Species: Hedgehog
Care Level: Beginner
Place of Origin: Africa and Europe. But ones available in the pet trade primarily African origin.
General information:
The Hedgehog is a small nocturnal omnivorous mammal. Hedge hogs average in size from 300 grams to 1300 grams (European species and males are larger). Hedge hogs are naturally very skittish and timid. So when seeking to purchase one, it is best to look for young recently weaned babies. Also it is imperative that you handle them at a young age as often a possible. The best way the handle your hedgehog is to pick them up from below. Never try to pry the hog opens, a hedge hog that is handled often will generally become more relaxed in time, and ball up less.
The top 3 medical reasons that Hedgehogs are present to a veterinarian for are obesity, Fatty liver disease, and mites. Two of these 3, fatty liver and obesity are directly related to diet. It is imperative that you feed your hog the proper diet and DO NOT OVER FEED. The third; mites can simply be prevented by keeping the enclosure clean and providing clean fresh bedding.
Housing/ lighting:
We recommend keeping hedgehogs in a simple/ clean setup. A good simple setup for a hedgehog would be a 20 gallon long tank with a screen top. To provide water we recommend using a hanging water bottle. Water bowls are to easy to contaminate and soil. Food should be provided in a shallow bowl, and changed daily. For bedding we recommend either Care Freshâ type bedding (recycled paper based), or Aspen bedding. We personally use Aspen, because we have seen a higher incidence of mites in Hedgehogs housed on paper based bedding.
Feeding:
Hedgehogs are omnivorous but the majority of the protein in there diet should be insects. Many breeders recommend feeding hogs a reduced calorie cat food. We do not, research and veterinary research has shown otherwise. The problem with cat foods is they provide a high fat/ high protein diet. Hedge hogs require a high protein/ low fat diet. Also the vast majority of cat food use corn as the primary source of carbohydrates. Corn is not easily digested and is low in fiber. We recommend feeding a commercial grade Hedge hog diet. Diets such as Sun Seed Hedgehog diet, or MazuriÒ insectivore diet. Supplement these diets with crickets, mealworms, Phoenix worms, and silkworms. Don’t forget to provide the occasional fruits: bananas, apples, berries, etc.
If you are unable to acquire a Hedgehog diet, we recommend one of two options. You can either
contact us and we can special order some for you (we do not keep it in stock). Or try to purchase a holistic reduced calorie cat food. Look for one that has the protein source as the primary ingredient, and also make sure that the carbohydrate source is not corn, wheat, or gluten.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact us at
staff@gaiaexotics.com 