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Megs0303
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Posts: 6

Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 08:28 I got my new baby hedgehog Scout last week- she's got the best temperment ever! she's never angry about being woken up and just loves to explore.

So, she has a very distinct smell. Every day when I take her out to play, I first let her wade in a little bit of water to let her feet get washed off (usually use a soft toothbrush to get it off) - and to poop which she does a lot when I first wake her up- so I know that shes relatively clean but she has a pretty strong distinct odor and I'm wondering if that is normal??

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smhufflepuff

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Posts: 181

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 09:00 A distinct odor? No, not if she's clean. Hedgies don't have the glands to produce hedgie-b.o.

If the stinky is not coming from her underside (since you give her foot baths, that I'm assuming you clean off her belly too), I'd guess it's coming from topside.

My girl can get stinky from running on her wheel and having the pee drip from the "ceiling" as it goes around and around. Or from brushing up against the sidewall. Or from getting under a stinky part of her liner - she'll get poopyfeet at night, then curl up to sleep with her poopyfeet mushed into her belly and her liner.

Try a bath - aveeno oatmeal works well. And scrub out her cage & accessories (wash any hedgiebags, etc) so you have a clean hedge in a clean house with clean accessories. If she's still stinky, I'd start thinking about what she's eating or if there's some sort of infection. But, really, I think an overall cleaning of everything should do the trick.

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Hedgehogmadhatter

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Posts: 497

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 10:42 Smhfufflepuff is right!

Poor Scout is suffering from dripping pee syndrome! Honestly Harley is the first hedgehog I've ever had who is nuts for his wheel and it's getting rather gross.

So here's what I do. I have baby wipes that I wipe him down with between baths. I wash his feet, like you do with Scout. I have TWO wheels and rotate them daily. He gets the clean one and the dirty one goes to soak in a big bucket. It really helps. The reason the hedghogs smell is because we feed them CATFOOD. A hedgheog on hedgehog food doesn't smell like this. HOWEVER the catfood is so much better for them, you can't feed them hedgehog food. Some ladies here have also suggested putting cheap maxi pads on the wheel to absorb the pee.. LOL!

~Sara “The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”

Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)

There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!

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smhufflepuff

User

Posts: 181

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 12:19 I also just thought about when you clean off her poopyfeet... I clean Satin's feet off in the morning before I leave for work so she's clean all day long and the stink doesn't get as much of a chance to set in. Then I play with her at night. If you're cleaning her feet off in the evening when it's playtime, that's a long time for the funk to set in.

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Megs0303
User

Posts: 6

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 13:04 Okaayyy... it must be the pee from the wheel. I use Glad Press and Seal on her wheel that I change every day in the morning so her wheel is clean for her each day. She's pretty good with using a litter box too. I usually give her a little bath in the evening before she comes and plays but I don't bother with the top of her.. well.. because I forgot to think about what falls onto her during her midnight jogs! Everything else in her cage is clean, I use liners which I change every 2-3 days.

So do you guys think it's a problem to bathe not just her feet but pretty much all of her daily even if just rinsing with water? It's winter ya know and its just so dry I don't want to irritate her skin. But I also want her not to smell like all her excrements!

Thanks guys..

Megan

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Hedgehogmadhatter

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Posts: 497

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 14:09 Megs0303 wrote:
So do you guys think it's a problem to bathe not just her feet but pretty much all of her daily even if just rinsing with water? It's winter ya know and its just so dry I don't want to irritate her skin. But I also want her not to smell like all her excrements!

Thanks guys..

Megan

Just use scent free baby wipes to wipe her down and she should be fine, that way you don't get her too wet for her to catch a chill or dry out her skin.

~Sara “The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”

Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)

There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!

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smhufflepuff

User

Posts: 181

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 15:38 Hedgie-wipes are the best

They oughta sell a version that has a pic of a hedgie instead of a human baby.

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Megs0303
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Posts: 6

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 15:59 thanks everyone

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belovedgrl

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Posts: 54

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/02/26 16:25 My boyfriend thinks the hedgies smell like maple syrup....which I think is weird....except, of course, if poopie feet take over. Then, ew, gross. Poopie feet washes are inevitable.

I've yet to try the baby wipes, but I did that when I had rabbits -- they both cleaned their fur and made them shiny for shows, but also they smelled so nice

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HappyHedgie8

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Posts: 276

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/03/06 17:12 Megs0303 wrote:
Okaayyy... it must be the pee from the wheel. I use Glad Press and Seal on her wheel that I change every day in the morning so her wheel is clean for her each day. She's pretty good with using a litter box too. I usually give her a little bath in the evening before she comes and plays but I don't bother with the top of her.. well.. because I forgot to think about what falls onto her during her midnight jogs! Everything else in her cage is clean, I use liners which I change every 2-3 days.

So do you guys think it's a problem to bathe not just her feet but pretty much all of her daily even if just rinsing with water? It's winter ya know and its just so dry I don't want to irritate her skin. But I also want her not to smell like all her excrements!

Thanks guys..

Megan

You sound like you are doing everything right!

But I wouldn't give her a bath every day, because their skin gets dry.

Good Luck!
~Felicia **Mommy of Tweetle the hedgehog!**
~Felicia :]

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omelette

User

Posts: 435

Re:Anyone else? - 2008/03/06 18:20 washing just her feet everyday is okay. but try not to give her a bath more than once a month. i would definitely try the wipes. it would be a good way to get rid of the "hedgie smell" without the use of a bath. Lisa
My Heart Belongs to:
Teddy, Sugar, Sapphie, Fudge, Archie, Chuckie - The Yorkies
Wendy (Siamese Mix), Echo (Tabby) - Cats
Omelette - Hedgehog
Basil - Guinea Pig

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