Am I doing something wrong?

[Bumblebean]

I've had my new baby for a little more than two weeks now, and it seems like she gets crabbier every day! The very first day we brought her home she was extremely playful and not at all shy, I couldn't get her to roll up in a ball even when I TRIED. But the next day, and every day after she's gone from timid to grumpy to worse. I take her out to hold/snuggle and let her play every single night, what could be wrong? I know she was quilling for the first two weeks, but I checked her back last night and I don't see any more new quills. Is there anything I'm doing (or not doing) to cause her to have such a crabby temperament, or am I being too eager? How long does it usually take for a new baby to get situated and start to warm up, and what can I do to coax her along?

[mrgew]

Usually 2 weeks is not enough all of mine took at least 1 month to be friendly and they still have their bad days. Give her treats, then she might warm up faster to you, or at least like you more.

[kaiteedyd]

How old is she? She may still be quilling even if you can't tell. Milkshake is in the grumpy baby faze too. Just handle her till she relaxs and then reward her by giving her a treat when she does! That works well for most animals.

[PrettyHate]

I dont think youre doing anything wrong :) Try giving her a warm bath with some oatmeal, and then putting some vitamin E on her skin after to see if that soothes down any of the irritation due to quilling. Lots of people have said that warm bathes during quilling has worked wonders for their babies!

Aside from that, just keep on handing her. Bosco was the all time grumpiest little guy when I got him. It took a couple months of daily handling to get him to start coming around. He isnt what I would call super friendly- he still huffs and puffs at the drop of a dime- but he has come a LONG way from how he used to be. Just give your little one some time, and dont give up on her. It will be well worth it :)

[dizknee]

My little monkey is like that too. He is very friendly when awake but can still be startled with some sudden sounds.

He has his cranky days.... ouff last night he had the Hedgie equivalent of PMS. Major mood swings :laugh:

I just make sure not to give in to his little quilly tantrums and sooth him by rubbing his back and giving him a mini massage. When I do this he tucks himself right close to me to snuggle and loves it.... UNTIL I STOP.

Once I stop his head pokes out he sniffs around and if he could say "Yeah you with the big hands, I didn't tell you to stop"; I'm sure he would.

If he is anything like mine he does not enjoy being woken up.... but if I don't wake him I will never be able to play with him.

Let us know how it goes.

[Nancy]

You are probably not doing anything wrong. She could still be quilling with none visible at the moment. OR
She might be done quilling but if she is 4-5 months she is smack dab in the middle of puberty. She is the hedgie equivalent of a teenager. :laugh:

[Bumblebean]

She is only about two months right now, so not quite a teenager yet :) I did give her an oatmeal bath last week to help her with her quilling, and though she was NOT diggin the bath, I could tell it really did help her relax once she was out of the water. I may have to do it one more time, if she's still quilling it's definitely coming to an end.

I've tried giving her treats to help her understand that my smell = good stuff :laugh: but she won't take them! I've tried giving her bits of boiled egg, and she wouldn't eat it, and she won't even eat mealworms, she's afraid of them! She's also afraid of live crickets, I bought her some last night to chase and she just snuffled at them. So I'm having a hard time giving her treats :/

I'll just keep at handling her every day, and hopefully she'll come around. Thanks for all the advice :)

[Lydia]

[QUOTE=Bumblebean]and she won't even eat mealworms, she's afraid of them! She's also afraid of live crickets, I bought her some last night to chase and she just snuffled at them. So I'm having a hard time giving her treats :/ QUOTE]

To be honest, I find live mealworms WAY too creepy - we buy freeze-ried ones for our boys and they work out much better... plus even the timid ones aren't nearly as scared. We usually find them in the reptile section of larger pet store chains... just check the ingredients to make sure that they're 100% bug... and TRUST ME - don't get adventurous and try buying the snails or silk worms - ugh... SUPER gross, stinky and NOT freeze-dried! :Pukey:

[who00knows]

I think your best bet is just treats and let her lay with you. I would put one of your "dirty" t-shirts in the cage with her that way she can smell you and associate you with good things. Just sit her out to play at night in a playpen or something with a shirt of yours and a few boxes. I would even put a few worms in there and some fruit. She will come around!

[Ododad]

All good replies. Nothing to add here. :)