Taming the Poop Machine

It's not as easy as you think to try and litter train a baby hedgehog. He really just wants to poop wherever he likes.

I had grand plans to have him poop exclusively in his corner toilet. I even thought I could override his desire to poop on his wheel.

Sadly, he does none of these things. He doesn't even have a set routine. It's a surprise every time I look into his cage.

Here are some of his recent surprises:

1. Poop in the litter box - this is a rare occurrence, but it sometimes happens! He'll walk up to his litter box, clamber in, and TA DA! Success!
2. Poop almost in the litter box - he's in the litter box, the fans are cheering and... FAIL! His butt is still OUTSIDE of the litter box. *grumble-grumble* Okay, he tried though. He really did.
3. Poop in front of his litter box - Maybe he was too lazy to climb up? Curiously, when this happens, it's almost like he tried to appease me. He actually pulls the paper towel out of his litter box and puts it down in front of his litter box to do his business. Hm, not bad!
4. Poop in the corner opposite to the litter box - maybe he just hates me? Or does he hate the litter box?
5. Poop just outside his dome - this is the epitome of laziness. Back your butt out, do your business, go back to bed. Arrgghhhhh!
6. Poop inside his dome - when you're too scared to leave your dome, just poop inside of it! Not in your bed though! Get out of bed, put your butt against the dome, and leave a nice surprise all along the edges. Best part of all? Your owner comes home to a spotless cage! She'll be sooooo happy... until she lifts the dome. Then she's horrified. *evil laugh*

So, in order to prepare for most instances, I've paper toweled an entire half of his cage right up to his dome doorway. It's grubby baby hedgehog meets clean freak.

The grubby baby hedgehog is winning.