My baby likes to trash her cage... why?

[Lychee]

Hey everyone,

Lychee has for the past month started a habit and well more or less overturning literally everything in her cage. Even if there is food in her bowl, she will just flip it over. I was wondering why exactly she is turning over everything S:

Thanks!

[CThogs]

Well. you can't always figure out "why" a hedgehog does something but I'll try anyway

Did you move or change anything in the cage around the time she started redecorating? I have had hedgehogs who like everything to stay the same in their cage and will move everything around to where they like it if you change something

Or was it around the time the weather started getting warmer? Changes in weather/temp can change their activity level

[Lychee]

Well. you can't always figure out "why" a hedgehog does something but I'll try anyway

Did you move or change anything in the cage around the time she started redecorating? I have had hedgehogs who like everything to stay the same in their cage and will move everything around to where they like it if you change something

Or was it around the time the weather started getting warmer? Changes in weather/temp can change their activity level

That is very much possible, she tends to move everything to one corner of the cage, but at the same time this also started around when the warmer weather came in. The problem I have is she is flipping over her food bowl before she eats, and when she gets hungry, she'll eat the food that's spilled in her cage S;

[Lt.Finn]

Milo has been doing that recently, but we've had some changes here this past week; I used different soap in his cage, changed his light time by two hours, and changed the time I refill his bowl. I figured he was just not coping well, or maybe just being a snot. I got up the other morning and he had eaten all of his food for the first time in a few days, but someone managed to put his food bowl IN his litter box, UNDER the wheel, and it didn't look like any of the litter was disturbed. I had to completely remove the wheel to get it out and he looked super proud of himself. He's a fussy boy.

[CThogs]

The problem I have is she is flipping over her food bowl before she eats, and when she gets hungry, she'll eat the food that's spilled in her cage S;

Do you have a weighted food bowl? They are harder for the hedgies to tip, but some can still do it. If the bowl you have is weighted, you may want to try another size or shape of bowl -some are harder to tip than others

[CThogs]

I got up the other morning and he had eaten all of his food for the first time in a few days, but someone managed to put his food bowl IN his litter box, UNDER the wheel, and it didn't look like any of the litter was disturbed. I had to completely remove the wheel to get it out and he looked super proud of himself. He's a fussy boy.

Degree of difficulty 10 For hedgies that like to move and push stuff around, if you get a bunch of toys for their cage, they can figure out lots of ways to move things around and keep themselves (and us) entertained

[HamorHollow]

If the food bowl is an issue, remove it and just pile the food in a corner.

Is there any chance Lychee has been with a male in the last 50ish days? I just want to check because sometimes pregnant moms will show that same behavior.

How big is her cage? She needs at least 2 square feet, but if she is really active then maybe a bigger cage would help. What about toys? Could she be bored OR really enjoying playing with a certain toy (for example, a hedgehog with a tube on its head can trash a cage pretty good).

K

[NothingTrivial]

You may want to try a stoneware bowl like this Stoneware Bowl. Skittles has on occasion made quiet a mess in her cage, but has never turned her bowl over.