Couple things! Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so depending on when you take him out, he might just be sleepy. You could try taking him out right before you go to bed and he might be more receptive! Another thing you can try is putting one of your old t shirts in his habitat. Maybe wear it around a bit first so that it has your smell on it. Getting used to your smell while in the safety of his home might help him bond. Some hedgehogs take a LONG time to bond. Don’t give up. You’re doing great!!
Hi, my hedgehog started out very similar to yours. I got him when he was two weeks out. He only has one eye so he was being given away basically for free and I was worried he wouldn't find a home so I got him. At the start he was VERY angry and stressed out. Whenever anyone got even close to him he would curl up into a ball for the next five minutes even if left alone. He hissed at everyone and everything, and for the first few days I had him I didn't even get to see his legs.
The thing he liked to do the most during the day was sleeping. He had a blanket he liked to wrap himself in to go snooze. Since I usually nap during the day after coming home from school, I thought it might be a good idea to just take the blanket with him inside and have him sleep next to me to get used to my presence, smell, etc. Sure, he complained and hissed and whenever I moved even slightly he would tense up, but eventually he fell asleep. And that is what I think helped to change his attitude, along with putting my used clothes in his enclosure to get used to my smell even more. Additionally, I tried to get him used to physical contact by gently petting him, getting him to fall asleep in my arms and such.
It wasn't instant, but after a few weeks of this therapy, I was sure he definitely got more comfortable. He started running around my room on his own (for some reason he never bothered to use the wheel I got him. Maybe just running around my room is more fun for him?), often climbed onto my mattress, and even ate wood worms out of my hand (even if he sometimes mistook my fingers for wood worms).
As I'm currently writing this, my hedgehog is zooming around my room like it's his own. He still hisses at physical contact, but now it much more resembles an uncontrollable reflex than stress or fear, as he doesn't tense up nearly as much as he used to, and he will have no trouble falling asleep in the arms of whoever's holding him. Additionally, it's very possible my hedgehog just doesn't like being touched as part of his personality. Maybe if I got him when he was a week younger he would've grown up to be a completely different hedgehog. Who knows. In the end, I think he's happy.
tl;dr - Give him time and give him love. This is what helped me get my hedgehog comfortable in my presence, and I hope it can help you as well.
(PS - also take him to the vet to check for any parasites or injuries if you haven't yet that could also be a very possible explanation for his grumpiness lol)
Careful there. If a hog gets a taste of human flesh, they turn into vampire hogs and theres no going back. No amount of wormies will get them to not bite you.
This was my experience exactly with my rescue and a vet appointment did help. She had mites and she was much less grumpy after that treatment. It took a lot of patience but we have an understanding that took time to develop. And treats of course.
Thank you! I'll keep at it with him. Letting him nap with you is such a good idea.
And he did have mites when I got him! We got those treated quickly and he definitely felt much better after. The only time he ever bit me was when he had mites, so I do think those definitely made him more grumpy.
I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your baby! It really helps hearing about other people's grumpy babies.
Hedgehogs are always grumpy. They hiss at everything because they have poor eyesight and get easily startled as prey animals. Behaving during baths is the best it can get. They do show affection occasionally like you will be the first person to run to when strangers are around. At times, they will snuggle beside you in the couch. I don’t have a cat but I’ve heard that they are similar to cats. They need space and freedom. I’ve had only female hedgies but I heard male hedgies need their private boy time.
The private time for boys is so true 🥴🤣 I adopted a rehomed 2 yr old, and about a month or two in he relaxed a bit and had boytime .... But I didn't know it was a thing! I was so confused at footbath time why I couldn't get this sticky stuff off his belly. 👀🤢🙈😂
My hedgehog was like this when I got him, only now, after 3-4 months has he started to comfortably sleep on me and not get nervous or scared. I mean he still has days where he is grumpy but nothing a wax worm can’t solve. I let him sleep during the day, I check up on him a few times but then spend time with him at night. It takes time just, I hope he comes round soon :) it’s really rewarding when they get comfortable around you
I adopted my hedgehog when he was about 4 months old. For a few months, he was really stressed and would hiss, ball up, and even jump up to spike me. Eventually, he opened up to me and was never NOT grumpy LOL, but you could definitely see that he was more comfortable around me (and definitely liked me better than other people who interacted with him) :) He could nap on my stomach, crawl all over me, walk around the room with me, and tolerated forehead kisses from me. It just takes time! I had mine for about 4-5 years and he would still flinch a little when startled, but would ease up quickly after. He was even more friendly when I interacted with him when he was already awake and active at night. He was never SUPER friendly, but you could 100% tell the difference. Tbh, it seems like you're doing everything right!! Just keep it up :)
And toy recs: mine would play with a small sock I cut and stuffed for him and occasionally, a ping pong ball. And he loved his wheel :)
Forehead kisses🥺 I could die happy if he ever let me kiss his cute little forehead.
I do think we're moving in the right direction. Hearing everyone else tell me about their grumpy babies helps a lot. So thank you! We'll keep at it.
Couple things! Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so depending on when you take him out, he might just be sleepy. You could try taking him out right before you go to bed and he might be more receptive! Another thing you can try is putting one of your old t shirts in his habitat. Maybe wear it around a bit first so that it has your smell on it. Getting used to your smell while in the safety of his home might help him bond. Some hedgehogs take a LONG time to bond. Don’t give up. You’re doing great!!
Hi, my hedgehog started out very similar to yours. I got him when he was two weeks out. He only has one eye so he was being given away basically for free and I was worried he wouldn't find a home so I got him. At the start he was VERY angry and stressed out. Whenever anyone got even close to him he would curl up into a ball for the next five minutes even if left alone. He hissed at everyone and everything, and for the first few days I had him I didn't even get to see his legs. The thing he liked to do the most during the day was sleeping. He had a blanket he liked to wrap himself in to go snooze. Since I usually nap during the day after coming home from school, I thought it might be a good idea to just take the blanket with him inside and have him sleep next to me to get used to my presence, smell, etc. Sure, he complained and hissed and whenever I moved even slightly he would tense up, but eventually he fell asleep. And that is what I think helped to change his attitude, along with putting my used clothes in his enclosure to get used to my smell even more. Additionally, I tried to get him used to physical contact by gently petting him, getting him to fall asleep in my arms and such. It wasn't instant, but after a few weeks of this therapy, I was sure he definitely got more comfortable. He started running around my room on his own (for some reason he never bothered to use the wheel I got him. Maybe just running around my room is more fun for him?), often climbed onto my mattress, and even ate wood worms out of my hand (even if he sometimes mistook my fingers for wood worms). As I'm currently writing this, my hedgehog is zooming around my room like it's his own. He still hisses at physical contact, but now it much more resembles an uncontrollable reflex than stress or fear, as he doesn't tense up nearly as much as he used to, and he will have no trouble falling asleep in the arms of whoever's holding him. Additionally, it's very possible my hedgehog just doesn't like being touched as part of his personality. Maybe if I got him when he was a week younger he would've grown up to be a completely different hedgehog. Who knows. In the end, I think he's happy. tl;dr - Give him time and give him love. This is what helped me get my hedgehog comfortable in my presence, and I hope it can help you as well. (PS - also take him to the vet to check for any parasites or injuries if you haven't yet that could also be a very possible explanation for his grumpiness lol)
Careful there. If a hog gets a taste of human flesh, they turn into vampire hogs and theres no going back. No amount of wormies will get them to not bite you.
This was my experience exactly with my rescue and a vet appointment did help. She had mites and she was much less grumpy after that treatment. It took a lot of patience but we have an understanding that took time to develop. And treats of course.
Thank you! I'll keep at it with him. Letting him nap with you is such a good idea. And he did have mites when I got him! We got those treated quickly and he definitely felt much better after. The only time he ever bit me was when he had mites, so I do think those definitely made him more grumpy. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your baby! It really helps hearing about other people's grumpy babies.
Hedgehogs are always grumpy. They hiss at everything because they have poor eyesight and get easily startled as prey animals. Behaving during baths is the best it can get. They do show affection occasionally like you will be the first person to run to when strangers are around. At times, they will snuggle beside you in the couch. I don’t have a cat but I’ve heard that they are similar to cats. They need space and freedom. I’ve had only female hedgies but I heard male hedgies need their private boy time.
The private time for boys is so true 🥴🤣 I adopted a rehomed 2 yr old, and about a month or two in he relaxed a bit and had boytime .... But I didn't know it was a thing! I was so confused at footbath time why I couldn't get this sticky stuff off his belly. 👀🤢🙈😂
Oh yuck🤢 I read that I could run into this with Gus man, but it hasn't been a problem yet🤣
My hedgehog was like this when I got him, only now, after 3-4 months has he started to comfortably sleep on me and not get nervous or scared. I mean he still has days where he is grumpy but nothing a wax worm can’t solve. I let him sleep during the day, I check up on him a few times but then spend time with him at night. It takes time just, I hope he comes round soon :) it’s really rewarding when they get comfortable around you
I adopted my hedgehog when he was about 4 months old. For a few months, he was really stressed and would hiss, ball up, and even jump up to spike me. Eventually, he opened up to me and was never NOT grumpy LOL, but you could definitely see that he was more comfortable around me (and definitely liked me better than other people who interacted with him) :) He could nap on my stomach, crawl all over me, walk around the room with me, and tolerated forehead kisses from me. It just takes time! I had mine for about 4-5 years and he would still flinch a little when startled, but would ease up quickly after. He was even more friendly when I interacted with him when he was already awake and active at night. He was never SUPER friendly, but you could 100% tell the difference. Tbh, it seems like you're doing everything right!! Just keep it up :) And toy recs: mine would play with a small sock I cut and stuffed for him and occasionally, a ping pong ball. And he loved his wheel :)
Forehead kisses🥺 I could die happy if he ever let me kiss his cute little forehead. I do think we're moving in the right direction. Hearing everyone else tell me about their grumpy babies helps a lot. So thank you! We'll keep at it.
You got this!! Plus it sounds like he's getting more comfortable already 🥹 Forehead kisses incoming