On the contrary to what you see online, not all hedgehogs are easy to handle. Depending on their temperament, some allows you to hold them, some immediately get scared and curl up.
Then there are also those that require some bonding sessions before they open up to you.
So whether you are a first-time owner or already own one for a while but still do not know how to pick them up, this guide will be for you.
Contents
How to hold a hedgehog step by step?
There are a few ways to hold or pick them up. For first-timers, you can choose to use certain items to protect yourselves:
Thick bite-proof gloves or thick gardening gloves will do just fine.
If you don’t have gloves, you can use a towel too. Most people will usually use a fleece blanket that your hedgehog is familiar with. Preferably one that they sleep in.
However, I will recommend you to try holding them with your bare hands instead as this allows them to get used to your scent.
Scooping pickup method
This is by far the most basic and common way owners used to pick up their hedgehog. It works for both curled and uncurled hedgehogs.
One hand method:
Step 1: Using one hand, with or without gloves, face your fingers under their sides.
Step 2: Wriggle your fingers under them from either side and scoop them up
Step 3: Carry them on their bellies.
Hedgehog’s belly should nicely sit on your palm. You can switch hands by carrying them up and place the hedgehog on your other hand. Take note that hedgehog may move about all the time so be careful not to drop them.
Two hand method:
Step 1: Place both hands beside the hedgehog with fingers facing forward.
Step 2: Slide both your palms together from under each side of your hedgehog just like how you cup your palms together to wash your face.
Step 3: Once the hedgehog is on top of your palms gently lift it up.
Hedgehog’s quills or spikes are on top of their body while underneath them is their soft and furry bellies. So holding them from below is a great way to avoid getting pricked by their spikes.
Flipping pickup method
This method is meant to pick up a hedgehog that is curled up. Usually, they curl up either because they are sleeping or are feeling scared or nervous.
You can do it with or without a towel. But most people do as you will be contacting their spikes. Note that even with a towel, you may still feel pain from their spikes.
Also, use a fleece towel that has their scent on it. Probably one that you always use for his bed or in his cage.
Step 1: Spread the towel over 1 of your palms
Step 2: Flip your hand over the hedgehog. So now your hand is on the curled up hedgehog with the towel in between.
Step 3: Grab it gently by his back and flip him over.
Once flipped over their face will normally be exposed. From this state, you can use different methods to uncurl it. See how to uncurl a hedgehog in the next few sections below.
Learning to hold hedgehog is important. Especially when a hedgehog needs to bond with owners. Not being able to hold them make it difficult to bond.
But before all this, it is important to first…
Pick the right hedgehog
If you are planning to buy a hedgehog here is an advice when selecting one from the breeder.
Always try to hold them in stores first before you buy them.
Here are some reasons why:
- Some hedgehogs are just grumpy. Grumpy hedgehog takes a long time to create a bond with. Sometimes maybe never.
- Grumpy ones usually hiss at you. Sometimes when you go close to them, they will curl up and jump at you when you get close.
- If the hedgehog allows you to pick them up the first time you see them. Chances are they don’t get nervous easily.
- The hedgehog that you can pick up easily is also more friendly.
- You want to get hedgehog with a good temperament and easier to calm.
So to make sure you have an easier time in the future, just don’t pick a grumpy hedgehog right in the beginning.
That said, it doesn’t mean a friendly hedgehog in stores will guarantee no problems when you bring them home.
All hedgehogs take time to adapt to a new environment or their new home. They sometimes get scared easily from noises, disturbances, and changes to the environment. So bringing them home for the first time, might still get their defenses up.
But if get yourself a friendly hedgehog, they are probably easier to calm down.
So if you already got yourself a grumpy hedgehog, the only thing you can do next is to learn to calm, bond and handle them which we will discuss more in the next section.
Read on!
Why do hedgehog hiss, huff or curls like a ball?
Before we even begin on how to calm a hedgehog, we need to understand the reasons for their hissing and curling.
Did you know?
When you find a hedgehog hissing or huffing at you, most people will tell you that it is angry. But in fact, they are actually more afraid or stressed than angry.
So let’s explore this claim and talk about some reasons for their anxiety.
In the wild
When a potential predator approaches, natural wild hedgehog reflex is to first hiss or huff at them. It is their form of deterrence to their adversaries.
Any advancement or bigger threat will trigger their “fight or flight” response which is to tense up their back muscles curling themselves up into a ball of spikes. By doing so they are able to protect their soft vulnerable underside. This is their ultimate defense against predators.
Most predators will naturally get turned off by the sight of a dangerous prickly ball of needles.
But if they continue to attempt the hunt, hedgehogs in their curled state will do small jumps or twitch and pop to intimidate their predators further. Their predators will probably get poked full of holes and give up eventually.
Now, can you imagine how scared or stressed hedgehogs are when they are hiding behind their quills?
In captivity
Domestic hedgehog is not different from the ones in the wild. Their natural innate fight or flight response is still the same.
When they are brought into a new and unfamiliar environment or when they are in anxiety, they will naturally curl up and start hissing. Not because they are angry but is more likely due to being scared or anxious.
So when you experience something like that, be very patient with them. Some hedgehog can take months to get used to you and their new home. You will need some amount of bonding to get them open to you.
Common reasons for the hedgehog to hiss, curls, and jumps
- Bringing them to a brand new foreign environment. For example, taking them home for the first time.
- Disturbance or noises that scares them.
- You bought a hedgehog that gets anxious easily.
- Your hedgehog is handled by someone foreign to them.
- When you wake your hedgehog up from their beauty sleep.
- When a female hedgehog is pregnant, they may get grouchy.
- After birth, when their motherly instincts to protect her children comes into play.
- When they are not feeling well or ill, they get grouchy too.
So let me guess…
Your next question would be: How can I help relax a hedgehog that is hissing or curling up?
Well, in the next section I will take you through step by step on how to uncurl and calm them down.
2 ways to uncurl an angry, hissing, jumping hedgehog within seconds
When hedgehog gets grumpy, stressed, anxious or nervous, they curl up into their tight defense. And there is almost no way to get them out of that state. Not unless you know how to calm them.
There are a few ways to calm and uncurl them, these methods may or may not work for your hedgehogs so you have to try them out yourselves to know. But there are methods that only require 5 to 10 secs to calm your hedgehogs.
Method 1: Triggering their curiosity
When hedgehog are curled up, they can’t see what is in front of them. But they are naturally curious creatures. So if you are able to pique their curiosity they will naturally uncurl themselves
A few ways to create interest:
#1 Using food to entice them
Step 1: Using the Flipping pick up method mentioned above, pick them up using a towel with their scent.
Step 2: When they are flipped over you should see a small opening with their face hiding in it. Using a pair of small angled tweezers like this to grab small amounts of treats to entice them. Alternatively, a small plastic spoon can also work.
Step 3: As curiosity kills the cat, all hedgehog will fall for that. They will start to uncurl to get the food.
This method works very well when they get grumpy because they are disturbed from their sleep either for bonding session or by accident.
To find out more about the types of treats you can use to entice your hedgehog, visit our hedgehog diet guide here.
#2 Changing environment to pique their interests:
Step 1: Using the Scooping pickup method mentioned above, use both hands to pick them up.
- You can also pick them up along with some substrate (if bedding are wood or paper shavings) or
- With a towel with their scent (if you are using fabric bedding).
Step 2: Tilt them slightly head facing down to pique their interest in where they are going. In most cases, this should be enough to get them into “exploration mode”.
- When they are in “exploration mode”, they may uncurl a little with their front legs sticking out to reach out for the surface of their destination.
Step 3: Start bringing them closer to their destination like a chair or tabletop.
- If you see their front legs sticking out, slowly move them towards the table and allow them to put their front feet down
- You should be able to feel their front legs paddling against the surface of the table or chair.
Step 4: Take your hands away and they will put down their hind legs down as well.
This method also works very well when with food. Using food to entice them to get out their “exploration mode“ is pretty effective too.
Just simply place some food at the end of their destination within distance close enough for them to see it.
Lastly, if you find that your hedgehog is hissing or huffing, this method works really great for them too. Sometimes just by picking them up to trigger their curiosity is enough to stop their hissing.
Method 2: Bathing and grooming
Another way to get them to uncurl is to give them a good nice warm bath. It helps them relax and uncurl.
You can fill the sink with some warm water, shallow enough for them to walk on and let them play happily in the warm water.
Then using a cup and gently pour warm water over them. Be careful not to pour over their faces as we don’t want the water to be inhaled by them. Water may get stuck in their lungs.
You can also use a soft scrubbing brush to gently scrub along their quills and feet.
Bath time is also a great opportunity to bond and snuggle after a bath when they are calm and relaxed.
To see a full step by step guide to bathing, check out our bathing and grooming guide here.
With these methods, you should be ready to handle your hedgehog. Understand that it requires practice and time to get them used to you.
I will also encourage you to use your bare hands for handling. Yes, you will get pricked often but it really helps hedgehog to get used to your scent and touch very quickly.
That said, apart from handling your hedgehog, you will need to learn how to bond and tame them so that they are less likely to throw tantrums at you.
How to tame and bond with your hedgehogs?
Bonding with your hedgehogs is a great way to improve the closeness between you and your pet.
As hedgehogs have bad eyesight, their sense of smell and hearing is excellent. They will be able to recognize you if you spend enough time bonding with them.
Hedgehogs are able to recognize you in 2 ways:
By scent or smell
There are many ways to get them used to your scent. Hence, handling them barehanded is one great way to get them used to your scent.
Activities you can do that can help hedgehog identify your scent:
- Feeding with bare hands
- Bathing with bare hands
- Snuggle them with your bare hands or in a fleece bag
- Allow them to climb on your body, lap, and hands
By hearing
Always speak to them. Allow them to always hear your voice. Especially during feeding baths, snuggle, bonding time.
Condition them to hear your voice every time they are feeling good. This way they will associate your voice with pleasure.
Now that you know how they are able to recognize you, there are a few methods to bond with them. I will start off with the simplest and most effective method.
Method 1: Spare T-shirt method
Using a t-shirt you wore for a day or 2, place it in the cage or hang it over the cage. This should get them used to your scent in no time.
You can also sleep on fresh clean fleece for 1 night before changing them into the cage using it as their bedding. Just make sure they are still clean though.
Method 2: Snuggling method
Just like how you snuggle a baby, you can snuggle with your hedgehog too! Despite their spiky spines.
Here’s how you do it:
You simply lay them on your lap while watching tv or when you are using your computer. For even better bonding effect, hold them in your hands and against your chest.
This allows them to feel your body heat and hear your heartbeat. Let them fall asleep on your lap or chest.
They may fidget and move around while on your lap. Some may even spike up during this bonding session. These problems can occur when during your first few bonding.
So to help with that, you can put them in a nice fleece pouch or a warm fleece bag then place them on your lap or chest.
Method 3: Sound therapy
Hedgehogs can get scared easily when they hear something unfamiliar or new. Just like any animal, we all fear uncertainty.
So it is definitely NOT recommended to keep your room in total silence.
Because once they get used to total silence, any sudden noises like talking, starting your car engine or even flushing of the toilet can scare them.
There are a few ways to condition them to sounds:
- Always talk to them. Especially during bonding, feeding sessions. Allow them to hear your voice and find peace within it.
- Get them used to the sounds in your house.
- Bring them outdoors often too can help them get accustomed to the sounds outside.
- Sound therapy by playing nice soothing music from your Spotify to calm them. This will also help to block out outside noises that may scare them.
Conclusion
These 3 methods are the most common and effective methods to bond with your hedgehogs. If it is your first time, be patient with your hedgehogs.
Try out all the different methods to see which fits your hedgehog best. You will probably get pricked often during this period of bond-building so be mentally prepared.
So try out all the different methods and let us know if they worked for you. In the midst of trying, do you have any other methods that you find effective? Do share it with us in the comments below.
