How to care of hedgehogs: Beginner's guide
News Desk | Apr 07, 2025, 14:16 IST
Learning how to care for hedgehogs involves creating a safe, warm habitat, providing a proper diet of high-protein food, and ensuring regular handling for socialization. Clean their enclosure often and monitor for health issues. Understanding how to care for hedgehogs helps keep these unique pets happy and healthy, making them a delightful addition to any home.
Hedgehogs are unique and low-maintenance pets but they still require proper care to stay healthy and happy. Owning a hedgehog can be somewhat expensive as they do require large enclosures. However once you set everything up, they make for a great, low maintenance pet. Here are some tips, explaining how to take care of your pet hedgehog:
1. Make sure hedgehogs are legal in your place of inhabitance
Before adopting a Hedgehog, make sure they are legal in your place of residence. Some places usually ban them or they are simply restricted due to their ownership concerns. In the united states, hedgehog are illegal in the states of Arizona, California , Hawaii and Georgia. Always check with your local authorities first before bringing a HedgeHog home.
2. Check the Hedgehog for any signs of illness
- Check for excessive filth around their fur and quills
- Make sure they don't have a tattered ear or are not scratching constantly.
- Make sure they are not lethargic, lacks awareness and have a slow response time
- Sunken or crusty eyes hedgehog should be not brought home at any costs.
3. Find the ideal place for your hedgehog
You need to make your hedgehog feel safe. They love to live in a cozy, quiet space. Loud noises from TV’s can scare them as they are hyper-sensitive. It can cause them stress and they can easily become irritated.
4. Feed and give water to your hedgehog
High quality nutritious food should be given to a Hedgehog. A balanced diet of high-protein, low-fat kibble should be given. Occasional treats like apples, bananas and carrots should be given. Always provide clean water in a shallow dish or a bottle.
5. Housing and habitat
Cage size : At least 2 ft into 3 ft with solid flooring.
Bedding : Use paper-based bedding. Avoid any cedar wood or pine wood shavings.
Temperature setting: Keep the cage between 72-80 F to prevent hybernation.
6. Change the bedding at least every two weeks
Keep their space clean that minimizes their chances of contracting any infection or diseases. An unclean environment might promote such key diseases and bacterial infections.
7. Groom your hedgehog
Trim their nails regularly to prevent overgrowth. Occasional baths and unscented baby shampoos must be used. Watch for signs of obesity and lethargy.
8. Be aware of Hedgehog characteristics
They may be cute but they have a unique characteristic that might not make them right for everyone else. Such as keeping them in your bedroom might not be ideal. They are naturally shy but may curl up into a ball when scared. Their quills are sharp especially when they feel threatened.
Hedgehogs are unique pets, but they sure require extra handling and repeat temperature checks. They are not the best choice for someone wanting an affectionate and social pet.
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1. Make sure hedgehogs are legal in your place of inhabitance
Before adopting a Hedgehog, make sure they are legal in your place of residence. Some places usually ban them or they are simply restricted due to their ownership concerns. In the united states, hedgehog are illegal in the states of Arizona, California , Hawaii and Georgia. Always check with your local authorities first before bringing a HedgeHog home.
2. Check the Hedgehog for any signs of illness
- Check for excessive filth around their fur and quills
- Make sure they don't have a tattered ear or are not scratching constantly.
- Make sure they are not lethargic, lacks awareness and have a slow response time
- Sunken or crusty eyes hedgehog should be not brought home at any costs.
How to care of hedgehogs
3. Find the ideal place for your hedgehog
You need to make your hedgehog feel safe. They love to live in a cozy, quiet space. Loud noises from TV’s can scare them as they are hyper-sensitive. It can cause them stress and they can easily become irritated.
4. Feed and give water to your hedgehog
High quality nutritious food should be given to a Hedgehog. A balanced diet of high-protein, low-fat kibble should be given. Occasional treats like apples, bananas and carrots should be given. Always provide clean water in a shallow dish or a bottle.
Hedgehogs should be given high quality and nutritious food to thrive
5. Housing and habitat
Cage size : At least 2 ft into 3 ft with solid flooring.
Bedding : Use paper-based bedding. Avoid any cedar wood or pine wood shavings.
Temperature setting: Keep the cage between 72-80 F to prevent hybernation.
6. Change the bedding at least every two weeks
Keep their space clean that minimizes their chances of contracting any infection or diseases. An unclean environment might promote such key diseases and bacterial infections.
7. Groom your hedgehog
Trim their nails regularly to prevent overgrowth. Occasional baths and unscented baby shampoos must be used. Watch for signs of obesity and lethargy.
hedgehogs as pets
8. Be aware of Hedgehog characteristics
They may be cute but they have a unique characteristic that might not make them right for everyone else. Such as keeping them in your bedroom might not be ideal. They are naturally shy but may curl up into a ball when scared. Their quills are sharp especially when they feel threatened.
Hedgehogs are unique pets, but they sure require extra handling and repeat temperature checks. They are not the best choice for someone wanting an affectionate and social pet.
- Are hedgehogs easy to care for?
They are low-maintainence as compared to other pets but they have specific needs that should be tend to. Although they are not easy as cats and dogs but are manageable if you are prepared. - What is the biggest problem with hedgehogs?
They have a nocturnal nature, which means they are active at night and so might make noise in the wee hours. They should always be kept in a warm environment, if they get too cold they may attempt to hibernate. At first they can be extremely shy and prickly making them difficult to interact with. - What does a hedgehog eat?
They generally eat high-quality cat food, consisting of mealworms and crickets.