Often, hedgies can get things wrapped around their legs. This can range from stray hair to strings. If it gets wrapped around the leg and starts cutting off the circulation and it isn't caught soon enough, the hedgie can lose that leg. This is why it is important to pick your hedgie up and check each leg as often as possible--two times a day, minimum. It is especially important in the morning after the hedgie has been playing all night, and anytime the hedgie is running around outside the cage.

This is a MUST for everyone, but ESPECIALLY if you have longer hair.  You have to be really, really extra careful.

You should keep a small pair of scissors (like the kind for fingernails and cuticles) around, just in case something accidentally gets wrapped around a leg so you can quickly snip the offending string/hair in half and get it off as quickly as possible. Once you get it off, examine the leg. If the foot and leg are normal colored, you should still keep an eye on it but there shouldn't be any problems. If the hair broke the skin or the foot is purple or swollen, you should get your hedgie to the vet as quickly as possible--because this means circulation may have been cut off from the foot and the tissue might have started dying, which can cause a serious infection that can kill your hedgie.

To check the legs of a hedgie that balls up and won't stick them out so you can see, there are a few things you can do.

• Watch the hedgehog as it walks. Look for limping or changes in walking habits because blood loss can make the foot numb, which can make the hedgie walk differently.
• Give the hedgie a bath. You can check the legs while the hedgie is in the water, because most hedgies won't curl up when in water.
• Sit the hedgie on a flat surface, and when it uncurls try to look at the legs.

Routine leg checks and carefully cleaning the cage can help prevent problems resulting from this. It also gives you to be sure the hedgie didn't accidentally injure itself on the wheel the night before.