Hedgehog World - A community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders - Re:further weirdness... - Hedgehog World Forum

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General Care and Handling

Handling and Socialization

auilix

User

Posts: 7

hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/22 11:22 Hi all! No post in a long time, but i've been really worried these past few days, so i knew i had to come back...

So basically, I've had my hedgie Freya since February (she is 5 months old), and she's been great. She's usually huffy when I pick her up and stick my hands in, but she still comes running right up to my hands every time. She's also a freak at night, running in her wheel and all over the cage all night.

That was up until this past weekend, when I left her in the care of my roommate (just for feeding her and checking her water) for two nights. I've left her alone a few times before (and with the same roommate and for similar or longer durations) and it's been fine, but this time it wasn't! I also noticed the cage was very smelly, even though I'd just washed it thoroughly the day i'd left (and before it used to be okay to leave her cage for two to three days without even spot checking and it smelled fine).

Basically, she hasn't, since I got back on Sunday, run up to my hands like she used to. She hasn't even been up and out since I've been up, last night it seemed like she got up around 4 am (around when I turned off my reading lamp and went to sleep). Every time I pick her up to play, she immediatly tries to run under the nearest shaded place.

I am very worried about this.... I haven't changed anything in her cage - her diet or cage location or anything. Its been warmer and so I've been keeping the window open sometimes, if that affects her..... And I took her to the vet about a week and a half ago, and she checked out fine!! Sometimes i see her out of her box just sitting there! That's something she would never do.... (but i have checked out her feet and they look fine, and also i hear her wheeling when i am sleeping a little bit, so i know her feet are okay.... it's just a lot less than usual).

Anyone have any advice? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I had a dream Frey was pregnant and that was the reason for her solitude and that she has rainbow colored babies haha...

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CThogs

Admin

Posts: 1514

Re:hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/22 12:09 Could she be too cool? When hedgehogs get too cool they can become inactive. Ann
Connecticut Hedgehogs

We had a great time at Hedgehog Fest 2008!!!

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auilix

User

Posts: 7

Re:hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/22 12:22 i do have a heating pad (reptile tank kind) attached to the bottom of the cage under her house... it's always done her well in the colder times and at night... i double checked that it's working, and it's still warm...

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Andrea
User

Posts: 122

Re:hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/22 18:33 Is she eating ok?

I wonder if she is "pouting" (which the Primer book talks about)--according to the book, a hedgie can become aloof and display some of the symptoms you are describing if something changes or if they miss you. I say this because in March I went away for the weekend and when I came back, I felt like I had lost ground with my hedgie (which I had gotten the month before) and that we kindof had to start over in terms of bonding.

It is good that the vet says things are ok. I hope your hedgie goes back to normal really soon.

Andrea

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auilix

User

Posts: 7

Re:hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/22 20:22 she's been eating okay... i put some food on my hands and she (cautiously) came up and ate some. i dont want to pick her up too much (every time i have for the past few days, she's struggled much more than usually and, as i said before, runs back into her house when i put her down).... right now she is just sitting under her wheel looking sad...

maybe it's just a mood but it's making me sad too!

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Andrea
User

Posts: 122

Re:hermit hedgehog - need help!! - 2008/04/23 10:14 Is her water bottle working? I ask this because my hedgie was sitting out in the open for a few days near the water bottle and was looking at me and I did not realize his bottle had jammed. Thank goodness a light bulb went off in my head and I checked it and then remedied the problem.

I know how you feel......I get sad/upset when my hedgie is not doing well.

Andrea

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auilix

User

Posts: 7

further weirdness... - 2008/04/26 19:15 Okay, this nervousness has still been going on... I tried calling the vet but my vet for small animals isnt there on the weekend. bah!

I just feed Freya a little bit a yogurt (before she enjoyed licking a little bit of leftover yoghurt from my spoon), and she got all spikey as if to anoint, but then she went for something underneath (it looked like), and then fell over!! Is this normal? I've only ever seen her anoint the top of her head... I keep inspecting her for signs of something... anything! But she's still in her strange "mood" and it's making me nervous...

also i noticed she hasn't been taking her food like she used to. she still eats all of it, but before she used to gobble down the whole plate in one go, and now she seems to eat bits and pieces all night long. she does drink from her water bottle and i have to change it every few days.

Any pointers or related stories anyone? I am so nervous and wont be able to see a vet until next week

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robosonic

User

Posts: 118

Re:further weirdness... - 2008/04/27 09:52 I could be wrong but if she's not running on her wheel and she struggles more when you pick her up, something must hurt her when she does those activities, I don't know enough about that kind of thing to figure out what that would be, but it's good that she's still eating and drinking. If anything else out of the ordinary pops up be sure to let us know. I know what you mean about the weekend issue with vets, that's a real pain, Aragorn got sick on Sunday so we had to go to an emergency place because we couldn't get hold of anybody else. Pets:
Timmy (M, neutered) and Smokey (F, spayed) the maine coon and something else rescue cats.
Aureus (Unknown) the goldfish.
Pepper (F) and Briar (M) the hissing cockroaches.

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CThogs

Admin

Posts: 1514

Re:further weirdness... - 2008/04/27 13:44 I just feed Freya a little bit a yogurt (before she enjoyed licking a little bit of leftover yoghurt from my spoon), and she got all spikey as if to anoint, but then she went for something underneath (it looked like), and then fell over!! Is this normal? I've only ever seen her anoint the top of her head... I keep inspecting her for signs of something... anything! But she's still in her strange "mood" and it's making me nervous...

If she was trying to annoint and fell over, that's not abnormal-some of them do that all the time. Ann
Connecticut Hedgehogs

We had a great time at Hedgehog Fest 2008!!!

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