Background

The following is a quick breakdown of some things you’ll need to think about before you purchase a new hedgehog. For more detailed information please email us with your questions

As a native of Africa its’ range varies from the Steppes and the Savannah, to the Mediterranean coastal areas. They are a solitary animals who only come together to breed. They are actually diurnal, but many would consider them as nocturnal creatures as they tend to be more active a night.

Diet

 Hedgehogs are mainly insectivorous (insect eaters) but also will eat small rodents, bird’s eggs as well as a small amount of fruit and vegetable matter. Being that they are predominantly insectivorous their diet must consist of primarily, high animal protein. This is best achieved with a Quality commercial cat food i.e. Royal Canin brand cat food mixed with Mazuri Insectivore, which contains most of the insect proteins needed. Also you may supplement the insectivore with boiled chicken, beef heart or other cooked meats. Many breeders choose to feed live insects but this is not necessary as long as you are feeding a good high quality meat based diet. Also, there are several brands of commercially prepared hedgehog foods on the market. Hedgehogs can be fussy, and some of our hedgehogs refuse to eat these prepared foods. Small quantities of fruits and veggies help vary the diet as do low fat cheese and skim milk powder. Be careful not to over feed your hedgehogs as they have a tendency to become obese very quickly… they do love to eat!

Fresh Clean water is a must and it needs to be available at all times. It is best supplied in bottles as often hedgehogs will over turn water bowl in their never ending search for more food.

Lifestyle

If you have heard that hedgehogs are hypo allergenic… it is false statement. Hedgehogs are not hypo allergenic. Just like anything else, a person can be allergic to hedgehogs. Like other animals, hedgehogs’ saliva does contain proteins that many people can react to. Although allergic reactions to hedgehogs are not considered a common allergy a person also needs to realize that hedgehogs are not a common pet. When choosing a pet hedgehog, be sure to spend a bit of time with the animal before you bring it home. If you do react to it negatively you may be allergic to it. Then if you still want to keep a hedgehog as a pet, there are a few ways to help you build up a tolerance and react less to them. Try bathing the animal regularly with an organic shampoo (that does not contain TEA TREE oil), which may help by removing the excess dander. Tea tree oil is believed to be toxic to hedgehogs.

There are many commercially made cages and open air (see through) plastic or glass terrariums which are suitable for housing a hedgehog. The larger the better! Be sure to have a tight fitting lid as hedgehogs do have a tendency to climb. They require a nest box or someplace to hide in while they are resting. A well vented plastic hide box is suitable and they are the easiest to clean. When at all possible provide them with wooden or bamboo huts which are more closely adapted to what they would use in the wild. Ideally the hide box should be around 8-10 inches square with an opening of around 4 inches square. For bedding use Aspen wood shavings and for nesting material use good quality clean hay as hedgehogs enjoy covering themselves while they are sleeping. Be sure your hedgehog gets lots of exercise by providing a solid exercise wheel, not the mesh ones they have been known to get their feet caught and broken, and letting them out of their cage to roam while supervised. They can get along with cats and dogs too, just remember keep them supervised if they are out roaming.