Hedgehog Care
A Few Things To Know About Hedgehog Care
Rather than a cookbook of hedgehog care facts, this article is based more on experience gained in having the cute little critters as pets for a number of years. The hedgehogs under discussion are the species most often kept as pets, the African Pygmy hedgehog. These are the smallest of the hedgehogs. The European hedgehog, most often observed in gardens, and unfortunately at times on the roadways, does not make a good pet, and the Egyptian hedgehog can be downright nasty.
The first consideration for hedgehog care is living habitat, food, and water. A glass aquarium of around 10 gallons in size will do fine for the individual hedgehog, though they like their exercise, and should let out to run around on occasion. There are fun to watch run about in the house, and in the garden as well, but you have to keep very close watch on them. If they disappear and curl up to sleep, they can be hard to find, and if they curl up in a tight spot, it may be very difficult to get them out. When startled or touched unexpectedly the spines become erect and they can be impossible to move from a tight space.
Several hedgehogs can share an enclosure when still quite young, but after about 6 months it is usually necessary to move them into solitary quarters. This is especially true of males, who will fight if kept in the same enclosure. Two females will sometimes coexist, sometimes not. A male and female of course may result in baby hedgehogs, or they may just fight.
Containers And Play Areas - We always used pine chips as a substrate in the glass containers. Cedar chips contain aromatic compounds which can be harmful to the hedgehog. Strips of newspaper work well too, though pine chips are usually a bit easier to deal with when its time to change them out. For a house, and they do like privacy, a cutout portion of a cereal box works very well. They will usually sleep in whatever enclosure is provided. If you have an old child's playpen with screen or mesh siding, it makes an excellent exercise area. Cut up newspapers into fairly large strips and place in the playpen 2 or 3 inches deep. Two or even three female hedgehogs can run around in the enclosure without bothering one another. Males still should be kept solitary. Another option for a rec room is a small livestock watering trough, using either pine chips or newspaper on the flooring. A small rodent exercise wheel can be added as a piece of hedgehog playground equipment. We debated a long time as to whether the hedgehog would actually use such a wheel. Some do and some don't. One of our hedgehogs would have spent her whole life in the wheel given the opportunity.
One can also purchase transparent plastic balls, about a foot in diameter with a removable lid. Place the hedgehog in the ball and you can let it run around the house for an hour if you wish. The balls are ventilated, but you do have to be careful about not letting the hedgehog get in direct sun, especially if the ball gets stuck, as can happen.
Our hedgehogs ate commercial hedgehog food out of a sturdy plastic dish, one shaped so as not to tip easily. They can drink water out of a bowl also, but will learn to drink from an inverted water bottle with a dispensing tube, which is far less messy to deal with.
Personality Plus (And Minus) - If you have four hedgehogs you'll probably find that each has its own distinct personality. We had one, a female and our favorite, who loved to be held, and when running around the house would climb on your shoe when it felt it was time to be picked up. At the other extreme we had a male hedgehog, not for long, that earned the name "Hisser". Most of the time he spent rolled up in a tight ball with spines extended. You couldn't pick him up without gloves. And he hissed when touched. Not friendly at all, with all the personality of a pet rock. Other hedgehogs nipped occasionally but most did not. Their teeth aren't all that large but can leave a mark. Any hedgehog when startled will roll up into a ball with spines extended faster than the eye can detect. When the spines are down, they can be handled and petted, and actually feel quite soft to the touch.
Hedgehog care is not too terribly involved. You just have to remember that they are a small exotic animal that prefers a relatively peaceful environment, a fairly constant temperature, sufficient food and water, and a place to run about on occasion.