I got Sammy's treats at my favorite small petstore yesterday, and they had a family of hedge hogs. My boss has been saying she's interested in them as a pet, but doesn't know much about them. I said I'd ask here for the low down on all things Hedge Hog.

A few basic questions: What do they want to eat? I was told there are pellets that combine what they like and need for nutrition, so that is all they need, but is that true? Or is it like us making our bunnies live only on pellets - sustained but hardly the best thing for them.

Are they OK being alone with their humans, or do they really need a buddy? Does she need to get two if she gets one?

Caged all the time, with human visits like guinea pigs, or a more open habitat?

Tell all, Hedge Hog lovers.

(P.S. Your reward for info. is a look at the pix I took of them - not yet uploaded to this computer. Very cute.)

When I used to volunteer at the zoo they had one that they would take to schools to educate the kids, but they are illegal here I want one. I always tease my aunty to bring me one next time she comes back from Indiana :p

The one at the zoo was kept in a large aquarium and he loved his little log house. I think they really like to dig too.

is there like a website about hedge hog care?

HEDI has Snuggles and DigX use to have a hedgehog too I think. Hopefully, they'll see your post. One thing I remember Hedi said is that their excrement stinks. Like, reeeallly stinks! But they do make up for it in cuteness I think.

Hedgehog CENTRAL! Sounds pretty serious hehe

hedgehogcentral.com/care.shtml

I don't have much experience with hedgehogs other than there was one that came into our vet clinic to get his nails done- he would curl up into a ball- so we had to give him gas anesthesia to get him to uncurl so we could trim his nails.  The owner had the same problem at home- he curled up for her too.

I think there are some sandpapery type type things you can add to a Wodent Wheel for hedgehogs to keep their nails trimmed though.

 

We had two. They don't live very long- I think 5yrs at the most. And they can be expensive.

To answer your questions:
What do they want to eat? Many people feed them catfood but it needs to be a specific blend of protein. Many cat foods wont meet their daily requirements. They also love mealwords, waxworms and if you are adventurous they like crickets, scorpions, etc...
BUT..they do this NASTY thing whenever they are introduced to a new smell/food (even new fabrics, toys, and so on)...they begin foaming (literally) at the mouth and then twist their head around and use their tongues to coat their backs w/ it. I would always make ours "stop" doing this because it grossed me out so much!
Our hedgies hated "hedgie food" so we never bought it but once and it went to waste. Some companies make kinds they will eat though. Hedgie food didnt used to exist so cat food has always worked.

MANY states do not allow hedgies AND traveling w/ hedgies is typically a big no no. Since they are "very" exotic animals you have to have papers on them most places, especially crossing any state lines.

Our female hedgies hated eachother. Unless you adopt two that were born together putting two unknown hedgies together could be fatal for one. THey tend to be mean. They dont mind at all being alone so no need to buy two.

All hedgies are nocturnal animals. Rarely can you get one to flip to being awake during the day. Ours both would wake up about 11pm when they "thought" we were in bed, get in their wheels and run until about 6am or before the sun rose and sneak into a hedgie sak and go back to sleep. So if you arent a night person, then forget them as pets. We got Snuggles as a baby and she had been handled quite a bit but she still hated to be messed with most of the time. She would sleep in my lap but if I handled her she would get upset.

We put ours each in separate large rabbit cages that would fit their wheels and they would be fine. They cant be in a cage that they can climb because they will jump out (ours did once). lol She was fine but she made like a 4ft drop and was hiding in the bunny room for a few hours. In the wild they can drop like 20 feet safely.

Im a nurse and I can handle any and all nasty smells, but the SMELL of their poo was something I barely handled. Everytime I cleaned I fought not to throw up. And it takes a lot to make me vomit.

Few other things, many people are very allergic to their quills so just touching them people will begin to itch and break out in hives. I did every single time i touched either of them. It was awful. When they get upset or scared they huff so their quills puff up and they ARE painful! Babies shed quills for at least the first year of life so you will frequently find them in your feet, furniture (ouch!) since they shed them like hair.

MANY vets will not touch them! We took ours in for nail clippings and the hedgies refused to unball so the vets said there wasnt anything they could do. So if they had been sick we would have been outta luck if they would refuse to unball. Some are more social than others w/ strangers. Ours hated strangers.

There are some great hedgie sites out there. They are (i believe) very few people out there who truely should have hedgies. They are so cute but I just dont know if they are really social enough to really be kept domestically. Just my opinion though..

Great website for info is: www.hedgehogcentral.com

"Gas anesthesia for nail trims."





uh.... I'LL PASS.

Woohoo I did find the good website!! Aww they are so cute tho!!