped around bottom attached with velcro
----------------------- -bottom of cage

 

[r_k_chic47]

Well, I made a few renovations to Pepper's cage tonight. All of your ideas were great, but I decided to use a new technique/style (and a very time-consuming one, but I made a spur-of-the-moment decision and once I started I couldn't just stop :lol: ). I poked holes in the liner for every other square in the sides of the cage, then used twistie-ties to tie the liner to the cage. Yes, it took a long time and it will probably be a hassle to take off, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't think about things before I do them :lol: I also put a large bowl cover with paper towel on it underneath the wheel, and also put small butter bowl covers under both the food and water bowls, so hopefully that will cut down on how fast his cage gets dirty

If anyone wants to see some pictures of it, I'd be happy to take some!