The following is a quick breakdown of some things you’ll need to think about before you purchase a new ‘hedgie’. For more detailed information please email us with your questions.
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 consider them as nocturnal as they tend to be more active a night.
They 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 commercial cat food i.e. Purnia Cat and Kitten Chow supplemented by 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 but most of these food contain a lot of things that you hedgehogs doesn't need in its diet and not enough of the items it does need. We DO NOT suggest feeding your hedgehog any of these "Complete Hedgehog Diet" as your main food if you wish to mix a bit into your cat food mix or offer a bit of it as treats that is fine just don't offer it as the only diet as this will give you an overweight and unhealthy hedgehog. 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 need 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.
We suggest a 90-96QT Sterlite Container (from Walmart-Target) as these are very suitable for housing a hedgehog. The larger the better but 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. But when at all possible provide them with wooden 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 we suggest Yesterdays News or Aspen Pellets and for nesting material use good quality clean hay and fleece scraps as hedgehogs enjoy covering themselves while they are sleeping.
Be sure your hedgehog gets lots of exercise by providing a solid exercise wheel and letting them out of their cage to roam while supervised. There is a lot to learn regarding keeping and caring for a pet hedgehog so do lots of research before deciding to add one as a pet. There is a wondeful book out called The Hedgehog Primer which I sell copies of for $10.95 which were written by a fellow breeder and lover of hedgehogs.
