# Pygmy hedgehog smell? / Lazy hedgehog?



## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi i have a gorgeous little pygmy hedgehog called rufus which i have had for almost a year. recently he has started to smell. Not his cage but him? i tried giving him baths more often but then read that hedgehogs suffer from dry skin if you wash them too much, so i stopped doing that and it hadnt made a difference anyway. would bathing him with pet/ baby shampoo work do you think? i always have johnsons baby shampoo (no more tears) around the house because i have sensitive skin so i use that... do you think it would make any difference? do you think its a different problem? i clean rufus's cage once a week and his wheel twice a week... i dont understand whats making him smell. 

*side question* for the first 2 or 3 weeks i had him he was very active but since then he has got incredibly lazy. if i put him in his pen he'll most likely fall asleep and if i put his tube etc in there he'll just fall asleep in that. I mean i've taken him to the vets between now and then (not for his laziness specifically, it was just a check up, but im sure teh vet would have noticed something) Is it possible to just have a very lazy hedgehog and how can i stimulate him? I mean i love him and all but its hardly like i can play with him or anything sometimes coz he falls asleep.

I'm really grateful for all your answers  thankyou
-hedgehogzilla and Rufus


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## hogmum (Oct 2, 2011)

Is he toileting in his bedding? (Pouch ect).
That could be what's making him smell...or even though I clean my wheels every day mine get super stinky from running and pooping on them.

Try two drops of Aveeno oil in his bath. 

As far as becoming lazy does he have a heat source? It could be a little cold for him. Other than being lazy is he okay? (eating normally, pooping normally, unballing ect).

Hopefully someone else will be coming along with some idea's.


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks hogmum  i'm pretty sure he's warm enough my house is genrally warm even in winter (about 21 degrees C?) and along with that he has a heat disc which brings his cage temp up to 23-24 degrees C, he also has a blanket over the top of his cage to keep warmth in (although the back is uncovered so he has good ventilation) i am thinking about getting a heatlamp though cos its heading for winter and yesterday the heating stopped in the middle of the night... i was scared half to death when i found out in the morning! but he's fine  anyway back on the subject, thanks for your advice again, i did use to clean out his wheel every day but i'm so busy i barely have time anymore, i take him out in the evenings. now i think about it he does poop in his bedding... but i just quickly wipe down the inside of his bed/hide/whatever you wnat to call it. Im gonna wash him with the baby shampoo tonight because someone suggested it on a different site and if it doesnt work I'll try the aveeno oil stuff  This forum is very friendly  other forums are pretty judgemental on how well you look after your pets.
Thanks again
- hedgehogzilla


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

and yes other than that he's pooping/eating etc fine


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## hogmum (Oct 2, 2011)

You can get a petnap heat pad that's really cheap to run and is constant (instead of having to reheat every so often). £33 I think you can get them for. May be handy for the winter months.

It is time consuming cleaning the wheels every day (I get obsessive about it) but if you maybe try to clean it out every other day for a week and see if the smell is any better? That way you will know if its stinky hog or stinky wheel hog.

Good luck!


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## mimozine (Feb 4, 2011)

Are you sure hes lazy? Maybe you just have different body clocks? I used to think my hoglet did nothing but sleep then my son pointed out that all his toys were moved and his hides rearranged,i started trying to interact with him at different times and was pleasantly surprised,and if hes pooping on his wheel maybe hes using it? Really hope you find answers cos they really are the cutest little friends! x:flrt:


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

hedgehogzilla said:


> This forum is very friendly  other forums are pretty judgemental on how well you look after your pets.


hahahahaha...brilliant! so you've not checked out the snakes or inverts section yet? :lol2:


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## hogmum (Oct 2, 2011)

Hows he doing has the smell improved?


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

My hog Luna gets a bit smelly, not as bad as her wheel though. I think it's because she tracks the poo over the wheel (as in she poos while wheeling, then runs in the poo and spreads it around the heel) and so gets poo covered feet. Then she goes into her soft fleece house and since it's quite enclosed, the stinky feet smell just makes her smell in general.

Try cleaning the wheel every day or every other day, see if it helps? In summer my room got hot so the smell was worse so I had to clean it every 2 days or it would stink out my room. In winter I let that slide a bit..bit lazy.:lol2:

Or just give the hog a foot bath? That's what I do with mine though she's very huffy so it's awkward, but like you I read fully bathing them can make their skin dry so I just put an inch in of luke warm water and let her walk about, try and grab a foot and scrub it when I can.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

Agree with most of the advice given already :2thumb:

However i have to ask, why the hell does Johnstones baby shampoo say "no more tears" What a load of crap! This is the only (really, the ONLY) Shampoo that when i have used previously has almost singed my eyes. I no joke. Actually thought i would go blind!

So i don't understand why people use it for babies and i certainly wouldn't use it on animals! Owchy! Stick to Aveeno oil! :lol2:


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks for the replies! yes he has got better hogmum and no more tears johnsons is working for me  he doesnt really get it in his eyes anyway, but still better safe  can you tell me more about a petnap heatpad? What do you mean constant, as in plugged in or batteries, i know this is a uk forum, but there are a few americans about, is petnap available in the uk? would be helpful  thanks! and no i only have a hog Mrcriss so i dont know what its like in the snake forums are they pretty serious about it there? lol in a recent forum about hogs i went to, if you accidentaly mentioned incorrect hedghog info, they didnt calmly correct you with a "lol" and a smiley face emoticon, they went beserk and told you, your hedgie was probably gonna die or something  lol


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## Rach1 (May 18, 2010)

hmm... i wonder which forum that was.,...

no were all ok here...glad to hear your hog is feeling better and smelling better! LOL

my male would appear to be a lazy devil and only seems to come out mid early morning abouit 3am ish.... he then goes mad for 5 hours on his wheel etc before going back to bed! LOL

what i have issues with is their lack of interest in any toys etc...
all mine are interested in is eating and whizzing round on their wheels...LOL put a lil cat toy in...ignored
tunnels...a mere obstacle in the way of the wheel.


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

Rach1, lol ^^ Rufus is very similar when he was younger and more exciteable, he use to love his tunnel, he use to flip it about and push it with his nose, same wit hthe cat toys in his cage, but now they are ignored, and the tunnel just another place to sleep! he has a bad habit now of spinning for a few hours and then taking a load of food into his bed and just eating there for the rest of the night! Fat, lazy hog XD


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## hogmum (Oct 2, 2011)

hedgehogzilla said:


> Thanks for the replies! yes he has got better hogmum and no more tears johnsons is working for me  he doesnt really get it in his eyes anyway, but still better safe  can you tell me more about a petnap heatpad? What do you mean constant, as in plugged in or batteries, i know this is a uk forum, but there are a few americans about, is petnap available in the uk? would be helpful  thanks! and no i only have a hog Mrcriss so i dont know what its like in the snake forums are they pretty serious about it there? lol in a recent forum about hogs i went to, if you accidentaly mentioned incorrect hedghog info, they didnt calmly correct you with a "lol" and a smiley face emoticon, they went beserk and told you, your hedgie was probably gonna die or something  lol


Petnap is a UK company.
Cat heat pads | Whelping boxes | Heat pads from Petnap Ltd

You would want the 33'' with the anti-chew cable, Its plugged in and you can use it with a thermostat. 
They are great.: victory:


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

thanks hogmum I'll look them up! they seem pretty expensive.. i dont mean just the price i just have never been keen on plug ins because you have to leave them on, and electricity bills rack up you know? I do not own the house, I'm a teen and i look after the hedgehog by myself I'm old enough to pay for everything i'm just unsure wether my mum would like it because she pays the bills lol XD i looked them up and i like the look of them alot. maybe i could try and see what they're like i mean i saw one for 0.99p on ebay! i mean its got a few days to go but will probably not get two high in price!


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Petnap heat pads only cost 35 pence per month to run so I doubt your mum will even notice it on the bill


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## hedgehogzilla (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks Shell195 ^^ I'll see what i can do with the 17 pounds i currently have in my bank account  bah i just couldnt avoid buying those anime DVD's XD i would have had enough :L oh well Thanks for all your advice people


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