Laundry Rant!

[AlbertaGirl]

Alexander is like no hog I've ever seen before. That boy makes so much laundry! I have to change his liners at least every other day, and often daily. I just spent over two hours trudging up and down three flights of stairs between my apartment and the laundry room doing load after load of laundry. Well, at least I'm getting my exercise I guess! I've been doing my best to get him litter trained, but he just doesn't seem to be interested. I've tried putting down paper towel where he likes to 'go', but he just takes the paper towel into his igloo and then keeps on going wherever he darn well feels like it. I tried moving the litter box to the corner he was pooping in, and he just switched to pooping behind his wheel. I know they're little poop machines, and I don't mind cleaning up after him, but wow - he makes 5-7 times the laundry that Phoebe does.

Is there any hope that he'll ever become a bit neater in his bathroom habits? Or should I just go out and get an industrial size container of laundry detergent?

 

[Adhafera]

Oh man...I've given up the potty training with Luna. She poops like 90% of the time under/behind her wheel...but the other 10% is where ever she darn well pleases, no matter what I do. So there is always poop scattered around her cage. I try to pick out the scattered ones every day or so though, but she just doesnt get it. Ugh.

 

[Nancy]

You have to remember that despite what some people promoting hedgehogs would like you to believe, in actual fact the majority of hedgehogs will never become litter trained.

When we are lucky, we get one who is naturally neat and will use the litter box especially if his/her preference of litter and location is used. Some will use it to pee in and poop everywhere else. Then we have the slobs who will go anywhere and everywhere. Trying to figure out a preferred spot is impossible as the preferred spot is all over.

For the slobs that need liners changed daily, a piece of fleece works well. Wash out in the sink and hang over the shower curtain rod. Fleece air dries really fast. It will save some trips to the laundry.

My Lexie is a slob and not only poops everywhere but also takes pride in scattering her food all over each night as well. She is almost 4 so I don't hold out much hope on her changing. :hilarious:

 

[Melissa]

Cavalier and Rosa are slobs too. Rosa used to be litter trained. But I moved his cage around one time and it was all down hill from there! I just dont understand! LOL Needler is my cleanest hog Ive ever had. He only poops and pees in the wheel. Ive actually watched him wake up in the day run on his wheel until he pottied and went back to bed. It makes doing laundry with him nice. I have two "half sized liners" and I put one under the side of the cage with the wheel and the other under his side with his house and play things. I only have to grab the one side and shake it out and throw it in the laundry with out disturbing him to get the while cage cleaned.

 

[AlbertaGirl]

I'll try those suggestions. Maybe it will be a bit easier! I guess I was just so used to Ronnie, who was so neat and tidy all the time. It was quite a shock to go from her to Xander.

 

[Kalandra]

Welcome to the world of messier hedgehogs. Actually he may get better as he finally settles into your home. I had it happen with Poptart. She started out messy and has gotten neater. She's been with me for almost 9 months now. However she still has her messier nights.

For the most part, I change cage liners daily. Even the ones that are not as messy, just because I don't like to leave urine in the cages for them to breath. This usually just means that 1 of 2 liners gets taken out though. Kinda like Mel I have a liner under their wheel and a liner under their sleeping area. Usually only the liner under their wheel needs replaced.

 

[charlie]

I've been lucky with Kipper. He goes only on his wheel and his litter tray which resides under his wheel. His liners are spotless. I swear it seems as though he even wipes his feet on his litter mat (paper towel) before steping onto his liner. I change the liner weekly just because perhaps it gets dusty like other things do. Hufflelump refuses to go to the bathroom in his cage. This of course means that he uses my livingroom as his litter box so I am now a professional floor washer. But there's always a messy one it seems. Good ol' Cedrick makes up for the others ten fold. He goes everywhere there is a clean spot (no sense in going in the same place twice of course). I have to change his liners frequently.

 

[AlbertaGirl]

Phoebe is a lot like Kipper. She goes almost exclusively on her wheel or on the paper towel that I put under her wheel. The paper towel gets changed daily. I've actually seen her playing with a toy on one side of the cage, then get up and walk over to the paper towel to pee or poop, then go back to her toy on the other side of the cage. She doesn't leave so much as a footprint! She did manage to get poop on her head recently, but I believe that was wheel-and-gravity related. I wish Xander could learn something from her, or that Ronnie might whisper some litter box instructions in his ear, but I guess I just got a messy one. After hearing stories of other people's messy hogs, I have to wonder - is it wrong that I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who has to deal with this? :rofl:

 

[Courtney]

He might change though! Maybe...

When Cuda first came here, he was a messy little monster. He pooped in places that I didn't even think was physically possible, given gravity and all... he'd poop in his dishes, on top of igloo, everywhere! Now, he'll only go in his litter box. A few times, I've seen him come out of his igloo, go to the litter box, do his business and then go back to bed. It took two years for that to click in for him.

There's hope!

 

[Adhafera]

\After hearing stories of other people's messy hogs, I have to wonder - is it wrong that I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who has to deal with this? :rofl:

lol! I know it makes me feel better!

 

[kitty-kat-kazoo]

Squee pops everywhere!! Which is fine, he's an animal I don't expect him to be perfect, but however he does have one really nasty habit... when he poops he'll just sit in it for a bit.. or it's like he doesn't even notice he went. A couple times he's gone and i've walked into the room or something to make him nervous, so he'll suck into a ball taking his poop with him... You'd think as soon as he faceplants into his own poop he'd come out and atleast away from it... nope he'll just suck in harder! ... I have to clean him alot.. I try not to give him too many baths he doesn't like them. But i don't want him living with poopy feet.

 

[FiaSpice]

I'm quite lucky Tangelo is somewat neet. He does go in the litter box under his wheel... but he sometimes feel the need to got in the wall of the plastic cage in th back of the litterbox. Don't ask me how he do that!