Bonding With Your Hedgehog

 Bonding With Your Hedgehog


Everyone who owns a hedgehog probably knows how badly it sucks having to wait, and wait for your hedgehog to learn your smell. Not only do they have to learn your smell though, but they have to learn to trust your smell. It is so hard to have a hedgehog, and not yet be able to hold it, because you want to show it just how much you love it. Remember that no matter what, showing the animal respect and patience is a way that you can show that love to them.


1. Don't use food: now this may have some mixed opinions, but it is what I honestly believe from my experience owning a hedgie. Yes you should feed your hedgehog, but do not feed it from your hand. Most hedgehogs will not bite as a defense mechanism, but they will for food. I still never hand feed newt, because I worry that my hands will then smell like food, or he will associate my hands with food. Hedgehog bites hurt a lot more than people realize. This being said I only fed him in his bowl or with tweezers, but never from my hand.


2. Let them adapt to their environment: think about how stressed you are when you move. If you have never moved before well then you're lucky. Between learning the new routes to get places, unpacking, and making it feel like home, it can become very stressful. Moving a hedgehog into a new cage is the same way. You must give them time to feel comfortable in their home, before you just start trying to bother them. At night time listen for noises of them exploring and learning. Make sure they are continuing to eat, obviously, but give them a few days to acclimate to their new environment. This may mean pushing pause on any cleaning for a bit, so they can get comfortable. The good news is at first they will probably make less of a mess, because they are strictly learning new smells, and trying to get comfy not necessarily playing, or destroying their cage yet.


3. Use your clothes as bedding: now when I say this I do not mean your favorite clothes. I mean clothes that may be ripping, ones you don't care about, or maybe you wear strictly to sleep in now. This is a great way for your hedgehog to learn your smell while adapting to its new cage. You can either drape the cloths so they're hanging into the cage, or you can actually take them and place them where they sleep for them to cuddle in. That is what I did with some pj pants. You can cut it into smaller pieces of fabric if it is too large, just be careful with loose threads that can snag the hedgehogs paws.


4. The bathtub trick: if your hedgehog is still learning, and not letting you pick it up this is something you can do. In an empty bathtub I would place the tunnel he was hiding in in there, some treats, and some different toys. I would then allow him to play in it while I sat nearby so that he could learn my smell. Once he began to relax I would slowly introduce my hands in front of him so that he could sniff me and begin to associate me with fun time. Now he did not want to come out of the tunnel at first. He would hide in his tunnel and refuse to come out, but after a few days he began to come out more and more.


5. Find what they love: Newts all time favorite thing in the world is a toilet paper roll. I began to let him come out and just play with the toilet paper roll. I would help him get it on his head, and help him remove it when he was done. He was learning to associate my smell with the fun of the toilet paper roll. Eventually this led to me being able to scoop him up. He still absolutely loves this toy. Do note not to keep one in their cage, unless it is cut. They cannot remove it on their own and may accidentally starve themselves as a result of this. The one in Newts cage currently has not just a slit, but a one inch slit so he can easily get it on and off without issue.


When it comes to bonding with your hedgehog it is all about patience and trust. With patience your hedgehog will begin to trust you more, and more. It is important to give it the space it needs to acclimate to its new environment, no matter how eager you are. With patience your relationship with your hedgehog will take off and become a strong bond. The first time you hear those happy hedgehog noises you might just squeal with excitement. Don't forget to follow for more future posts, and check out Newt on IG @hedgehog_namednewt.

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