HEDGEHOGS SMALL INSECTIVORES FOODS SUN SCARLET BROWNS SUPPLIES PETS

Neither legs nor tail are very visible during normal movement. Hedgehogs’ roll into a ball of projecting spines when threatened, leaving themselves all but invulnerable to any natural predators.Hedgehogs do have soft fur on their faces and bellies, and so are not entirely prickly.Some hedgehogs have what appears to be a narrow reverse Mohawk hairdo (a narrow furrow that runs lengthwise), though this is not present in all species (e.g. the Egyptian hedgehog doesn’t have this).

What are hedgehogs? Should I get one? What’s good and bad about them as pets?

How can I introduce my hedgehog to my (dog /cat /bird /fish / rabbit /etc.) with the least trouble?

Running in size from approximately 4 to 9 inches in length, mature African Pigmy hedgehogs look for all the world to be little armored tanks being lead around by one of the busiest noses in the animal kingdom.Hedgehogs tend to be quite nervous in their temperament, and will generally duck their head down, accompanied by rapid snuffling or snorting. This presents a very prickly forehead to any possible enemies. The more used to you (and awake) a hedgehog is, the less they will duck down and snuffle and the more their quills will be flat.The "African pigmy or dwarf hedgehog" that’s appeared on the pet market is a Central African species, also called the white-bellied hedgehog, and possibly the same as the Cape hedgehog or Pruner’s hedgehog. Hedgehog taxonomy is kind of a mess, and they have multiple Latin names; the leader now seems to be Erinaceus albiventris, but one also sees Atelerix albiventris and Atelerix pruneri. (I think that Pruner’s hedgehog is now considered to be a separate species, but it hasn’t always been.) There may be some overlap with Erinaceus frontalis as well, and just to complicate matters, older works refer to the genus Atelerix as Aethechinus. The African hedgehog is related to the European hedgehog, but is much smaller (and more tropical, of course).

Grzimek’s Animal Encyclopedia says that they weigh about 200-220 grams (about seven ounces); this is for wild animals. Captives seem to be much larger; the smallest of our three hedgehogs is 250 g and growing, and our large male weighs about 400-450 g when he isn’t overweight. (However, all our animals have come from exceptionally large bloodlines.) Adults are about six to eight inches long, depending on how far they’re stretching when you measure.

Hedgehogs are basically nocturnal; they may wake up a couple of times during the day to wander around their enclosures, get a snack or a drink of water, and so on, but they really get active late at night (ours wake up between 10 PM and midnight, but that may be because that’s when we turn the lights off).

Whether they have wonderful personalities depends on your taste. Your prospective hedgehog will sleep all day, and, while it may well become quite sociable when awake, it probably will not let you pick it up when it wants to sleep. (Can you blame it? More to the point, can you argue with it?) We’ve never met an African hedgehog that would bite aggressively, though there are rumors of such. (Note that all the Africans we’ve known have been not only captive-bred but also hand-raised from infancy; we make no guarantees about imports or non-socialized animals.) They do explore with their mouths, so if you smell interesting, you may get licked or nipped; they have fairly sharp teeth (a row of short pegs with points, but nothing drastic).

As pets go, hedgehogs are generally not cuddly lap-fungus type pets, but if you want something that’s a little different, not too big, and definitely adorable, then maybe a hedgehog is for you. If, however, you have been fascinated by hedgehogs for about fifteen years, like I have, there is just no question.

Among their pros and cons, you should keep in mind the nocturnal nature of hedgehogs. If you are a night owl, or often find yourself up and around during the dark hours, a hedgehog can be a very welcome companion. On the other hand, if you jump out of bed early in the morning and fade with the sun, you and your hedgehog may never see one another.

Although most hedgehogs rarely if ever bite or nip, it does happen, as can occur with any animal. Hedgehogs are also quite low maintenance (though not "no maintenance"). There’s no need to take them out for a walk around the block in the middle of a raging blizzard, or head off to the park, pooper-scooper in hand, during a heat wave, with a hedgehog. They’re small, but not too small, size also makes for a good compromise.

This depends on whether or not you are talking about African Pigmy hedgehogs or European hedgehogs. In the case of European hedgehogs, the answer is, of course, yes. In the case of the African Pigmy variety, the ones being offered and kept as pets are now well removed from their wild ancestors. In parts of Europe, some African pigmy hedgehogs are still being imported, which results in this being a more gray area.

Hedgehogs available as pets are a captive bred African species. These have been bred in captivity for over a dozen years. As such, they should not be confused with the European variety that are essentially wild animals (and are protected in most European countries). It is somewhat unlikely that a pet hedgehog could survive very long in the wild, especially in the colder parts of North America, which seems to be where they are most popular. The chance does, however exist and needless to say, finding out whether or not they can is an experiment best left to theory, rather than practice.

The absolute answer to the question of how long hedgehogs can live is that nobody is really certain.

The average lifespan for African pigmy hedgehogs in captivity runs from 6-10 years. From what I have read, this is already far better than the average of 2-3 years in the wild (though this is due more to predation than to old age).

African pigmy pet hedgehogs have not been kept in captivity for many years as yet—that along with the fact that we are still in the early stages of learning how best to care for them, is likely to allow their longevity to continue to increase over the upcoming years.

In addition to the care helping in this, the fact that hedgies are starting to settle down and become much less nervous will likely also help considerably.

All in all, their lifespan is quite long compared to many smaller mammals, which means that there’s a good chance you can continue to get along with your prickly little pal for many happy years.

People who have had experience with small pet rodents or with ferrets seem to ask this question most often. Hedgehogs do not have scent glands like ferrets, and as long as their cage or pen is kept reasonably clean there is generally no odor at all. Most (some?) hedgehogs can be trained to use a litter box, making the task of keeping the cage clean that much easier. Even those that don’t adapt to using a litter box will often use one area of their cage or pen for this, which assists in cleaning.

While hedgehogs do generally have little in the way of odor, what you feed them can affect whether or not their droppings smell. Generally the more "wet" food you feed a hedgehog, the more their droppings, and their environment will smell, although brands and types of food can have as great an effect as just wet versus dry foods. Also, Pretty Pets hedgehog food is has been reported to result in smellier than average droppings.

If you are finding your hedgehog pen tends to smell, try changing the blend of food he is getting, or just clean house on him a bit more often.

Yes, but barely. Most hedgehogs have only a pointed little nub of tail that spends almost all of its time hidden under the quills. This leaves the poor hedgehog looking for all the world like he doesn’t have a tail.

I can think of a lot of things here—especially when Velcro has closed up on my fingers, again! However I will try to keep this civil.

This section is more for amusement than much else, and to keep track of some of the ways people refer to our prickly little friends. Probably the most popular one I’ve seen of late is "hedgies" with "hog" running a close second. I would argue that the first is probably more pronounceable but they both pale in comparison to the following from Cathy Johnson-Delaney who contentedly referred to her FussGus as a "Tribble from Hell."

With the media’s love of ridiculous catchy names, it probably comes as no surprise that the term "Yuppie Puppy" has appeared in some places (including the N.A.H.A.?) applied to hedgehogs.

While I’m on the subject, baby hedgehogs are usually referred to as "hoglets" or "hedge hoglets", or more frequently as "aren’t they so CUTE!" The term piglet seems to be used quite frequently in Europe, and sometimes elsewhere as well.

I don’t know if an official term exists for a group of hedgehogs (other than maybe a "contradiction-in-terms" since hedgehogs often don’t tend to live in what we would consider groups. The official name for a group of hogs is a "drift" but I question if that applies to hedgehogs. Most breeders appear to refer to their hedgehogs as a "herd" but I have to admit the thought of trying to "herd" hedgehogs’ strikes me as somewhat ridiculous to say the least!

One question I get asked a lot, and I haven’t the slightest clue why I didn’t add the answer here earlier, is how do you tell what sex a hedgehog is.

Unfortunately, hedgehogs don’t come with blue or pink tipped quills to make the job easy. (At least most don’t. Some breeders add a spot of non-toxic paint, etc., but that’s no guarantee. There have been more than a few people who brought home "male" hedgies, only to have them give birth to a litter, only a short time later.) In fact, it can be downright difficult, to figure out the sex, unless your hedgehog is willing to let hold him or her on their back long enough for a look. The idea is to get a good look at their tummy. If you can’t get your prickly little friend to unroll enough while being held in your hands, you might try a piece of glass or clear plastic and look up at them while they are wandering (hopefully not too far) on it.

Anyway, enough beating about the quills, on to how to tell if you have a her-hog, or a him-hog.

For male hedgehogs, the sex organ is located about 2/3 of the way from the nose to the tail (along the tummy), and looks like a large belly button.

In the female, the sex organ is located all the way down the tummy, directly adjacent to the anus. The female will also have a row of nipples along each side, below the quill line, within the soft tummy fur. These are often hard to see, but do show as small pink spots, if you have the chance to look carefully.

There are generally three varieties of hedgehogs that are available as pets: African dwarf or pigmy (white-bellied) hedgehogs, Pruner’s (Cape) hedgehogs, and Egyptian (long-eared) hedgehogs.

In fact, as Sharon Massena reminded me, all the African Pigmy hedgehogs found in the US, and likely all of North America, are actually now hybrids of the Pruner and White Bellied varieties. This is not necessarily the case elsewhere, such as in Europe.

Of these three, the first two are similar in appearance and temperament. African pigmy and Pruner’s hedgehogs tend to be very well behaved, and will rarely, if ever, nip an owner, but like with any animal, given the right (or wrong) circumstances, it can happen African pigmy (white-bellied) hedgehogs tend to have a whitish or light colored face, while Pruner’s hedgehogs have a darker or masked face. The real difference, though is in the number of toes on the hind feet: Pruner’s hedgehogs have five like most hedgehogs, while the White Bellied hedgehog (the one we most often refer to as the African Pigmy hedgehog) is also known as the Four-toed hedgehog for obvious reasons (but only the hind feet).

Egyptian or long-eared hedgehogs (the ears being the most obvious differentiating factor) are, however, known for having a somewhat more aggressive personality, and will frequently nip or bite, as suggested here by Nathan Tenny:

[Cerebus] (One of Nathan’s former troupe—ed.) Is an Egyptian hedgehog (_Hemiechinus auritus_). The [care instructions in this FAQ also] apply to him, but his personality is rather different. There aren’t many on the market as yet, but they’re distinguishable by their long ears. They are extremely cute animals, very active and seemingly rather intelligent, but they really bite, and are not recommended as cuddly pets! We hand-raised Cerebus from a very young age, playing with him a lot in hopes of making him comfortable with us, but to no avail; as he’s reached adulthood, being comfortable has come to mean that he’s not scared to bite us. Oops.

This behavior has been confirmed by Anja van der Werf, who has also pointed out that in spite of this, they are generally more popular as pets in Europe than are White-Bellied or Pruner’s hedgehogs.

Regarding color, most hedgehogs are covered with white and grey or brown ticked quills, sometimes called salt and pepper colored, or agouti (though I’m told this term is now ‘out of favor’ as it largely implies all such ‘banded’ appearing hedgehogs are the same, which is incorrect).

As color research has progressed, one of the things that has come to light is that there is no such thing as a ‘basic’ hedgehog color. Each hedgehog is a specific color, even though many of the grey or brown ticked ones will look ‘similar’ to an observer who is unaware of the (often times subtle differences).

Some of the more dramatic appearing color variations are the "snowflakes." These are often all white, or almost all white, but do not possess the albino gene. Albino hedgehogs also exist, and apparently the early problems with them being unhealthy and not terribly robust, are now largely a thing of the past (if, indeed, there ever were problems).

The list of known colors seems to be ever expanding with new variations appearing every time I turn around. This isn’t so much due to new colors appearing from mutations, so much as the colors being derived from the various combinations of the original varieties of hedgehogs being interbred in various ways. Here’s a partial list of the official IHFS [2.7] list of colors (which is well beyond this point, now, as different combinations appear):

- Black While on the topic of ever more colors, Sharon Massena has informed me that:

We also now have partial albinism, which is giving up spotted hedgehogs. The skin is also white under the spots.

Prospective hedgehog owners should beware of large areas of white quills amongst what looks like normal coloration as this can indicate an animal that was injured at some point (quills that re-grow in injury areas tend to be all white). Not all hedgehogs showing white patches have necessarily been injured; there are some color patterns starting to show up involving white patches, but this is a point of caution.

I recently received the following list of colors and descriptions from Christi Cantrell that she acquired from a breeder in Texas:

It seems pretty clear that diversity in hedgehog colors is beginning to show up. While the last on the list (Creams) certainly seem to be a variety of albinos (which wasn’t actually listed, so they may be the same, just under a different name), the rest appear to be actual coloration differences.

As far as personality goes, it has historically been thought that females are generally friendlier than males, and will become familiar with a new owner more quickly. This, however, appears to be primarily a result of how a lot of breeders handle their animals—males are usually not handled as much, and hence are not as gentled down. Properly handled when they are young, there is little or no personality difference between sexes. Being friendly generally means their quills will be laid back smoother, and they will have less of a tendency to roll into a ball.

Females tend to be more expensive, both because of their perceived friendliness, and because of their ability to produce more hedgehogs. Breeders usually keep a ratio of several females for each male, which makes for a higher quantity of males available as pets, and hence another reason for the usually cheaper selling price of males. Males on the other hand, do tend to self-anoint more often than females, and this amazing feat of dexterity is something not to be missed!

The unusual color varieties, such as snowflakes, were originally considered to be somewhat more high-strung in temperament than the more common salt and pepper hedgehogs. From what I have been able to determine, this is not directly related to the color, but is more a side effect of the inbreeding done to try and propagate the special coloring. In any case, temperament is going to depend largely on both the breeding and on the type and amount of handling, rather than the exact coloration.

It appears there is another way to create a different color hedgehog ... while not quite in the same genre as the coloration’s above, one of the people I’ve been in touch with on the net (whose name I will withhold to avoid potential embarrassment) passed along a story to me. This kind hearted hedgehog addict once fed her little herd of hedgies a treat of strained carrots (baby food) one night along with their normal food. The hedgehogs seemed to find this new item interesting and proceeded to munch on it, then, as hedgehogs will do, they all self-anointed. My friend thought nothing of it, other than that hedgehogs don’t really like strained carrots. In the morning, however, when the light wasn’t quite so dim, my friend (who is probably a lifelong enemy by now) discovered an entire small herd of very "orange" hedgehogs! There it is folks—the latest in hedgehog fashion—the Orange Hedgehog. I have since learned from friends and relatives with small children, that few things come close to strained carrots in staining ability, so I can well imagine that the effect of this was pretty amazing. I know I’ll probably be blacklisted for life for adding this, but it was much too good to resist! ;-)

To compound the trouble I’ve gotten into above, I have also heard of another kind hearted hedgie addict who offered her hedgehogs a treat of raspberries. Come morning, once she realized they weren’t showing the results of a vicious fight and that the ‘blood’ was nothing more than two seriously raspberry-anointed hedgies, it too, became time for hogwash. It seems you can create an amazing variety of impromptu colors (and flavors) of hedgehogs! ;-)

The best age to acquire a pet hedgehog is shortly after they have been weaned (after about 6-8 weeks of age). Hedgehogs are completely independent by this stage, and adapt to new owners much more readily when young. This doesn’t mean that an older hedgehog won’t become used to you and friendly towards you, it will just take a little longer and a little more patience.

Although hedgehogs can breed as early as 6-8 weeks, they should not be bred (especially females) until at least 4-6 months of age, and preferably about 8+ months, when they become fully mature, both physically and mentally. Hedgehogs that have litters too early may not become good mothers, or may experience a shorter lifespan as a result.

Hedgehogs have historically been considered solitary creatures, which do not particularly get along well together, and in fact only like to be close to one another during mating. This now appears to be changing, with many breeders keeping at least females together in-groups, and in some cases even males. I don’t know whether this is the result of African Pigmy hedgehogs taming down as a species, or whether they were always a bit more social than we gave them credit for. In any case, keeping same sex groups together can tend to be just fine, though it is always important to keep an eye open for problems. Kept together, hedgehogs will often curl up together to sleep, and if one is quite young, it might treat an older one as if it were its parent, and follow it around—an adorable site to see.

One of factors that help in keeping groups of hedgehogs together is to provide adequate space. If things are too crowded, you can usually count on fights (gee, that almost sounds like elementary school...).

All that having been said, hedgehogs are quite happy when kept individually, and don’t seem to miss the company of other hedgehogs. There is no problem with having only a single hedgehog as a pet.

Keeping a male within vision of a mother with hoglets (even if in separate enclosures) can often result in the babies being eaten. If you do want more than one hedgehog, be sure you provide plenty of privacy for each.

Subject: how can I introduce my hedgehog to my (dog/cat/bird/fish/ rabbit/etc.) with the least trouble?

In what limited experience I’ve had, I have seen no problem with interaction between hedgehogs and other pets—my wife and I have four (+1) cats (Kit & Caboodle, Oreo, Snickers, and for now Scrapper) in addition to Velcro and Pocus, our hedgehogs. Velcro thinks the cats would make nice mealtime treats and chases them whenever possible, while Pocus takes little notice of the cats, other than an occasional duck of the head and a snuffling session. For their part, the cats have only shown peaceful curiosity towards the hedgehogs. The occasional very careful paw will reach out and almost, but not quite touch one of the hedgehogs. The cats seem to know that these snuffling little armored tanks are actually animated pincushions that would hurt if they really connected. For his part, Velcro has actually shoved the largest cat (18+ lbs!) out of the way with nothing more than a slightly indignant look from the cat.

Aside from this, I imagine that it will really depend on the personality of your other pet(s). I would expect more aggressive cats/dogs to try nipping at or swatting at a new hedgehog (an action that is unlikely to be repeated by any animal with the ability to learn from its mistakes). Hedgehogs are admirably well protected—the worry is "how safe are your other pets?"

As long as you supervise the first few encounters between your hedgehog and your other pets, there should be no problem in either direction. The only time there should be cause for worry is if one or more of your other pets could potentially be food in the eyes of your hedgehog (such as pet mealworms?). By way of an example of this, I would recommend that you not introduce your hedgehog to any herps you might have—it seems that, for example, hedgehogs enjoy the taste of iguana tail.

There are only a few things that are essential to keep a pet hedgehog. Basically a warm place to live (either a large cage/pen/aquarium, or a room—if you want to let your hedgehog run free), a food dish (preferably one that is not easy to tip over), a water bottle, such as for Guinea pigs, (water dishes can tend to become soiled and baby hedgehogs can easily drown in them, but adults often like them), and last but not least, something big enough for your hedgehog to hide in as a den.

It is also a good idea to have a shallow litter box or pan (although not all hedgehogs seem inclined to use them), and some type of bedding (aspen shavings, clean straw, etc., but NOT cedar.

An exercise wheel (big enough for a hedgehog) is also strongly recommended—especially for hedgehogs that don’t have the run of the house. Hedgehogs tend to be surprisingly energetic, and need the chance to use up some of this energy. In addition, it appears more and more that hedgehogs that have and use wheels live much longer and generally seem not to come down with some of the more common serious ailments, such as Fatty Liver Disease. Because of this, I am quickly reaching the opinion that a proper wheel is more of a necessity than a luxury.

This is largely a matter of choice, yours and theirs. Some hedgehog owners wouldn’t dream of caging their prickly little friends, while many breeders use large cat carriers to keep their hoards in (one hedgehog, one carrier).

I personally use large wire cages that were intended for medium to large dogs as homes for my hedgehogs. These cages measure about 2’ wide x 3’ deep x 2.5’ high (frankly I wouldn’t put a dog bigger than a Chihuahua in something this size, but the labels claim they were designed for collies and similar sized dogs!).

I should point out that organizations, such as VEZ , recommend "one square meter (approximately 1 sq. yard) of floor space for [each] hedgehog." This is a good rule of thumb, since hedgies are not as small as hamsters or gerbils, and do need space to roam in. The alternative is to give them a good playtime, each night, to roam about a larger area under supervision.

You should be careful to make sure the grating in the cage you use leaves narrow enough holes that your hedgehog can’t get out, or even get his head wedged in between the wires. Chicken wire is probably not a very safe choice. Hedgehogs will often attempt to escape with an astounding amount of vigor and can be quite single minded about doing so. Younger hedgehogs can easily get out of cages with openings between the wires as small as 1/2" (1.5 cm) -- trust me on this, Sprocket earned the middle name Houdini for just this achievement, while Pocus will gleefully climb to the top of the cage looking for even the smallest niche to squeeze through.

Bedding, such as aspen shavings, is recommended in any cage, and most importantly, some sort of place to hide is needed. Alternately, you can use Astroturf, or something like non-clumping cat litter (make sure it’s not dusty), or even epoxy coated aquarium stones (some sort of soft bed area is recommended, though). Do watch out for the pieces of litter or bedding getting caught in sensitive places as mentioned in section

The most frequently recommended den is a section of 4" (or 6" for larger hedgehogs) diameter PVC (plastic) plumbing pipe. You can get this at almost any hardware or plumbing store for a couple of dollars.

For a home, or den, what I use are two wicker breadbaskets (about 4" x 6" and 2-3" deep) tied securely together with a door cut towards one end (about 3" x 3"). Velcro prefers this to either the PVC pipe home, or a hollow log. Pocus, however prefers the PVC pipe or especially her hollow log, and won’ t have anything to do with the basket (except as a toy—Pocus tosses it like a seal with a ball). Hedgehogs can be fickle!

Don’t use anything fabric for them to hide in. I did have an old sock... Koosh liked to climb inside it, but the vet told me of an instance where a hedgehog got his leg caught in a thread, tried to get out, only made it worse, and the thread ended up slicing through her flesh to the bone. He said he was able to save the leg, though.

In addition to threads, long hairs can be as bad or worse (being even harder to see, and every bit as dangerous. My thanks to Melanie A. Abell for reminding me of this danger.

An adult can live in a ten-gallon aquarium, though things get kind of cramped (and with that little space, they really need a wheel , which in turn eats up a lot of space). A long 20-gallon tank should be OK, and bigger is better (in the wild, they have home ranges of a few square miles, so more space than that is wasted).

Cages at the large end of being suitable for Guinea pigs or rabbits are likely fines. Keep in mind that hedgehogs like to explore, and they are great escape artists. They can climb anything they can get their claws hooked into, and by rolling into a ball and leaning forward, they can manage to get down quite safely from virtually any height that didn’t need a long ladder to get them up to.

Tammy Baer sent in the following, interesting twist on the pet carrier home. I think this has some real merit for people who currently use a carrier, and want to give their little friends a better quantity of space to live in.

Each hedgie has a large dog kennel as a cage, but not in the traditional way. I took the cage apart and placed the top upside down and face to face with the bottom. That way the top half of the entrance meets the bottom and they have twice the room to roam. I use two clamps on either side to keep the halves together, and they overlap just enough that there’s no gap for little feet between halves. They still have their exercise room at night, but if I ever have to leave them for a couple of day’s I know they’re just fine. One of the great advantage to using the kennels is cleaning is a snap as bedding and even messes just wipe out. The sides are smooth and not easy to climb keeping adventurous hedgies inside. This only works if you have nothing for them to climb that is close to the edge. I found Zoe was fond of making what seemed like impossible jumps to get out. The cage is also very open and low enough to give excellent ventilation for good breathing.

The point about not having climbable items in this kind of cage (in fact, any open topped cage, needs some stressing. Hedgehogs are very adept at escaping, and they are quite able to pile things against the side of a cage to get out. I’ve seen it done, and I’ve heard more stories on this than I care to admit. ;-)

If you are not certain the place you are trying to keep your hedgehog in is warm enough to keep him from going into hibernation , you might want to consider placing a heating pad (on its LOWEST setting) under the part of the pen where your hedgehog sleeps. Make sure your hedgehog is not going to come directly into contact with the heating pad, and that he has the ability to get to an area away from it, should it be too warm for him.

If your hedgehog gets too cool, you risk a number of problems, including pneumonia. Pneumonia can be especially bad, since you may not know he has it and even if it clears up, the effects of scarring on the lungs can result in death sometime later, when things otherwise appear perfectly fine.

Other suggestions from Katherine Long are to use heating elements intended for lizards, or those for keeping germinating seeds warm. These may be much safer than a standard drugstore type-heating pad.

Ambergris much prefers to sleep under a thick towel rather than in her pipe. Actually the towel is draped over a half-hollow log and the pipe on top of the pad that is on top of the lizard warmer pad. She crawls between the towel and the pad cover, in preference to anywhere else.

There are ceramic reptile heaters that are similar to light bulbs (but give off no light). They screw into a regular light socket and can be positioned to radiate heat into the cage. They run about $25 mail order, $40 retail, and come in various wattages. If you want to add a thermostat, it gets pricier.

NOTE: When using these "heat bulbs" you must only use them in a ceramic light socket. My thanks to Ron Adrezin for this caution, and the following:

The company that makes the heat bulbs also sells ceramic sockets with a clip at the bottom so that it may be attached to the cage. I also use baggie ties on the clip to make absolutely sure that it cannot fall over and start a fire.

Some other new ideas have come up lately, that show just how imaginative people can be when it comes to dealing with hedgehogs. This next idea was actually something created for keeping a too-small European hedgehog warm enough to avoid hibernation, until he could pack on enough weight to survive the ordeal, but it would work equally well for pets.

[I created] warmer - it was a biscuit tin inside which were 2 x 15 watt pygmy bulbs, in series. (In series to reduce the heat output and lengthens the life). It was just detectable warm to the touch after an hour on the kitchen table.

Another way, this time using less electrical engineering, would be to use one of those electric germination trays that you get in garden shops, they are typically about 10 watts (i.e. close to what I get with my 2 bulbs in series) and of course they are built to be waterproof and are readily available. If you worry about waterlogging from rain or urine, it would do just as well upside-down, heat (or rather, hot air) rises.

If your room temperature doesn’t get too cool, you may be able to make do with an idea like this:

My daughter has come up with a neat idea to keep our heggies pretty warm. She has made them sleeping bags out of fleece and lined it with thin thermal material.

Just beware that there aren’t any loose threads (or hairs) that can get caught around busy hedgie legs.

I have also received suggestions of caution from Kirby J. Kerr, about using heat rocks as designed for lizards, as they are quite prone to overheating, and generally erratic behavior. In other words, do be careful when using these products.

Feel free to be inventive when it comes to keeping your hedgehog warm during the cooler months of the year. As long as there is a warm area where your hedgehog’s den is, and you haven’t created a fire hazard or some other impending disaster, you can pretty much use your imagination when it comes to impromptu heaters.

It’s imperative that your pet hedgehogs stay warm during the winter. Hedgehogs will go into hibernation if not kept warm, and if they don’t receive enough hours of light.

In most cases the answer is yes you can. In addition to wood shavings generally making for a more comfortable place to root and burrow around in, many hedgehogs are not overly particular as to where they defecate. Using shavings makes cleaning up after them quite a bit easier.

I have heard of a few cases where hedgehogs were allergic to wood shaving bedding, but these have been relatively uncommon cases. In all the cases I’ve heard of, the hedgehog has experienced what appears to be a bloody nose most nights while roaming about its enclosure. The solution was to use a more natural bedding (for example real dirt and grass). Another possibility might be to increase the humidity, but the best solution is to switch from using wood shavings.

I have also seen numerous warnings against using cedar shavings, especially for baby or young hedgehogs where the strong aroma can actually overpOver and even kill them. Here are some words of experience from Nathan Tenny:

We’re using pine shavings as a substrate, and all seems well. DO NOT USE CEDAR; we have known people to lose hedgehogs because of keeping them on cedar shavings. DO NOT USE CEDAR. (To the best of our knowledge, pine shavings are safe [now proven not to be completely true, we continue to learn as time goes on—ed.]; if you were concerned about wood shavings, per se, the safest route would be to keep them on blank newsprint. Aspen shavings, which are thoroughly non-aromatic, should also be perfectly safe.)

My thanks to Rick Russell for the original pointer to it, and to Christine Porter for the pointer to the new address.

I have to admit that when I acquired Velcro at 8 months of age, he came in a pet carrier complete with a bedding of cedar shavings and has been none the worse for wear from it, although I have used pine shavings, and now aspen shavings, Yesterdays News (cat litter), or Astroturf.

It now appears that Pine, also being an aromatic softwood, ‘can’ cause many of the same effects as cedar. While generally not as strong as cedar, it is better to opt for Aspen or other non-aromatic woods. Personally, I believe that pine, as long as it isn’t that strongly odored (very resinous) is a good choice as bedding, at least in open cages (as opposed to tanks, which can such odors in near the surface. Strong smelling pine shavings, however, are not a good choice for a bedding material.

The rule of thumb for any bedding material is that if it has a noticeable scent, it probably isn’t terribly safe.

I have recently been in touch with Gerald McKiness, who had lost five of his hedgehogs to the use of pine shavings—the cause being borne out by the necropsies that were performed. After switching away from using pine, he has had no further losses. Here are some of the details about the symptoms:

Our first casualty was a hamster of about 3 years of age. He died after about 3 weeks to a month of respiratory distress and digestive failure. My hedgehogs began dying about a year later. The symptoms always started with a loss of appetite, then loss of mobility in the hindquarters. They would have a wheeze to the breathing. The excretions would be a bright green. In about three weeks, despite everything, bottle feeding, antibiotic injections, veterinary care, they died.

The necropsies would all show respiratory distress, fluid in the lungs, liver distress, and NO PATHOGENS.

While aspen shavings do not have, what some people consider the pleasant cedar or pine scent, nor some of the insect (mite) repelling qualities of cedar, everything I have seen strongly urges against the use of cedar and also pine bedding for hedgehogs (and other small animals).

Aspen is, unfortunately, more expensive than either cedar, or especially pine, but the safety factor is paramount. If you are unable to find aspen, and are using pine, make sure you do so in a well ventilated cage or pen, not one that is enclosed with limited airflow, as this will help limit the dangers. For cedar, the answer is simply to avoid using it.

Mike McGary has the following words of wisdom on a further advantage of using Aspen shavings:

One of the benefits of Aspen shavings is that they are digestible. This can prevent problems resulting from eating the bedding (our babies have all eaten some bedding).

Indeed wood shavings of most kinds involve quite a bit of dust, which can have unpleasant side effects on small lungs. Aspen, which appears to be shredded rather than chipped, seems to be much better that pine or especially cedar.

For those of you who want an alternative to wood shavings of any kind, Kathleen Close passed along the following idea, courtesy of her veterinarian:

Use terrarium lining or Astroturf. It’s much cheaper in the long run. He suggested buying two lengths, washing them about every 3 days, and while one is drying, put the second one in.

After trying out the Astroturf idea (make sure it’s the newer soft, almost carpet-like Astroturf, not the older tinsel-like plastic grass), I wound up wondering about the edges where it seemed to unravel a bit. Terri Lewis provided the following great solution:

Use a soldering gun or iron [to melt the edges]. That should stop it from unraveling unless your [hedgehog] is really chewing on it and not just pulling at it.

I can now attest to Astroturf working quite well, and I’ve found that my hedgehogs appear to be more active on it than with wood shavings, though that may have just been their anticipation of spring being in the air.

For hamsters, gerbils, mice, rabbits, birds, reptiles, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, ferrets, skunks and other pets.

CareFRESH is a patented pet bedding made from reclaimed wood pulp waste. This short fiber virgin pulp can’t be made into paper so would normally be sent to a landfill or burned. CareFRESH helps save scarce resources. CareFRESH contains no added inks, dyes or chemical contaminants. It’s better bedding, naturally.

I use this bedding for all my small animals, i.e.: hamster, rat and hedgehogs. They have been on this bedding for about a month and seem to like it quite well. The female hedgehog I just recently got loves to burrow underneath it, as do the rat and hamster. I previously used corn cobs as I have allergies and wood chips of any kind make me ill. The dust in pine is terrible. The corn cobs are pretty good, but they still are a little dusty and kind of rough. The only downside I found about CareFRESH bedding is that it is kind of expensive and hard to find. But it does seem to last quite a while, so maybe in the long run it really is not as expensive as it seems.

Note: Some problems have been reported with some young hedgehogs eating and subsequently choking on CareFRESH bedding. I suspect this same problem can occur with virtually any "manmade" bedding material, and the best suggestion is to keep it away from the dinner area and to be careful with baby and adolescent hedgehogs.

Other suggestions are to use non-clumping cat litter, or corncob based litter. The former has two potential dangers: dust and for male hedgehogs, getting caught in the penal sheath—the same as if you used it in a litter box. For corncob litter, the danger of it getting caught in delicate places still exists, though not as likely, but the risk of dust is much lOver. It is, however, is prone to other problems, including being a source of mites, and infections, as well as being prone to rotting and odor when it gets wet. As a result, I don’t recommend corncob litter. Also, shredded office paper (though make sure it doesn’t contain any metal or odd chemical impregnated or carbon paper).

Although most bedding for pets is treated to prevent mites, bedding is still one of the major sources of these little pests. I have heard from a couple of people who have reported that their vets told them that corn cob bedding can be especially prone to mite infestations. I do have to temper that thought with the idea that if a particular brand or batch in the are that these people lived was bad, it could have been the source for numerous problems over quite a period of time. Still, if you have mite problems, it is probably worthwhile to switch to at least a different brand of bedding, if not a different type—at least for a while.

Looking still further afield, you can use the brightly colored aquarium gravel (the type that is epoxy coated). This is not as absorbent as the other bedding options, nor as warm, but it does provide a pretty safe and non-allergic alternative.

When it comes to the litter box, the primary concern is that you do NOT use a clumping type litter. Clumping litter can stick to your hedgehog when s/he uses the litter box, forming almost a layer of cement, which can quickly prevent urination.

Almost any brand of non-clumping cat litter is relatively safe. A clay-based litter may be preferable, as most hedgehogs like to dig in it, as they would in soft soil or sand. Here again, you should ask the expert (your hedgehog) for his/her preference.

It is apparently possible for even non-clumping litter to become caked on, so you should check your hedgehog frequently.

I have seen clay litter clump on one of our hedgehogs. I let her walk around in the tub full of shallow water until it is softened enough to remove gently.

Male hedgehogs can also get pieces of both clay, and especially corncob litter caught in their penal sheath. You should check hedgehogs of both sexes daily (or nightly, as the case may be) to ensure that there aren’t any such problems.

First, if you use cat litter for your hedgehog, it should be relatively dust-free as well as non-clumping. I use Johnny Cat, which says it’s 99% dust-free. I guess the dust can irritate their urinary tract, since they’re so low to the ground.

Hedgehogs also like to dig and root in sand, and will often end up using their litter boxes for this, instead of the intended purpose. If yours does this, you might want to try offering a sandbox as a play area as well.

Actually the original tends to deal more with the mating habits of our little friends, but I’m sure you get the point (or would that be points?).

One of the points I had missed in early versions of the FAQ was the need for handling pet hedgehogs to familiarize them with you. Until recently, this section has dealt primarily with the technical side of the rather thorny question of how to handle a hedgehog, rather than why.

Hedgehogs tend to be very nervous by nature and do not enjoy nature’s best eyesight. As a result, they tend to find their way around using smell as their primary sense. When you first get a hedgehog as a pet, it is important that your new friend come to identify your smell with that of a friend. The best way to do this is to spend as much time as you reasonably can (without over-stressing the hedgehog) and gently hold or play with him. Hedgehogs that are thoroughly familiar with their human friends tend to be a lot friendlier in most cases—although it depends on the hedgehog, as it does with any animal with a personality (or should that be critterality?).

It is also important to keep up the contact, to maintain the bond. Spending some time with your hedgehog(s) every couple of nights should do the job. Clearly, doing so almost daily is better, but reality rarely lets you do this.

One point that I’ve missed here, until now (my thanks to Lisa Ladouceur for pointing this out), is how to handle your hedgehog. Most hedgehogs, at least, at first, do not like to be patted on their quills. Just try gently holding your hedgie, and letting it uncurl in your hands. Let it explore around your hands and arms, and it will eventually start to become comfortable around you as it realizes that you are safe. Eventually, you can get to the point of petting most hedgehogs along the back, and some even like to be scratched in amongst their spines, but, this level of trust can take a while to develop.

What do you do when you just won’t have the chance to spend as much quality time with the hedgekids as you want, or if you’ve just gotten a new hedgehog and want to do everything possible to help get him used to you? Here is a tip from Dave Ehrnstein, who, as a fairly large breeder, doesn’t have the time to spend with each and every new hedgehog:

Another way to acquaint them with your scent is to wear an old t-shirt for two days, then put it in their cage. They will nest under it, and your scent will become "homey" to them, not threatening.

You should be careful that there are no loose loops of thread on the shirt (or hairs) that hedgefeet can get caught in and you should also at least check on the hedgehog daily, but otherwise this idea will help acquaint your new friend with your smell, and settle him into his new home.

Now on to the "how do I pick up a pincushion with the points all facing out" section.

Picking up a hedgehog, or otherwise handling him is difficult, at least until he gets to know your smell. Because of this, there is one cardinal rule about hedgehog handling and that is "never wear gloves." If you do, your hedgehog will never become used to you, and your smell. That said, there may indeed be times when you have to. As with any so-called rule, there are exceptions, and using your common sense is the best thing.

The recommended way to pick up a hedgehog is with one hand at each side of him, then bring your hands gently together to cup him. Never grasp a hedgehog in a way that could allow any of your fingers to be caught in the middle should he decide to roll into a ball. Being in the middle of a hedgehog ball is an extremely painful experience—it’s truly astounding just how strong their muscles are [words of a single, never to be repeated, unfortunate experience by the editor].

Aside from all the difficulties, it is important to handle your hedgehog frequently, so that he can become familiar with your smell (or keep familiar with it), and hence come to know you as a friend, instead of a large quill- less hedgehog eating critter.

A well-handled hedgehog, which has come to know you as a friend, will easily come to you with his quills lying flat, and will allow you to play with, and pet him.

Most hedgehogs dearly love to run, and a hedgehog wheel provide the opportunity for much good exercise. Although there are problems associated with using improper wheels, the positive effects of having and using a wheel are virtually enough to make one a necessity (unless your hedgie has free run of an entire room). One of the most tragic maladies found in hedgehogs these days is Fatty Liver Disease, though for all the cases I have heard of, none have occurred in hedgehogs that have and use wheels. This includes cases where siblings have each had the same diet, but one has not used a wheel, and the other has. Exercise is very critical to our little friends, and for almost all of them, the only option available to get them enough is to give them a wheel.

Here are a few thoughts on hedgehogs and wheels from Nathan Tenny, including some rough pointers on making your own:

They adore exercise wheels, and will run upetards of five miles a night (at a top speed of 12 mph!); their feet get stuck in the regular wire wheels, though, and screen is hard to clean (they seem to like defecating while on the move, which makes sense, I guess). We’ve begun making wooden wheels out of popsicle sticks and cross-stitch circles (the 12" size; 10" is just slightly too small). The axle is a thin dowel, and the spokes are just lengths of plywood (1" x 0.5", I think). Depending on where it’s being set up, such a wheel can be mounted in a bunch of different ways --- hung from the top of the tank [or cage], for instance.

Chuck Stoup passed along the following variation on building a wheel that looks great:

Over the weekend I made a hedgehog wheel as described in the hedgehog FAQ. I made several improvements that I thought I’d share with everyone.

On the FAQ the treadmill was made with popsicle sticks. I picked up some of the plastic grid in the sewing store that is used for yarn rugs and the like. I cut several strips the width of the treadmill and used a string to tie them together so its length was just longer than the circumference of the embroidery hoops. I used 2 9" hoops. Then I wrapped the plastic mesh around the inner hoops and secured it with the outer hoop and tightened. Then I cut some sandpaper lengthwise just wide enough to fit in the treadmill of the wheel. I used a hot glue gun to hold the paper down. Brillo seems to really like it.

I used sandpaper for two reasons. The first was the author of the FAQ mentioned about this great adhesive quality of hedgehog dung and how they seem to defecate on the run. I figured sandpaper would make an excellent surface that I can remove and discard when it gets too dirty. The plastic won’t mind getting wet either. The other reason I used sandpaper was I figured if Brillo used it she would wear down her nails and I would not have to trim her.

If you are going to use sandpaper, you should make sure you are using a very fine grade (probably 400 or higher grit), and you should also watch out for foot problems. Some hedgehogs can run their feet raw, or even to the point of bleeding (yes, they are that insistent on running, that even bleeding feet won’t give them pause to stop). If this happens, remove the sandpaper.

When I asked Chuck about using this information he also sent along the some more good ideas:

As you know, I used that plastic mesh for the running surface, but I didn’t have spokes that I thought were any good. At one point I decided that the same plastic mesh would make a good set of spokes. I cut two pieces shaped like a cross and tied the tips of the cross to the mesh on the wheel. To mount the axle I bought some eye-lets for clothing and swaged them in the center of the mesh as a hub and used a coat hanger as an axle. Runs very smoothly with no noise.

I’m not sure about using the 9" hoops (ours are 14", and that seems just right), but that depends entirely on the size of your hedgehog, and the amount of space you have available. The whole idea certainly sounds easier than the popsicle stick method.

We bought a Ferret wheel at the local pet shop - they’re like hamster wheels, only about 10" in diameter instead of 6" (some say ferret wheel, some call them rat wheels). We also got some plastic canvas from a craft shop - the kind used to make needlepoint and cross-stitching stuff. It’s flexible plastic with a gridwork of holes and comes in a variety of colors (we used black so it wouldn’t show dirt). We cut wheel-wide strips of the plastic canvas and sewed them inside the wheel, so the hog would run on it instead of on the wire cross-spokes. Our wheel ended up being 33 canvas squares across, and it took 2 1/3 strips to go all the way around the inside.

We also took some plastic aquarium tubing (the clear plastic stuff used to get air to ornaments and such), slit it open on one side, slipped it over the cross supports of the wheel (where the stand goes in), and hot-glued it in place to make a little bit of a buffer in case Brillo turned her head and got hit by the metal cross supports while she was running.

Kathy and Donald Zepp have also allowed me to add their variation on the do it yourself hedgehog wheel:

We have made wheels for our herd of 60 hedgehogs by weaving plastic gutter screen through the metal bars of commercial wheels. This stuff (designed to keep leaves out of gutters) is cheap, easy to work with, easy to clean, readily available, and seems to provide perfectly adequate footing. We simply scissor-cut it to length, weave it in & out, and then fasten the ends together with a little hot glue. Quick, cheap, & easy.

About the running wheels. What I do, from the advice of a friend, is cut a length of old jean material and weave it through every third or fourth spoke. Josie seems to have no problem with this. I also have three or four extra strips. changing them every two days. Then all I have to do is wash them on laundry day.

Finally, Randy Starcher has set up the following web page which shows how to construct a wheel (and the end result in happy use).

My thanks to Kim Heys for the latest address update for Balanced Innovations, and to Jon Santarelli, who provided the previous round of updates.

Balanced Innovations wheels are also available from the Ain’t No Creek Ranch Other sources for hedgehog safe wheels are places such as Transoniq Wodent Wheels (my thanks here to John Masinter for the info). These wheels are enclosed with round openings. The larger wheels are big enough for hedgies, but you may need to enlarge the openings for many hedgies—especially if the reason for the wheel is to trim down a plump hedgehog.

All is not wonderful with hedgehog wheels—there are a few serious problems that need to be considered.

A hedgehog wheel should not just have a set of wires running across it as on most wheels for hamsters, gerbils, etc. Without a solid surface, your hedgehog will get his legs caught in the wheel, and/or develop sores, or worse problems. Having a solid wheel leads us to the next problem.

There’s still one pending problem with the hedgehog wheels I’ve seen: Hedgehogs tend to defecate on the run (reasonable enough), and the wheel eventually gets pretty icky. If you don’t clean it, so does the hedgehog. Unfortunately, hedgehog feces stick to wood fairly effectively (that’s quite the understatement—I’m thinking of marketing it as a new extra strong glue—ed.). A heavy coat of enamel paint makes them easier to clean off, but I’d sure like to find a surface that they’ll just wipe away from. Teflon wheels?

Here’s my fiancee’s suggestion: If you live near a glass supply store, you’ll find that they sell sheets of a sort of sticky vinyl---intended as masking for people who sandblast glass. Anyway, we have one wheel that has strips of this stuff along it, for traction, and she says that the strips are noticeably easier to clean than the plain wheel. Just a thought.

I have tried a number of things with limited success. Velcro’s wheel is currently lined with some cheap vinyl placemats (the smooth, shiny, padded kind) that have been cut into strips and stuck together with anti-slip strips (sort of like self adhesive sandpaper to put on stairs and things to keep people from sliding away). The anti-slip strips are there as a vain attempt to help Velcro keep his nails worn down a little. It isn’t too slippery, and definitely passes the Velcro approval test (by that, I mean it needs a thorough cleaning most mornings)!

Hedgehogs have a tendency to suddenly look around to the sides and behind while they are running, to see how far they’ve gone. This almost always results in getting hit in the face with a spoke from the wheel. Unfortunately I know of at least one hedgehog who has lost an eye because of this (the hedgehog is fine—it was properly treated by a vet). The only sensible solution I can see is to pad the spokes so that they don’t cause injuries when they hit, or if you are really inventive, maybe design a spokeless wheel, maybe suspended on a roller from the top of the cage?

As a parting note on this subject, I received a reminder recently, from Teresa, that to help cure a squeaky wheel, you can use petroleum jelly, and not have to worry about any harmful consequences from it being licked at by a curious hedgehog. I know from experience what happens to your nerves when a wheel (or two, or three, or...) is squeaking, when you’re trying to get to sleep. ;-} I’ve also found that both Linatone and vegetable oil will work, but they do tend to become sticky over time, while petroleum jelly usually will not, and tends to last longer.

Hedgehogs like to explore, and in spite of appearing to have almost nothing in the leg department, their legs are actually quite long (as you may be amazed to see during scratching and/or the contortions that accompany self-anointing ). Whether because of their long legs (or maybe that’s why they are so long...), hedgehogs like to explore and run. Probably the best toy for most hedgehogs is a proper hedgehog wheel , which most hedgehogs will run on.

Aside from wheels, another toy that I’ve heard recommended by numerous people is a toilet paper tube (preferably, without the toilet paper still attached). Many hedgehogs will pick this up and carry it or push it around for ages. Beware though, certain hedgehogs, who will go nameless (but whose initials are Velcro) have managed to get their overly busy nose stuck in these and after completely destroying their cage, had to be helped free in the morning.

You might want to make a cut through from end to end, and possibly even bevel the corners of the cut a bit to make sure your clumsy little friend doesn’t get stuck and/or hurt himself.

Another favorite ‘toy’ for hedgehogs is a sandbox or grass plots. Here are some more detailed descriptions from Mary Anne, courtesy of a the keeper of nocturnal animals at a nearby zoo:

[One idea] was to dig up clumps of sod with tall grass growing and place them in the area for the hogs to root in. She said live mealworms would burrow in the clumps and the hedgies would root for them. These sod clumps should be fairly dry like the wild hedgie environment. I was concerned that I might bring in parasites or unhealthy stuff but she said they are hardy animals and hers have lived 6-8 years in captivity with grass clumps being brought in regularly. We have not tried this yet but we DID try her other suggestion—to provide a sandy area for the hogs to roll around in (like bird dust baths). It is natural mite-control and our hogs LOVE it. We bought 12" plastic flOverpot saucers and a 50 lb bag of playsand (this has the silica washed out—silica can cause lung problems). An inch or two of sand in a saucer provides a good bath. Our hedgehogs twist, turn and boogie in the sand—it’s fun to watch. From what I’ve read, some hedgehogs do this sort of thing in kitty litter [you better believe they do - ed.] --the added advantage of sand is that it’s more like their natural environment and helps keep them clean while discouraging mites. Hope this info helps you and your hedgies enjoy each other even more.

Shelley Small passed along the following suggestion for a hedgehog "pool" that her hedgehog loves to play in:

[His pool is] what I call his Rubbermaid box with the styrofoam popcorn in it since he sure does love to swim in it!!)

If you offer your hedgie a ‘pool,’ just make sure the container is low enough that he can manage to get back out again, after a grand old burrowing