LoriL
05-05-2006, 09:58 AM
Just when we think we're making progress with holding the food bowl...
It worked for one night! One night he ate from the food bowl I held. The following two nights he ignored the food bowl and went after my hand that held him in his blanket (he dug under the blanket and bit the fleshy part of my hand), my arms, etc. He bit until he drew blood. I said "No!" I pushed back on him since he no longer responds to me blowing on his face. He didn't care. He ignored the food. I held him for half an hour silence one night, the next night trying to talk quietly to him and neither technique worked.
He ate as soon as I put him back in the cage with the bowl.
Meanwhile, my hands and arms look horrendous.
As far as socializing with us. He won't stop popping and huffing. He pops so hard he rises off my legs or floor or couch or wherever we have him. It will take a good 5 minutes for him to unroll and that is only if I/we sit completely still, don't utter a sound, barely breathe, etc. And it's getting worse. If he unrolls and someone whispers something like "I see his nose", there he goes again popping off the floor/lap whatever.
I've tried wearing him in the snuggle sack. I've tried keeping him in his hedgiebag on my lap. I've covered him with a blanket, keeping the room very dark. He pops constantly, and when he's not popping and huffing, he's biting me. And I limit the time out to 30-45 minutes.
I've washed my hands with Dove unscented soap, I've tried Purell. I make sure I wash each time I hold him.
I called his breeder and explained what is happening. I know we've only had him for 3 weeks but I'm at a loss.
Now, when we picked him up, she did give us a choice of two snowflakes. And she did try to sell us a different one first saying that the other one had what she thought was a better personality. That one wouldn't unroll though and we were in a very noisy location since she only sells them at a swap twice a month. The one we chose (Mikey) was very friendly, unrolled and seemed completely at ease with the noise. She did say though that his personality was a bit "different". I guess I should've listened and shouldn't have gone with what I was seeing at the time.
Anyway, I explained what is happening, what I've been doing, everything I've tried. She said he shouldn't be acting like this and offered to exchange him.
I have conflicting emotions. A part of me doesn't want to give up, but another part of me is wondering if he just is the type of hedgehog that will never want to interact with people. I understand that certain hedgies don't and that it's not his fault. We've never had a pet because of allergies, and we're able to keep a hedgehog. It would be nice to be able to have a pet that we can interact with at least for a little while without getting bitten or scaring the life out of him.
I've decided to take her up on her offer and drive to the Chicago area and exchange him. She said she has a pinto hegehog that is extremely friendly and social that would fit into our family better.
I thought I would let everyone know what's going on. I appreciate my breeder, Hedgehogs by Vickie, for talking to me and offering to exchange him. I didn't ask to exchange him, I called hoping for some more ideas as to what to do with him. But it has gotten to the point where everyday I walk to his cage, take a deep breath and think "I wonder how many times he'll bite me today."
Anyway, it's a sad day here. He's as cute as a button. My youngest daughter has been drawing pictures of him. So far, she's drawn pictures of Mikey popping on my lap, a picture of him popping in his litter box, a picture of him popping in his wheel, a picture of him popping in my hands. I guess that kind of gives you an indication of how little she's seen his face.
Lori
It worked for one night! One night he ate from the food bowl I held. The following two nights he ignored the food bowl and went after my hand that held him in his blanket (he dug under the blanket and bit the fleshy part of my hand), my arms, etc. He bit until he drew blood. I said "No!" I pushed back on him since he no longer responds to me blowing on his face. He didn't care. He ignored the food. I held him for half an hour silence one night, the next night trying to talk quietly to him and neither technique worked.
He ate as soon as I put him back in the cage with the bowl.
Meanwhile, my hands and arms look horrendous.
As far as socializing with us. He won't stop popping and huffing. He pops so hard he rises off my legs or floor or couch or wherever we have him. It will take a good 5 minutes for him to unroll and that is only if I/we sit completely still, don't utter a sound, barely breathe, etc. And it's getting worse. If he unrolls and someone whispers something like "I see his nose", there he goes again popping off the floor/lap whatever.
I've tried wearing him in the snuggle sack. I've tried keeping him in his hedgiebag on my lap. I've covered him with a blanket, keeping the room very dark. He pops constantly, and when he's not popping and huffing, he's biting me. And I limit the time out to 30-45 minutes.
I've washed my hands with Dove unscented soap, I've tried Purell. I make sure I wash each time I hold him.
I called his breeder and explained what is happening. I know we've only had him for 3 weeks but I'm at a loss.
Now, when we picked him up, she did give us a choice of two snowflakes. And she did try to sell us a different one first saying that the other one had what she thought was a better personality. That one wouldn't unroll though and we were in a very noisy location since she only sells them at a swap twice a month. The one we chose (Mikey) was very friendly, unrolled and seemed completely at ease with the noise. She did say though that his personality was a bit "different". I guess I should've listened and shouldn't have gone with what I was seeing at the time.
Anyway, I explained what is happening, what I've been doing, everything I've tried. She said he shouldn't be acting like this and offered to exchange him.
I have conflicting emotions. A part of me doesn't want to give up, but another part of me is wondering if he just is the type of hedgehog that will never want to interact with people. I understand that certain hedgies don't and that it's not his fault. We've never had a pet because of allergies, and we're able to keep a hedgehog. It would be nice to be able to have a pet that we can interact with at least for a little while without getting bitten or scaring the life out of him.
I've decided to take her up on her offer and drive to the Chicago area and exchange him. She said she has a pinto hegehog that is extremely friendly and social that would fit into our family better.
I thought I would let everyone know what's going on. I appreciate my breeder, Hedgehogs by Vickie, for talking to me and offering to exchange him. I didn't ask to exchange him, I called hoping for some more ideas as to what to do with him. But it has gotten to the point where everyday I walk to his cage, take a deep breath and think "I wonder how many times he'll bite me today."
Anyway, it's a sad day here. He's as cute as a button. My youngest daughter has been drawing pictures of him. So far, she's drawn pictures of Mikey popping on my lap, a picture of him popping in his litter box, a picture of him popping in his wheel, a picture of him popping in my hands. I guess that kind of gives you an indication of how little she's seen his face.
Lori