Paving the wheel...

[Hedge_girl]

I've begun to notice something odd with Alina and her wheel. When the wheel is fresh and clean, she poos on it. Once the wheel is nice and paved, she stops. (I check her feet whenever I have her out to make sure the pads and toenails are in good shape. This also means I notice when she has poo boots or not.... :Pukey: ) I wonder if she does this because she likes the wheel to smell like her or she likes the extra friction.
Does anyone else's hedgie act like this? She is ~8 or 9 months old now, btw.
(I suppose it is also possible that she's still pooing on the wheel but the extra friction removes the junk as it dries. :confused: )

[Ododad]

I don't know. I clean three wheels daily but I have never noticed something like this. I can't tell if they stopped pooping on the wheel at any certain time or not.

[Hedge_girl]

*blushes* I clean Alina's wheel every few days so the "paving" is often quite dry. The reason I've asked is because her feet seem to be immaculately clean both on pads and between her nails when her wheel is "paved" but are poo-booted otherwise.

EDIT: The reason I clean the wheel less frequently is because I'd rather have a dirty wheel than poo feet. Even tiny foot baths seem to make Alina very unhappy and I don't like leaving her feet dirty, both for my sake and hers. :|

[Ododad]

So when her wheel is pooped on, her feet are clean, and when the wheel is clean, her feet are pooped on. Is this correct?

[Hedge_girl]

*nods* When the wheel is pooped on and dry...no poop on feet. No anything on feet, actually. Very clean feet....

EDIT: Before you ask, I know for a fact that she is still wheeling. I'm not comfortable going to bed most evenings unless I know she has been up and I can hear her getting her excercise. :laugh:

[Ododad]

I get it now. Thanks for bearing with me, I am kinda slow some days.
When the wheel has dried poop on it, and you clean Alina's feet but don't clean the wheel, then her feet stay clean.
I wouldn't think this is unusual, JMO, because the hard dried poop acts like a layer sort of like a concret drive sealer. The problem is a health one though. The poopy wheel still has to be cleaned for hygine reasons. I understand what your saying though. You can go a day or two between wheel cleanings once it's dried on and set, to save from having to wash Alina's feet daily which she hates. Here, I must tell the truth. Even though I DO clean wheels everyday, there has been a time or two where I have done the exact same thing as you are doing. I don't ALWAYS clean them everyday. But I don't always clean their feet every day either. I may be wrong, but I don't think a day or two would matter that much as long as the wheel IS getting cleaned on a reg. basis and her feet are being cleaned enough to prevent any fungus buildup. I would just keep doing what your doing. It works for you right? If you thought that your little girl was in health danger, you would change I know.

[Hedge_girl]

*nods*

[Janine]

:eek: Finally, an answer!

I've been wondering why Macy's feet have been dirty some days and clean others when the wheel has been equally poopy! I knew it wasn't from not using her wheel because I'd hear it in the night. And now to think of it, her feet are clean when the wheel hasn't been washed.

Such funny creatures they are...

[Pippin'sMom]

I've noticed the same thing too. If I just rinse all the poo and pee out of Pipp's wheel, the next night he doesn't dirty it up nearly as much. Butttt, if it gets a nice soapy scrubbing the next day it looks awful. I think he does it to spite me. I do all this hard work and then he just has to put me back in my place as his slave. lol. :laugh:

[Hedge_girl]

From what you say, Maggie, I think it may be, in part, related to scent. Funny...they like soap on our hands (little nippers!) but can't stand it on their wheel! :laugh: