Even as hedgehogs gain in popularity as pets, there is a surprising lack of information about their proper care. The Carolina Hedgehog Society hopes to help you have a better relationship with your happy, healthy hedgehog. This basic care guide is meant as a starting point only; we have included some suggested online reading at the end to help give you the big picture.

Is a hedgehog right for you?

Before you take on the responsibility of a pet, you need to consider if a hedgehog is right for you. Bear in mind that hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal animals and can take a long time to become accustomed to being handled. A hedgehog owner should be patient, gentle, and willing to accept that their hedgehog may not keep the same hours as they do.

We recommend that a child should not be the primary caregiver of a hedgehog. If you as a parent decide that your young child or adolescent can have a hedgehog, please know that you are responsible for the care and attention that the hedgehog receives. In other words -- the hedgehog ultimately belongs to you, not your child or teenager, and you need to be prepared to assume full responsibility for the life of a small creature if or when your child loses interest in their new pet. Hedgies.com has assembled a page with activities relating to hedgehogs that can be a fun way for children to learn about these unusual animals without taking on the responsibility of caring for a living creature.

Your hedgehog may live up to five or six years with a good diet and plenty of exercise. Having this naturally shy animal grow to trust you can be a very rewarding experience and one that makes having a hedgehog in your life worthwhile.

Home sweet home

The first thing any new hedgehog owner will need is a habitat for their pet. We suggest an absolute minimum of a 24"x24" cage, or the equivalent square footage. Always provide the largest possible living space for your hedgehog. In the wild, a hedgehog can cover a territory of a couple of square miles hunting for food nightly, so exercise is a definite factor in choosing the habitat. Multi-level ferret cages or rabbit cages can make an excellent home for a hedgehog; just be sure to line any mesh floors with commercial carpeting or cut-to-fit vellux blankets to avoid foot injuries.

Supplying an exercise wheel is an excellent idea. Be sure to line any mesh- or bar-lined wheel with craft foam or a similar substance so that the hedgehog's feet do not slip between the bars and become injured, or, alternatively, choose a wheel with a solid surface. See our Shopping Guide for some recommended wheels for your hedgehog.

Your hedgehog, as a nocturnal animal, will probably spend most of the day asleep. Provide a place where your pet can feel secure, such as a nest box (even a cardboard one!) or a sleeping bag.

Although hedgehogs can often be taught to use a litter box, most owners choose to use some variety of bedding in their habitat. We recommend aspen shavings or recycled newsprint bedding such as Yesterday's News. Do not use cedar or colored bedding for your pet! The aromatic oils in cedar have been known to cause respiratory distress and may prove fatal. When you introduce any new loose litter to your hedgehog, keep an eye on him to ensure that he is not eating it. They can develop bowel impactions from eating litter. Another popular option is to line the hedgehog habitat with a vellux blanket, cut to fit, and to add a litter box with shavings inside, as shown in both our example cages on this page.

Appropriate temperature is hugely important for hedgehogs. Make sure that your hedgehog's habitat is away from drafts and in an area around 75 degrees F. African hedgehogs are not equipped to hibernate in the same way that their European cousins are, and any hibernation attempts can be life-threatening if left untreated.

Diet plays an important role

Serious consideration should be given to proper diet for hedgehog, since they are prone to a variety of diet-related illnesses, usually related to an excess of fat in the diet. Unfortunately, some products labeled as "hedgehog food" are not nutritionally sound.

Some owners choose to feed cat food, but make sure that whatever food you choose to offer your pet is low in fat and iron and high in protein. There are a variety of quality hedgehog food products available on the Internet or through mail-order. This staple diet can be supplemented by lean cooked chicken, fruit and vegetables, and no more than one or two mealworms per day. See our Shopping Guide for some suggested staple hedgehog foods. Other treats can include cooked fish like salmon or tuna (fresh only since canned fish has too much salt for hedgehogs) or homemade delicacies like Miss Murray's Marvelous Mash, a chicken-and-rice puree that is also good for feeding to hedgehogs who are having oral problems.

Remember also that hedgehogs may be resistant to sudden changes in diet. Even if you want to stop feeding a particular food to your pet, you will probably want to do it gradually, mixing a little more of the new food each day until the old food is completely gone. Starting your young hedgehog off by feeding a mixture of two or more staple foods can help them avoid some finicky eating in their later years.

Further Reading