Self-anointing - 2005/08/02 17:13I have not seen Yuisa do this ever so I decided to start licking the quills myself to help her stay natural and clean.
Ok, ok that was a joke, but do any of you see this occuring often?
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Vangardt
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Posts: 27
Re:Self-anointing - 2005/08/04 05:05XD nice joke I see her doing it pretty often, but it isn't about cleaning. They do it when they meet a new smell to mask themselves in it. When I take Morrow on outdoor adventures on warm days (monitored the WHOLE time, of course) she chews on many-a-thing to then annoit herself with. Her cage life is pretty different from the yard, she even did it with soil from the garden and wood from the shed. So, it is nothing to worry about in the slightest if you do not see it. If you wish to provoke it, introducing your hedgie to something new might do it. The more alien the better, though Morrow has done it with new litters, treats, and more.
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nannyogg
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Posts: 50
Re:Self-anointing - 2005/10/01 09:55Hedgies definitely vary in their tendency to self annoint. I've had some I never really see do it, and others who do it at every change of environment (when I take out of old cage into holding bin for cleaning, on new shavings, on fresh food,etc...)! Definitely, the more unusual the smell, the more likely to annoint.
Tig
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HamorHollow
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Re:Self-anointing - 2005/10/01 20:21Yuisa wrote: I have not seen Yuisa do this ever so I decided to start licking the quills myself to help her stay natural and clean.
That's a very good idea, more people should care that much about their hedgehog's hygiene!
Ya, I know your kidding. If you want to clean your hedgehog just use a mild hand soap and some warm water.Kelly Sosik-Hamor Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. | Do you want to buy a baby Hedgehog? Please fill out out questionnaire. | Hedgehog World - A Community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders
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PogStar
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Re:Self-anointing - 2005/10/03 01:55The all time favorite scents for self annointing, in my experience, have been Quiz with the cherry sucker he found under Sis' sofa, and Amaranth when I blinked for too long and she discovered some dog poo in the yard. Howie also occasionally enjoyed annointing with half chewed cricket, one of the few things I do NOT miss about him. Hedgehogs have rather....odd tastes in what they annoint with. Some of the baby hedgehogs annointed after they did their batter dipped routine, which kind of surprised me, as it wasn't a new flavor or smell. Oliver, who will be going to live with Alie, also did it after chewing on Connor's finger for a while tonight. Maybe he was brushing his teeth that are starting to come in.
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dzmeadows
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Re:Self-anointing - 2005/10/03 07:55I also have some hedgehogs that don't annoint hardly at all, and others that require frequent baths from annointing with almost everything that doesn't run faster than them. The more scents your hedgehog is used to, the less likely they are to annoint. But eventually, like Laura said, your hedgehog will find something when you aren't looking that attracts their attention, and you will have a contorting foaming hedgehog to laugh at. Becca
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kjandy
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Posts: 36
Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/12 20:45is it bad if they annoint with dirt? I brought my hedgie outside for the first time on a nice day and he started digging and chewing on the dirt, then would annoint with it. I brought him inside after that cuz I was nervous he's choke on it. Normal?
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Stasi
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Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/13 12:07I see dirt annointing pretty commonly when I take a hedgie outside. I don't do this terribly often here at our new house, as we are not on the top of the hill anymore, and we get runoff from the neighbors yards. That can mean that chemicals from their lawns can be in the dirt in our yard, and I wouldn't want the hedgies to be ingesting that! So, just be careful where you let your hedgehog be outside.
For the best chance of seeing annointing, I recommend peppermint. I've seen annointing about 95% of the time when there's peppermint involved. Stasi Terrapin Hedgehogs Joppa, MD www.terrapinhedgehogs.com
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zorra578
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Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/26 21:06I have had Quentin for quite a while and even introduced him to lots of new smells in hopes for self-annointing. So far no luck. Never seen him do it or any evidence that he has done it. He's even been outside and around my dog and lotsa different toys and smells.Jessica Des Plaines, IL
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HamorHollow
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Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/30 18:52try something mint. That will usually get them to annoint.
-KKelly Sosik-Hamor Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. | Do you want to buy a baby Hedgehog? Please fill out out questionnaire. | Hedgehog World - A Community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders
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ZooMom
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Posts: 39
Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/30 22:32zorra578 wrote: I have had Quentin for quite a while and even introduced him to lots of new smells in hopes for self-annointing. So far no luck. Never seen him do it or any evidence that he has done it. He's even been outside and around my dog and lotsa different toys and smells.
We have had Leona for 8-9 months and we had never seen her self-anoint. We, too, had exposed her to a hundred different kinds of food (to try to get her to eat -- that's another story) and to our cats and our dog, and to the back yard, etc. etc.. Never did she self-anoint. Last week, however, we put one of my 16 y.o. daughter's dirty socks in the playpen. Luckily, my other daughter had the video camera ready. Apparently Leona has been waiting all her life for a really stinky sock! It was hilarious. So, you could try mint....or you could wear your socks for a few extra days and try one of those!
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aislinsadia
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Posts: 507
Re:Self-anointing - 2007/05/31 10:07I have fish too- and once I had to use the cloth that I wipe my hands on in the tank with Cotton, and once she sniffed it she went nuts on anointing. Fish are stinky I guess *~*Steph*~* Cotton, Noodles & Cocoa (hedgehogs), Kuruku & Kimiko (kittehs), Sushi & Lily (Ryukin Goldfish), Rosy & Ruby (beagle sisters), and Archie & Rocky (African Dwarf Frogs).
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that was a joke, but do any of you see this occuring often?
