Don't drink the water!

[LexieHeg]

Any advice on how to keep a hedgie from drinking bath water? I change the water when she goes in it, but I never seem to be fast enough.....

 

[SpineyPigFaceLover]

I've never experienced my hedgehogs doing that. I don't think there's any harm in it as long as there's no soap in the water. If you are giving her a full soapy bath I would just have running water going instead of stagnant water. Take a cup and pour water on her back and splash water on her tummy, then rub a tiny bit of soap using your hands or a toothbrush on her fur and quills, then take a cup of clean water and rinse her off. That way she doesn't have a chance to sit there and drink soapy stagnant water.

 

[LexieHeg]

No soap, her skin is too sensitive for soap its just foot baths I give her and occasionally I run water over her quills but luckily she doesn't self anoint or get dirty any other way.

She just likes to drink the bath water which I find sooo gross and am worried about the bacteria in the water making her sick...after all the water is cleaning her poop covered toes!

 

[Hammie]

If you have her standing on a washcloth in your and you can prevent her from getting her mouth to the water. It will also help to clean her paws. Unless she likes to swim and that's how she gets her feet clean.

 

[Kalandra]

Does she stand still in a bath? If so you could try keeping your hand under her head. I do this with hedgehogs who have trouble standing or those that startle easy. Prevents water from going up the nose and/or getting it in the ears too.

 

[LexieHeg]

I will try that, thanks everyone. Hopefully I can discourage this!

 

[smhufflepuff]

How'd it go?

Tex enjoys drinking his bathwater too. He makes a poopy mess of his regular drinking water. So, as I lift his little chin out of the water, I tell myself that the poopy bathwater is less poopy than his regular drinking water by morning. It's an improvement of sorts

Is Lexie a poopy-water girl by morning too?