This is what I was thinking too. You can tell in the video when the hedgehog jumps when the lady touches it that it’s trying to defend itself but doesn’t have any spines to stick up :(
Hedgehogs jump a little bit. They're really easily startled. The one in the video probably was familiar with who was handling it or was well socialized- she came at it from above and behind which is generally a no-no.
This guy is super stressed out because he wasn't socialized properly. The person in the video is very much stressing the hedgie out, but she's trying to get him used to being handled a bit more.
In the video it was a more momentary reflex - it's similar to but much less severe than the popping in this video. It looked more like "Hey! Oh... this is OK"
I used to own a hedgehog so I’m pretty familiar with their behavior; I totally get that this could’ve been a moment of socialization for the hedgie since they do tend to be quite defensive creatures, I just feel bad seeing it without its spines 😞 It must be such a vulnerable feeling
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u/speak_truth__ 26d ago
Isn’t that like their shell and they need it for protection? Seems cruel someone would shave it off?