If, however, you are working with a hedgehog that has been neglected, abused, or is very timid, you will find that additional measures must be taken to provide a low-stress experience for the animal. Readers working in animal shelters or other rescue situations are encouraged to read the book The Natural Hedgehog for a full range of techniques for dealing with neglected or abused hedgehogs. The first and most important thing when dealing with a frightened or timid hedgehog is that you must be calm and relaxed when you are handling the hedgehog. Slow deep breaths and soft music can help provide a relaxed environment. You need to be able to ignore pressures and deadlines and ringing phones because gaining the hedgehog's trust can take a long time.
Hedgehogs respond negatively when their owners are stressed.
To begin, put on some soft music. No heavy metal, blaring trumpets, predatory animals or jungle sounds please. Some recordings with wildlife noises that may be relaxing to you can be quite nerve racking to a hedgehog. Hedgehogs rely heavily on their hearing and so are very responsive to sound. Quiet, classical music, and natural environmental noises, but no bird or animal calls, are good.