Is she Quilling?

[Schmuzzle's Mom]

My little hedgie has been acting quite odd lately......different behavior this week than last! No laughing please but this is only my second week with her. :rolleyes: She had some very weird aggressive behavior last night running around and attacking the carpet, photo album and spoon with vicious appeal! I have never seen her do this before and it was odd.

She does seem to have little tiny new points of quills coming through her skin between the larger quills. She has white quills and pink skin although not albino, so I can see between the quills up close if I really look. She uses aspen bedding so seeing quills would be hard cause they are so tiny. :confused:

Is she quilling and how long does this take? Will regular handling be uncomfortable for her. She did seem to squirm alot and not enjoy being held much like usual. :(

[Ldy_Icedragon]

If you see any quills in her litter or anywhere else then I'd say she's quilling if she's under 4 months old. If you don't find any then get her checked out for mites. I thought my new hedgehog was quilling but I never found any quills, turned out to be mites. She was also very aggressive and irritable for a week or so just like you desribe. My Cleo also used Aspen Bedding and that's were she caught the mites from. Good luck!

~Danielle

[Schmuzzle's Mom]

I do notice between 4-8 quills laying around each time when we play with her. I thought that was normal like shedding hair on other animals. :| Does this mean she is quilling or is it normal. She doesn't scratch anymore like she did the night we brought her home. Also she has stopped using her litter box and has taken to pooing and peeing right in front of her food and water dishes. :Pukey: What does that mean if anything? She also isnt using the wheel I bought her. Maybe she is too young? :confused: Shes about 8 weeks.

[Nancy]

She is starting to quill. Keep handling her like normal. Some just don't like being handled though and prefer to run around.

Keep in mind that not all hedgehogs become littertrained in fact probably more don't than do. Some will use it some of the time which is about normal. She's too young to say how she'll be with the pan. Babies are poop machines and when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. :laugh:

Is the wheel large enought? They need 12" or more. Is it solid surface, no mesh, no rungs. If so, perhaps she just hasn't figured it out yet. Some do instantly and others take awhile. :)

[Moose]

My hedgie started quilling exactly at 8 wks but it varies between 8-10 wks I believe. She quilled for about 2 weeks but that also varies from 2 wks to a month. They will be quite grumpy when quilling since it's like babies teething. I remember my hedgie was so sweet when we first brought her home but when she was quilling, she was not a happy camper. After quilling, she went back to her normal, happy self. Mine lost about 10 quills a day but I've read some hedgies lose more. Maybe you can go through the aspen bedding to see if you find any quills. I use vellux bedding so it was quite easy to find them and save them. :) You should definitely still handle her nightly. Hour or two a night won't add to their discomfort and I think it's especially important to bond during 'tough' times. If she's especially grumpy, just hold her in a hedgie bag or your shirt on your chest while watching tv or reading. Sometimes when I'm home during the day, I still take out my girl still in her hedgie bag and put it on me so she can sleep with me next to her. :)

[Schmuzzle's Mom]

Sounds to me like she is definitley quilling. :D Thanks for the advice and I will of course continue to play with her and let her run around in bathroom now that she is so anxious to begin exploring :) Her wheel is the largest I could find, it may be even larger than 12 " but not much larger, if at all. Smooth inside, solid construction and can free stand or be attached to the side of the cage. I wanted a free stand option so I could see her use it when we have play time. :laugh:

She is totally spoiled like all of my pets. If I find out they should have it then they get it. :slurp: Like kids they get their needs met on a priority bases.......theirs before mine!! I can now see how it is easy to become Hedgie Whipped :banghead: :laugh:

I guess I won't worry about the litter thing, Like a sick child, accidents can happen when under stress. I'm sure it only bothers me that she goes right in front of her food. If it bothered her, she wouldn't do it now would she? I never really was concerned with training her to begin with.....just getting cought up in the comparative Hedgie game. She has never once gone while outside of her cage tho!! KNOCK KNOCK.......now tonight Im sure she will :laugh:

[hedgewood]

schmuzzle's mom, your baby sounds very sweet. she definately sounds like she is quilling, price lost a lot of quils all over the place, when he was quilling. watch your feet, i've stepped on them more than once. his quilling lasted about a month. unfortunately i never got to experience hedgewood quilling, she was already six months when i got her.

as for the wheel, have you tried putting it in the bath tub with her during bath time. somethime they will run on it then..............trying to get away from the water.

if you have a corner litter pan, try re-arranging the cage to have the litter pan sit where her food is. maybe she just prefers that arear of her cage to go to the bathroom in. i tried that with hedgewood and it works well.

good luck, she sounds awsome..................arene't hedgies the best.