Buzz
Discover the Art of Hedgehog Care
Essential Insights
Key Guidelines for Hedgehog Well-being
Navigating the Process
Feeding Your Prickly Pal
Ensure your hedgehog's diet is protein-rich and well-balanced. Opt for specialized hedgehog food available in stores, ensuring it contains essential nutrients.
- High-protein dry cat food, especially chicken-based, serves as a suitable alternative to commercial hedgehog food.
- Occasionally, treat your hedgehog to canned dog or cat food with a primary chicken ingredient.
- Select a low-fat, high-protein food without by-products.
- Offer about 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) of dry food daily.
- Consult your vet for customized feeding recommendations based on your hedgehog's age, size, and activity level.
Add variety to your hedgehog's diet with vegetables and fruits. Reward good behavior with treats like beans, peas, corn, apples, and carrots, cut into small pieces or mixed with regular food.
- Avoid grapes and raisins as they may be harmful.
- Avoid milk and bread to prevent digestive issues.
Introduce occasional treats like insects. Hedgehogs enjoy mealworms and crickets, available in pet stores to ensure they are safe from parasites or pesticides.
- Entice your hedgehog by dangling a live mealworm with tweezers.
- Consider freezing live insects on a baking sheet for easier feeding.
Opt for a stable feeding setup. Prevent spills by using heavy, low-lipped ceramic or regular food bowls for dry or soft foods and treats.
Ensure your hedgehog has access to fresh water using either a hanging bottle or a sturdy bowl. Regularly check and refill the water source throughout the day, and clean it every other day to maintain hygiene.
- Choose a hanging water bottle or a ceramic dish placed near the food bowl.
- Monitor the water level and cleanliness regularly.
Providing Shelter for Your Hedgehog
Provide your hedgehog with ample space in a large enclosure. Hedgehogs enjoy exploring, so ensure the enclosure is spacious enough to accommodate toys and other necessities. Opt for a minimum 2 ft × 4 ft (0.61 m × 1.22 m) enclosure with a solid floor.
- Consider multi-level enclosures to offer more exploration opportunities.
- Alternatively, a large plastic bin can serve as a cost-effective enclosure.
Maintain a warm environment within the enclosure, ideally between 75 °F (24 °C) and 80 °F (27 °C). Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature, avoiding placement near cooling sources like air conditioners or open windows.
Provide comfortable bedding for your hedgehog, such as paper substrate. Create a cozy environment by layering the enclosure with paper bedding, approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, ensuring your pet has a soft surface to nestle in.
- Consider using fleece blankets or fabric as bedding alternatives, ensuring they are free from loose strings or tears.
- Avoid wood shavings as they can pose health risks.
- Regularly clean and change the bedding to maintain hygiene.
Enrich your hedgehog's environment with toys and cozy hideaways. Provide an array of items like igloos, exercise wheels, bells, and balls to keep them entertained and active day and night.
- Ensure there are ample toys and resting spots for your hedgehog's well-being.
- Consider adding tubing and piping for extra hiding and playing opportunities.
- Opt for an exercise wheel with a solid base to prevent any injuries.
Place your hedgehog's enclosure in a quiet area to minimize noise-related stress. Hedgehogs can become anxious in loud environments, so opt for a secluded space such as a back room or a quiet hallway.
Caring for Your Hedgehog's Hygiene
Give your hedgehog a monthly bath to keep them clean. Despite their cleanliness, hedgehogs may need a bath occasionally. Use warm water and a gentle scrub to clean their quills and underside.
- Fill a sink with shallow warm water.
- Gently place the hedgehog in the sink, avoiding their face and ears.
- Scrub their quills with a toothbrush and gently rub their belly.
- Dry them off with a towel after bathing.
Regularly trim your hedgehog's toenails to maintain their health. Hedgehog nails grow quickly and may require trimming every few days. Use specialized hedgehog nail clippers and be cautious not to cut too much.
- If bleeding occurs, you've trimmed too much.
- Consult a vet if you're uncomfortable trimming their nails.
Help alleviate quilling discomfort with oatmeal baths and gentle handling. Quilling, the shedding of spines in hedgehogs, is a natural process akin to losing baby teeth or shedding skin in snakes. Take steps to ease your hedgehog's discomfort:
- Provide an oatmeal bath by placing old fashioned oats in their bath water.
- Allow your hedgehog to roam your hands rather than cuddling or petting them.
- Observe their behavior and give them space if they seem irritable.
Extra Hedgehog Care Tips
Establish a daily bonding routine with your hedgehog. Hedgehogs may initially be timid, so frequent handling helps them acclimate to you. Spend at least 30 minutes each day playing with your hedgehog outside their enclosure. Approach them calmly, pick them up gently, and interact with them positively.
- Show confidence while handling your hedgehog to convey reassurance.
- Encourage interaction by allowing them to explore your hands, sit in your lap, or chase a rolling ball.
Monitor your hedgehog's behavior closely. Hedgehogs are adept at concealing illness, so pay attention to changes in their eating habits and demeanor. Regularly check their quills, skin, and feet for abnormalities, and consult a vet if you notice concerning symptoms such as lack of appetite, dry skin, respiratory issues, or changes in stool consistency.
- Prolonged refusal to eat or drink may indicate underlying health issues.
- Inspect for signs of mites, respiratory infections, parasites, or hibernation tendencies.
Respect your hedgehog's nocturnal rhythm. Hedgehogs are naturally active at night, so accommodate their preference for nighttime activity. Allow them to follow their natural sleep-wake cycle without disturbance.
- If your schedules differ, consider situating their enclosure away from your bedroom to minimize disruption while they're active at night.
Helpful Tips
The suggestions provided here are contributed by fellow Mytour readers. If you have a useful tip to share, feel free to submit it below.
- Outdoor excursions can be enjoyable for hedgehogs if the weather permits. However, avoid hamster balls as they may cause spinal issues.
- Before considering a hedgehog as a pet, ensure they are legal in your area due to their status as exotic pets.
