Learning how to litter train a hedgehog can help avoid many of the common illnesses associated with hygiene. As you know, parasites and bacteria live inside their digestive systems and come out in their poop. So with the recent salmonella news reports, we want to help you promote a happy healthy hedgie with good hygiene! The following are methods that have worked for members of the hedgehog community. Hopefully, they can work for you too.
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How well can a hedgehog smell?
A hedgehog knows where their litter box is based on their sense of smell and memories associated with scents. The ability to smell comes from the hedgehog's Olfactory Regions inside the brain. This region controls the hedgehog's sniffer senses. Air flow inside their environment and inside their nasal cavity impacts their sense of smell. As a result, if the hedgie has a runny nose, it diminishes their sense of smell.
A hedgehog's sense of smell was actually visualized in this study here. The study showed that hedgehogs pick up scent best when the object is within range or carried by airflow. That range is one olf (odor unit) per cubic meter of air, to be exact ( 1 o.u./m3“ ). What actually happens is, their sensory cells translate the smell (a chemical stimuli) into action potentials. From this, their nervous systems can make sense of the odor. This is called transduction!
The diagram from the study shows a decrease in the regular waves of air when worms are placed in front of their noses, translating into a chemical stimuli reaction. This means that their chemo receptors are working and are detecting particles in the air. So, if you and your hedgie smell poop, you both are inhaling poop particles. That statement is very relevant for learning how to litter train a hedgehog. This proves they know where the poop is and how important it is to remove daily.
Hedgehog Fun Fact: Scent becomes an embedded memory that evokes recall and association with positive and negative emotions.
Using the Hedgehog's Sense of Smell to Litter Train
Air flow, proximity of the object, and positive or negative reinforcements all affect how your hedgie reacts to smells. With this knowledge, let's discuss cage set-up and its influence on your hedgehog's ability to litter train. If the whole cage smells like poop, a hedgehog will most likely believe the designated poop area is everywhere!
During a recent survey poll we conducted, there were more successfully litter-trained hedgehogs using open wired cages rather than closed ones (such as the plastic totes or aquariums). While it suggests litter training with a closed cage is possible, the success rate is higher in wire cages. The survey also revealed important factors of success such as: the type of litter you use, the location of the litter pan, and the proximity of the litter to the hedgehog's food.
What Type of Litter Should I Use For My Hedgehogs Cage?
Heavenly Hedgies has only used and recommends Unscented Purina Yesterday's News as a cage liner or litter option. Why? Because it is made from soft recycled newspaper, it's environmentally friendly, and absorbs moisture and odor. But most importantly – it's 99.7% dust free.
Once you choose a litter option, always keep it the same. Consistency is a key component in litter-training a hedgehog. The only reason to change is if you believe it is causing an adverse effect on their health. After many years of use, we have never encountered health issues while using Yesterday's News.
Where Should I Put My Hedgehog's Litter Tray?
About 50% of the users in our survey revealed they immediately placed their litter tray underneath their hedgehog's wheel! They reported in comments that by doing so, they encouraged their hedgehog to only use this area as a bathroom. Surprisingly, most hedgies associated this area with the bathroom automatically within a few days.
While some hedgehogs still run and relieve themselves at the same time, a few of them reportedly stop running and use the litter tray below. They then continue to run afterwords. For those hedgehogs who did not stop running, their wheel is usually a Carolina Storm Wheel. This wheel provides the option to tilt it in such a way that the feces fly off the wheel and land inside the below tray.
The other 50% of those surveyed said they placed the wheel in a corner far away from their food and water. For those hedgehogs, there were minimal reports of using the wheel still to defecate aside from the occasional poop. The latter may be the best suggestion for the sake of possible association between the smell of the litter box and their wheel directly above it.
How Far Away Should Their Food Be From Their Litter Tray?
At the risk of confusing the hedgehog, it is important to choose a strategic cage set up. Additionally, it is important to keep the same layout when discovering how to litter train a hedgehog.
Keeping their food and water separate from the litter area is not just for litter training purposes. There are hygienic reasons as well. The poop will fly off the wheel if they relieve themselves while running. Our main concern is keeping the hedgehog safe from any parasites that may occur from eating fecal matter. Therefore, try to place the two areas as far away as possible from one another.
You want to encourage the hedgie to utilize one spot to relieve themselves. This is accomplished using the simple and third most popular method: Defecation Relocation.
Method #3: Defecation Relocation
Their litter pan should be lined with Yesterday's News or something different than the rest of the cage's lining. Position the tray underneath the hedgehog's wheel. Start by relocating a few pieces of poop and urine found around the cage to the litter tray.
Within two weeks of continuously doing this and cleaning it out daily, the hedgies catch on exactly where to go.
The only downside to this is that the hedgehogs usually continue to use the wheel as their bathroom as well as the litter tray below it. We believe this is because of their sense of smell and learned behavior of eliminating where it smells.
Method #2: The Routine Scene
Routine is extremely important when learning how to litter train a hedgehog, so creating one with your hedgie promotes reliability of behavior. Before handling your hedgehog daily, place them inside their litter tray to possibly go first before coming to see you.
The use of a warm foot bath before handling them also promotes the quill-butt to poop there instead of on you. If you are holding them and realize they may be starting to release a second tail, place them as soon as you can gently inside their litter tray. Upon placing your hedgehog back into their habitat, put them into their litter tray.
So in short, always put them in their designated lavatory area before, during, and after handling them. We recommend placing stray pieces of stool, found around the cage, inside their litter tray during the training process.
Method #1: How to Litter Train a Hedgehog by Process of Elimination
This is possibly the best method for how to litter train a hedgehog. Choose a corner for their designated bathroom area and place the litter pan there. Line the entire cage with yesterday's news or some other safe litter option. The hedgehog will most likely relieve themselves everywhere and anywhere, so give this process about a week, spot cleaning as needed. This is important to associate the activity of relieving themselves on your chosen litter bedding. Again using the most agreed upon factor, place old waste inside their litter tray.
On about day 3, clean the entire cage out but save some moistened and soiled areas to again be placed inside their litter tray. Only a few pieces of waste and urine will be necessary. Using a paper towel to soak up some urine is best practice, and please never handle the waste with your bare hands. Clean the cage as normal and replace a small section of the cage with a different lining. The most popular lining option among hedgie parents is multiple layers of fleece.
Final stages of Litter training a Hedgehog
On day 5 replace more of the litter lining with fleece after you've cleaned the cage and changed the litter. Always remember to keep up with placing a few pieces of old waste inside of their tray. On day 6 continue doing the same thing so that by day 7 the entire cage, except for the litter area, should be covered in a different bedding material.
By day 7, your hedgehog should habitually use the Yesterday's News inside of their litter box as a lavatory. Clean and discard the litter box bedding at the end of each day. You'll know it is time to stop re-locating waste into their litter tray if there is no longer any waste to relocate.
Bonus Tips: Encourage Enrichment and Self Hygiene with Sand and Foot Baths!
Sand Bath Houses
Add a sand bath inside the cage by giving them a little bath house! This promotes enrichment for their little souls and gives them a chance to clean out their poop boots! We are not talking about dust, we are strictly recommending non-toxic children's play sand. This can be an area placed right in their cage or an activity you have for them outside of it, but inside the cage works best. The sand is dust free, made from all natural volcanic mountain pumice, and promotes healthier skin and spines/quills.
Warm Foot Baths
A foot bath is just a little bit of water placed in a tub or sink with some mild soap allowing your hedgie to walk around in it letting the water soak off the poop boots! This process is even easier if you place a sponge or washcloth in the bath for them to walk across. Many find this to be a great tip for encouraging your hedgie to relieve themselves before handling them. Just remember to never run or drain the water as they are in it, and keep the water temperature at about 98.6°F or 37°C. Offer some worms and or dubia roaches after as a reward, which positively reinforces their good behavior.
Now You Know How to Litter Train a Hedgehog
Hedgehogs can learn behaviors and utilize their hedgie senses to help them remember things. Every smell has a distinct emotion and memory for them, so use this to your advantage. Use one spot for them to go in and always use the same litter you started with during the training phase. Never place the litter and food close to each other because fecal matter may get mixed in and consumed. The hedgie may associate their wheel with going to the bathroom if their litter is placed below it or they might not. The consistent tactic common among all three methods mentioned above is to always place stray excrement inside their litter tray. Avoid letting the litter box get too soiled helps as well. And, being diligent with doing so will promote your efforts further. We mentioned that you could try:
- Positioning the litter box under their wheel
- Placing them inside their litter tray when they give signs of having to go
- Routinely putting them in their litter box before and after handling them
- Lining the entire cage with one type of litter then slowly replacing the litter with fleece until you only have one corner for their litter
- Providing sand baths and foot baths to clean their poop boots
No matter which method you try or if you choose to combine all of these great strategies, with patience, persistence, and consistency, these methods should start to work for you. We hope you have learned enough about how to litter train a hedgehog so your little buddy can help you keep their environment cleaner and safer for everyone in your household. Don't be discouraged if your hedgehog does not warm up to the idea of being house broken. Each hedgehog is an individual and each day with them is a gift.
Continue Learning Hedgehog Fun Facts:
Hedgie not warming up to you yet? We have a few handy tricks for you to try for bonding with your lap cactus.
Can hedgehogs be trained to help with anxiety? Read about hedgehogs as emotional support animals now.
What type of cage is best? Find out why Heavenly Hedgies discourages the use of plastic totes here.
