He hates me :(

[Ninja_Kaiser]

I got my hedgehog a several months ago from a flopping exotic petshop in our small town. I didn't know anything about the animals, but he was 35$ and either getting bought by me, terminated like some of the animals at the closing shop, or forced reintroduction to the wild. Needless to say I felt for the little guy, and snatched him up. To give an example of the employees/owners of the shop, I carried him home in two KFC boxes taped together. I don't know how old he is, why he seems to dislike me, i didn't know he was male until 3 weeks ago (lol). Even after the constant spoiling, routine atention and rewards, he'd still rather stick me than fill his food dish. I've searched MIHOG, this forum and several other places, they all say the same things about t-shirts and treats. But this seems to get me no where! It's as if all Dr. Mambo wants to do is, escape, eat, and stick me until I bleed. Is there anything else I can do to calm this hedgie down? Or any way to tell how old he is, this I'm sure would help me narrow down his disposition (Old and cranky, young and quilling, Plain grumpy, sick etc...) Any help at all woul dbe greatly appreciated by me and Mambo.

[PrettyHate]

Congrats on your hedgie:)

How long have you had him for? It took both of my boys MONTHS to even begin to show signs of coming around. If he hadnt been handled alot, or had bad experienced with being handled, it may just take him a while to feel comfortable. I think lots of quality cuddling time is in order :)

[Ninja_Kaiser]

I've had him for three or four months now, I cudle him nightly...or try to lol. what gets me, is he loves my girlfriend, he likes her toes. lol

[Titanium]

One of my rescues was the same way. It's not that he hates you, he is just terrified-that petstore was probably not the best place for him to grow up. I've tried the t-shirt, and treat reinforcement never seemed to work. Just handle him daily (wear gloves!!!) and he may start to soften up. If you are worried that he might be sick (if he seems lethargic or if you think he may have mites) then I would suggest taking him straight to the vet.

[Ninja_Kaiser]

Well thank you both for the advice, I did have him checked for mites not too long ago, but if he's still as huffy in mid April I'll run him in again to be safe. I guess he's just slow to take on people, Oh well, I love the little guy :D

[Tampaquillowner]

Ninja,

I have two petstore hedgies who both came to me as hissing balls of sharp quills who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. Tico my first hedgie has been with me a year and only after seven or eight months of work and patience did he start to change his temperment/personality. Now he is such a great baby and he knows just who his momma is. When we are sitting on the couch he will come over to me and burrow between me and the couch and sleep there. He will also climb onto my lap and conk out. He rarely balls except when I first pick him up and is used to handling now. But keep in mind this took seven months of everyday handlings and socialization. I also exposed himto different places and environment's when he was young so he could acclimate.

Nemo is my second petstore hog and he is a completely different story. I have had him for around ten months now and have seen only small progress, sometimes he will unball and explore at night and it takes him less time to unball.

Keep in mind that your hedgie was not socialized at all so this is a very very new thing for him. Imagine you lived your life in a small cage with no interaction with anything and suddenly you are thrust into a world of strange smells, things and huge hands coming at you all the time. I think you would probably act the same way.

It takes a lot of time to socialize petstore hedgehogs and a lot of patience. Dont look for an overnight breakthrough it takes months or years before they may get to where you want them to be. It may never happen for you. Nemo may never be like Tico, he may always be my little grumpy quill butt, and I will love him either way.

Some things that helped me

Take them out around the same time every night, sometimes Tico waits at the door of his cage to come out.

Turn off all the lights except the tv or a small lamp. My boys wont even come out if the lights are on much less unball.

Keep him on a schedule, try and turn the lights on and off around the same times everyday. Tico is so used to the schedule that he will come out right after the lights go off to nibble a bit.

I never used the tshirt idea so I cant say if it makes any difference or not.

Hope this helps, you have to remember patience patience patience. And baby steps!

Please dont wear gloves, he needs to get used to human hands. If you must then you can use a blankie or a washcloth (be careful of stray threads).

[HedgieMomma]

Just a question-
You said "and either getting bought by me, terminated like some of the animals at the closing shop, or forced reintroduction to the wild."
Is this something the pet store told you??
Number one- they can not release a hedgehog into the wild in Michigan, not only would the hedgehog die, but it is illegal!
Number two- terminated, as in put down? Well there are state people that can get involved with a simple phone call.
Number three- people need to understand that pet stores will tell you anything to make a sale. The more they sell, the more they will get in to try and sell.

What town do you live in? Have you thought about reporting this store to local agencies? Such as a humane society, animal control, or what about state level? If the conditions are that in which you speak of, someone needs to step in so that this store does not threaten the lives of their animals to make a sale.

How horrible! I can't imagine the conditions that they were kept in were very well then either. The best thing I would recommend is try hand feeding it some treats, let him eat out of the palm of your hand, that will gain his trust. Wear a fanny pack around for 30 minutes a day with him inside it, that will keep him close to you, it will help him get familiar with your scent and your voice. The more you handle him, the calmer he should get with you.
I do wish you all the best of luck.
Michelle