[jaredinvermont]

Hello! First post here.

In mid November I rescued a 2 year old male hedgie, named Rocket, from a home that couldn't continue to care for him. Based on how unclean and sparse his enclosure was (no hide?!) I'm thinking he has suffered serious neglect. He's also blind in his right eye due to a bad eye infection a year ago.

I revamped his space with fleece liners, a tunnel/cave, toys (it's so special to watch him play!). He seems really chill when left alone but when I interact with him he's all pops, balls, and hiss.

His nails were awful when I first got him. Very long and poopy. It's been a challenge to clean and clip them, his ball instincts are very sharp. I think I've done an ok job so far, cleaning feet after a foot bath, I can usually get 1 or 2 feet after ~15mins of evasion.

Does anyone have any suggestions on helping him trust me? I do the old clothes method in his sleep area.

Also, when I'm home during the day, I'll put him in a snuggle sack so he sleeps on me. At night he loves when I bring him to our indoor wood pile for his "bug hunt" (I hide treats around the logs & bark).

My immediate goal is for him to trust me with his feet. So I can care for him more easily.

Thanks for reading and TYIA for any bonding tips of a (traumatized?) hedgie.

 

[Kalandra]

From the pictures you posted, he is doing quite well. I've had rescues who never laid their quills down before, and have had more than one that took months before we ever even saw their nose. Keep handling him, snuggle times are wonderful for bonding. If you just got him mid-november and you have already can hold him without him being in a quilly ball you are doing well.

For feet, play with his feet all the time. When he's with you, try to rub one foot each night. The more you interact with his feet and nothing happens to him, quite often they learn to relax more. Some never do though. I had a young hedgehog who always freaked out when I touched her feet. She had had a bad experience with her previous owner (broken foot) and trust was never to be had again when it came to her feet.

 

[NorbertLover27]

I have a new hedgie. We only got him about a week ago and he is quite a joy. It took some time but he is almost comfortable with me. So I just say keep trying what you are doing seems great so nice job brings good hand hedgie momma

 

[NorbertLover27]

Sorry google mad some of the stuff up there messed up 🤪