Husbandry Advice

Hedgehogs should ideally be kept individually. Young animals that are raised together may tolerate each other as adults but fighting can be common between males, even if brothers.

Hedgehogs prefer quiet, dim environments and often react with fear to loud noises or bright light. They cannot see very well, as they use hearing and scent in the wild. This means their depth perception is not good and they may run off the end of a table.

They should be kept at a temperature between 22 – 27 degree Celsius, and should be provided with 12 light and 12 hours dark each day.

The MINIMUM cage size MUST be at least size 60 to 100cm long or wide.

This is needed to provide enough space for a litter tray, hide box, plastic wheel and some toys and still leave enough room to move around comfortably.  They can be quite dirty little animals (hog means pig ! )  and will often not use a litter tray but poop anywhere in their cage. This is messy in the wheel particularly.

A large plastic/glass aquarium/large rabbit cage with a plastic base works well for hedgehogs.  The base must NOT be wire/mesh as wire causes pressure sores and injury to their toes and feet.

A shelter such as a hollow log or box must provided to help reduce stress. A solid walled exercise wheel must be provided to allow them to exercise (it needs to be solid to prevent injury to the foot)  and also to help prevent obesity and related disorders such as pododermatitis (foot infections).

Bedding or some type of cage floor covering must be provided to prevent foot problems. This can be recycled newspaper, ‘Carefresh’ paper bedding or a soft bedding such as Vetbed. Do not use wooden cat litter or wood shavings as this can be painful to walk on and irritant.