[eriri]

Hi! I am quite new to hedgehogs and got my first one about three days ago. I got Cashew from a woman who didn't want him anymore. I was told he was 8 months and a good boy. Any tips on making him used to me? He hisses but that doesn't bother me...

So, I couldn't help but notice now that he scratches himself a lot / doesn't really stop. I am a little worried but, should it really be something to worry about? Could it be mites? Could it just be quilling? Please, I am worried about my baby.

Another thing... I am very glad he uses his wheel but, his feces are everywhere on it. Of course, I wash it daily but are there any ways for him to stop? Is potty training easy? :???:

 

[Emc]

I adopted my Coco when she was around 7 months old so near enough to the age your guy is. Whenever I was home, I would have her in her fleece blanket and she would sleep on me while doing work on the computer, or even while watching a movie. Even though she was asleep for easily 90% of the time she was with me, it's still a great bonding experience and they'll learn they can trust you. At night time, when she was awake, I would just sit on the floor with all lights off and talk to her while offering insects; it took me a couple of weeks to get her comfortable with doing her nightly activities while someone was in the room, but eventually we got there. You can also give him an old t-shirt that has your scent on it, to get him more used to you. Adopted hogs can oftentimes be a little more work, but having patience with the process would be my best advice.

As far as itching; Hedgehogs are notorious for having dry skin, and it can make them itchy. You can add a little flaxseed oil, or even coconut oil, to his food to help his skin. If he's actively losing quills he could very easily be quilling, or it could be mites. With mites, they usually (but not always) drop quills in large numbers to the point where there will be bald spots and the bulb at the end of the quill will oftentimes (but again, not always - so its not a sure guarantee) be missing. Nonetheless, if you want a sure guarantee that he his mite free, a trip to the vets certainly wouldn't hurt.

As far as him going to the bathroom on his wheel; welcome to the reality of owning a hedgehog haha. I think I hit the jackpot with Coco; she came to me litter trained, and very rarely goes to the bathroom on her wheel - so it is possible, but I dont know how you'd go about doing it. Some hedgehogs are just tidier than others so I dont even know if it litter training is necessarily a learned behaviour or just an odd personality trait some hogs process, because they naturally go the bathroom while running. You can place a litter tray under the wheel to help contain the mess, but thats generally as much as you can do. Cleaning wheels daily is just a regular part of hog ownership.

Kudos to you for choosing to adopt too!

 

[eriri]

Thank you!