I read a lot of comments about other owners having a hard time bonding with their pet hedgehog. I uploaded this unedited video to show you how I worked with mine. It's long, but it's an accurate depiction of how you have to go slow and be patient.
My goal was to pet his belly. I started by letting him smell me and calm down a little bit. When I felt he was calm enough (quills flat on his back), I took him and turn him over. Hedgehogs don't have good eyesight, so having a big finger near their face can be scary. That's why I often let him smell my finger, so he would know what was stroking his face.
I slowly went to pet his little front paw. This movement spooked him, and he curled in a ball. I let him smell my finger and tried again. When I was able to pet his paw, I switched for his belly.
You'll see that he is often scared and goes back into a ball. It could have been caused by a lot of things such as me stroking him differently, the sound of my arm moving on the armrest, something outside... Again, patience is required.
Still, as the video goes on, my hedgehog gets more and more relaxed, and you can see him uncurling more and more, to the point where we can see his backlegs (near 16:00). It's also easier for me to calm him and uncurl him when he gets spooked.
You can also see in his eyes when he is relaxed (small eyes, half closed) and when he is more alert and might curl up (eyes wide open).
That's about it, the rest is in the video. Thanks for watching, hope this helps hedgehog owners!
(Sorry for my broken english)
25 сен 2021
