What does a Pet hedgehog need?

1. An appropriate enclosure

There are lots of different options and certainly many more than one way to house a hedgie. The very simplest, most cost effective option is a large (around 200 qt.) sterilite bin. Hedgehogs can live quite happily in a simple habitat like this. Some folks use a guinea pig cage, and some like to build their own enclosures. Whatever you decide to use or make, you want to make sure the enclosure is safe and meets the needs of a hedgehog. The following things should be taken into account:

• Hedgehogs need enough space for a large wheel, food bowl, water bowl/bottle/ceramic waterer, hideout, and a little room to forage and play.

• Make sure the flooring is solid and not mesh. Hedgehogs have delicate feet that can easily be trapped or injured by wire mesh bottomed cages.

• Some hedgehogs are climbers, some are not. The thing they all have in common is that they are all bad at climbing DOWN! You are best off assuming you have a climber. Make sure the walls on your enclosure are high enough. I have found that a foot high is sufficient if the walls are smooth. Smooth walls are best. Also make sure that there is nothing your hedgehog can move against the wall and use as a ladder. Hedgehogs get up to all kinds of shenanigans while decent people sleep:) A vivariam can be a nice choice if there is plenty of ventilation. If you do not have solid walls, make sure the walls are not too high and there is a lid on the enclosure. That way if your hedgehog does climb the walls, it will not have far to fall.

• Enclosures should be made of something that can be wiped down and disinfected. I like to cut corroplast to size to cover the bottoms of enclosures. This can be wiped clean and even easily replaced periodically.

• If your enclosure has an open top, make sure there is nothing hanging over the cage or on the wall next to the cage that isn't secured really well. If items such as shelves, pictures, mobiles, chandeliers, etc. aren't secured well they could fall into the enclosure and injure your hedgehog. This is easily prevented by eliminating these items, or making sure they are secured well.

• Here are a couple of my habitats:

2. A large solid wheel

Hedgehogs don't just like to run, they NEED to run. In the wild hedgehogs will run several miles a night. Having a wheel in their enclosure helps to keep them at a healthy weight and satisfies that natural urge to run, run, run, forage, forage, run, run, run.....you get the idea. Depending on the size of your hedgehog, they need about 10.5-12" wheel. The wheel must be solid, not mesh. A hedgehog will get its feet caught in a mesh wheel. This is my very favorite wheel for hedgehogs. I love that it is sturdy, easy to clean, quiet, and clear so I have an unobstructed view of my hedgies running their little hearts out!

3. A water container

Options:

A water bottle will work fine, just make sure the metal ball is not stuck and bubbles go up when you depress it at least once a day.

My personal favorite is the ceramic waterer. These are difficult for a hedgehog to tip over and work great! I suggest getting two of them, rinsing one daily and switching it with one that has dried out overnight. These can also be run through the dishwasher, just make sure there is no detergent left over afterwards by giving it a quick rinse. I have these available for sale in different colors here!

4. A food bowl

I use small ceramic containers that are easy to wash and do not tip over too easily. The most important thing is being able to wash them.

5. A hideout

Hedgehogs like to sleep in a dark, cozy spot under cover during the day. This is very important to their happiness and well-being. There are all sorts of options on the market and you can even make one yourself. Snuggle sacks, plastic igloos, and soft squishy fabric hideouts all work. Here are some hideouts I have made:

6. Substrate

Hedgehogs need something to cover the bottom of their cage. There are several routes you can go with this and what works best can depend on the hedgehog and your cleaning preferences. A simple fleece/fabric liner works great, but will need to be laundered frequently. I have several hedgehogs that are litter trained. For them I use fabric liners with a shallow plastic pan with pine or aspen shavings that the wheel sits in. I also prefer this option for males, as wood shavings can be particularly irritating to them. If you are going to use wood shavings you can use aspen or pine, just make sure to never use cedar shavings. These may smell nice but they are toxic to your hedgehog. There are all sorts of paper beddings on the market that are a great option too.

7. A way to keep your hedgehog’s environment warm enough (72-80 degrees Fahrenheit)

It is a good idea to keep a digital thermometer close to your hedgehog’s enclosure so you can tell at a glance if the temperature is too warm or cold. If you keep your house colder than 72 degrees, you will need to add something to keep your hedgehog cozy. This could be a space heater, or my personal favorite: K&H Pet Products Thermo-Peep This is a heating pad that stays warm, but never ever hot so your hedgehog can choose to warm up on it, or move away from it and will be safe from burns. It is best to position the heating pad under your substrate and the hedgehog’s hideout half on and half off so they have the option to be in their hide and on or off the pad. Sometimes hedgehogs like to sprawl out and sleep with their bellies flat on the heating pad. This is adorable! If you keep your house colder than 70 degrees, you will need to add something like a space heater in addition to the heating pad. Another option is a heat lamp with a ceramic heat emitter and a thermostat. These work great and the thermostat gives you the peace of mind that your hog will have a pretty much constant temperature. I use ceramic heat emitters and thermostats in rooms that fluctuate in temperature more and the K&H heating pads in my hog room where the temperature is constantly regulated with a space heater.

This is really important so keep a close eye on their room temperature. If a hedgehog gets too cold or warm, they can attempt hibernation which is a one way trip for them:(

8. Food

Hedgehogs need a diet that is high in protein. I feed my hedgehogs mainly dry cat food. I use Blue Buffalo brand cat food. This is a high quality feed that simulates the diet a hedgehog would consume in the wild. I also like that the pieces are little and round. Sometimes I will mix a few varieties to keep things interesting for them. Blue Buffalo cat foods are readily available at pet stores, and even Wal-Mart and Target. If you want to check out other options, this is a great website that explains the dietary needs of pet hedgehogs: best hedgehog food Treats should be given sparingly and can include: mealworms, cooked, unseasoned chicken, unseasoned scrambled eggs, and banana.

9. Toys

Hedgehogs seem to enjoy shuffling things around and chewing on things. I like to give my hedgehogs toys of varying textures and switch them around every day or two. They really seem to like crinkle balls meant for cats, toilet paper rolls (just make sure to cut all the way vertically so they can easily get their head out of them), rubber duckies, baby teething toys, ping pong balls, and things like that. Just make sure there are not any small parts your hedgehog can choke on, or any sharp edges. Use things that can be washed easily. I like to peruse thrift stores for small plastic baby toys. Sometimes I like to put some of these wooden "rocks" in my hedgehog enclosures. They look cool, and every morning it is clear that they have been shuffled around. This to me is a hedgehog's seal of approval.