[Axxie]

Hello everyone, newbie here, be gentle

After much research and a years worth of want, I finally decided to get my first pygmy hedgie yesterday - she's called Mingey, very sweet and good natured, not at all violent, but it's starting to concern me (despite fully knowing that they're not fluffy cats and it does take them some time to ease out to know their owner enough) that she still balls up and "huffs" anytime I go too close to her - she calms down when she's in my hand, but getting her there can be a bit of a nightmare, even if I have only tried it twice.

Can anyone give me some tips (working on the T-Shirt thing) to get her more relaxed with me? It'd break my heart to think she hated me and was never going to be comfortable with me.

Thanks!

 

[sebian]

Patience!

And keep at it!

You haven't had her 24 hours yet, she's still really nervous about where she is. More often than not, it takes a little while for hedgies to feel comfortable with you and their new surroundings.

 

[Reaper]

You are concerned after one day ? I have a rehome I have been working on for months and she still huffs and balls up when I first pick her up. She calms down and starts sniffing through my fingers within a few seconds. Sometimes it takes longer than days weeks or even months to get a hedgie to trust you fully.

 

[Nancy]

It's very normal for them to huff and even quill up when we first pick them out of their cage. It's a territorial thing. If they are calm and relaxed once away from the cage, there is nothing to worry about. I have 5 year olds that still put on a show when I pick them up.

 

[ana]

You should really, really go check out Kalandra's post, "Behaviour expectations," in the Hedgehog Personality & Behaviour subforum...

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13

All hedgies are different, but I've heard of very few that warmed up to their new owners in the first day. The fact that she's relaxing in your hand is already a really good sign that she doesn't dislike you... So, don't let the huffy puffiness scare you off. Just accept that, at least for now, she's still easily startled.

We've had ours for over a month and she still quills up when anyone gets near her, only recently has she started to get comfortable with being picked up out of her cage and has she actually started poking her head out and unpuffing when she smells it's me...