My hedgie is foaming at the mouth and spreading on his quills! Does he have rabies?
Nope! This is called “self-anointing”. No one knows why they do it, but it has been compared to “anting”, a behavior done by some birds. When a hedgie finds a new smell, or one they just like, they will froth at the mouth, contort themselves, and spread the saliva mix on their quills. Some hedgies do this often, some, never at all. Hedgies especially like to do this with new food. Be careful if you are feeding strawberries or something similar, you may end up with a pink hedgehog!