Hedgehog Socializing Pouch

Frustrated with how skittish Pogglebee still is, I devised to make a "socializing pouch" to help him adjust to his new home and family.

Ta da! In one busy evening, I came up with what looks like a cute, fleece purse!

The strap is long enough and wide enough to sit comfortably as a cross-body purse as I sit at my desk or walk around the house.

The base is three layers of fleece, and the sides are two layers of fleece. The strap and side decorations are made with a cute cotton fabric.

The pouch is actually quite large. You can see how small Pogglebee looks comparative to the purse size. I designed it to allow for him to grow bigger later on, and so that he would have space to walk around a little and move if he wanted to.

It's washable, but I always put one layer of paper towel in with him. He seems to like the paper towel and it's useful in case there's moisture.

I had him on my lap while I was reading today and he lay spread-eagled in the pouch. I think it was hot for him since I let half of the pouch lay closed so that he could have some privacy. He was fairly quiet in the pouch, but every time I moved, turned a page, sighed, spoke, or coughed, he would huff at me. He also huffed when I lifted my hand to brush my hair out of my face and a shadow fell over him. He is such a scaredy cat!

After he hung out with me, he did some socializing with my sister. When I went to check on him tonight in his cage, he didn't freak out like usual. Instead, he just kept cleaning his feet while lying sideways under his wheel. I felt that was a big improvement.

Fingers crossed that more socialization will eventually make Pogglebee a calmer boy.

Have a great day!
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UPDATE 07/11/2012

I have designed a different (easier to sew) carrying pouch that you can use to carry your hedgehog around.  You can find the free tutorial here.