Hedgehog Bonding: Helpful Tips & Tricks

Sometimes hedgehog bonding is a frustrating and unrewarding experience. Trust us when we say that your hedgie doesn't hate you! You may think that your hedgehog is never going to bond with you. After all, you've got this amazingly cute hedgie that you just want to love and care for. And what do you get in return? You're rewarded with a balled up, hissing, huffing, and spiky quilled creature that doesn't want to be touched!

Almost every new hedgehog owner feels insecure about handling their new quill ball. You're not alone. It isn't that your hedgehog hates you. Instead, it's that they don't trust you…yet. In order to begin hedgehog bonding, you need to try to understand their defensive nature. As we explore the reasons for the defensiveness, we'll give you some tips and tricks to help overcome the obstacles.

When they [hedgehogs] feel that they are at risk they will simply curl up in a ball. The predator can’t figure out what the image is that they see. They also can’t find a place that isn’t full of those sharp quills so they are going to leave it alone.

BioExpedition

Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight once their eyes open a couple of weeks after they are born. Because of this, sudden movements will almost always trigger their defenses. To a hedgehog, practically everything that is bigger than they are is considered a predator. They become frightened with sudden changes or chaos.

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In order to bond with your hedgehog, you're going to have to earn their trust. As we've stated before, be patient. Since their eyesight is weak, their senses of hearing, smell and taste are heightened. We can use these heightened senses as a tactical advantage to encourage hedgehog bonding.

According to a hearing study by Louisiana State University, on a variety of animals, a hedgehog has an approximate hearing range between 250-45,000 Hz. In comparison, humans typically have a hearing range between 64-23,000 Hz. The study of sound is outside the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that hedgehogs can hear much higher frequencies than human hearing can pick up. At the same time, hedgies don't have the ability to hear frequencies quite as low as we can.

In case you're wondering if the frequency of human speech is within a hedgehog's hearing range…the answer is yes…most of the time. The female frequency range is 350 Hz to 17,000 Hz. Conversely, the male frequency range is typically 100Hz to 8,000 Hz. If a man has a particularly deep voice, it may be outside the range of a hedgehog's ability to hear it.

Thanks go to Luella Robertson who provided this video of a hedgehog sniffing furiously

One of the cutest things to watch a hedgehog do is when they wriggle their nose furiously while hot on the trail of something they smell. Even when they are curled up in a spiky ball, they're sniffing. It's the most common way they confirm whether someone (or something) is friend or foe. Their keen sense of smell can be used to your advantage by trying the following tips and tricks.

When all else fails, it's time to pull out the heavy artillery. That's right…we're talking bribing your hog with wormie treats. Trick them with their weakness! After all, what else could entice an insectivore better than bug treats? Here's how you make this work to your advantage:

The Immersion Trick

We call this the immersion trick. A hoodie with an ample front pocket or a hedgehog bonding scarf makes a nice, safe, snuggle sack for your hedgie to sleep in during the day, if you have the ability to do that. And for the male hedgie lover, they make hedgehog bonding fanny packs too! By doing this, they are immersed in your “signature scent”, hearing your voice throughout the day, and, if you can bear to do it, you can feed them a treat while in your pocket to seal the deal!

It isn't going to happen overnight, so don't be discouraged. Having a hedgehog as a pet has its pros and cons, but we think they're definitely worth the effort. In order to effectively bond, hedgehogs need to be held by you at least 30 minutes each day. Many hedgies have been successfully won over by using one or more of these time-tested tips and tricks, and we believe they will work for you too. With consistency, love, and patience, we're confident you'll be able to win them over and have a hedgehog that is well bonded to you.