| African Pygmy Hedgehog |
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African Pygmy Hedgehogs are unique and fascinating animals. If the correct level of care is maintained then there is likely to be no reason why they would not make great pets for all ages.
Below is a caresheet which is worth reading before buying your hedgehog. Housing
Obviously this is a very important thing to consider when buying your hedgehog. I would reccomend that you buy the biggest possible house that you can afford and obviously accomodate. Many people keep their hedgehog in rabbit cages like the ZooZone style, they cost between £30-80 depending on size and are available in a variety of colours. The Nero cage comes in similar sizes and colours to the ZooZone, however instead of having a completly plastic roof, the nero cage has metal sidebars. Vivariums are also popular housing for hedgehogs and come in different shapes, size and types, obviously you should again | 
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| go for the biggest one you can accomodate and afford. Our hedgehogs are currently housed in large vivariums, a benefit of the vivarium style housing is that you can easily implement a heating system. We have attatched a heat bulb to the corner of our vivarium so that if the hedgehogs are cool they can go and sit in the heated area to warm up. It is important to remember that African Pygmy Hedgehogs come from much warmer climates, and therefore it is essential that their house is kept at a minimum of 19 degrees celcius, and this should be fine if your home is fully centrally heated. You will also need to use some form of substrate in your hedgehog's house, we use wood shavings and chunky wood chips also used for some types of reptiles. |
| Feeding
Hedgehogs should be given a varied diet, this may include branded cat foods such as GoCat and Royal Canin. These contain mixtures of all sorts of meats and vegetables which are essential to a hedgehogs diet. It is worth experimenting with the brands of foods as you may find that your hedgehog prefers one more than another. Hedgehogs are also very receptive to small portions of cooked meat, however this should only be given occasionally. Treats can be given to hedgehogs, but should not be given to them as the core of their diet. We use treats such as cooked mince meat, scrambled egg (using water not milk) and mealworms (dead and alive).You must never give your hedgehog Cows Milk or products containing Cows Milk it can be fatal to them. This is also true of fish, do not feed to hedgehogs! |
Enrichment
Just like cats, dogs, rabbits and hamsters, hedgehogs love to play. Toys are essential for the hedgehog, they can easily be satisfied with some home made toys, such as cutting a toilet roll centre down the middle so they can't get stuck. They also like tunnels and places to hide, the commercial rabbit tunnels are ideal for hedgehogs as they are big enough for them to fit through and hide in. A wheel is a really important addition to the habitat, hedgehogs can run up to 5 miles per night and without a wheel they may become overweight and unfit. A hamster or degu wheel or any metal wire wheel is unsuitable and you need to obtain a completly plastic wheel, like the Silent Spinner variety, £20. Other ways to enrich your hedgehog could include scattering meal worms in the substrate for them to find. | 
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| Bonding
Like with any other pet you will want to bond with your hedgehog. Hedgehogs can be handled and are not normally as prickly as you would expect. Hedgehogs should be handled daily in order to give them companionship and make them easy to handle when you need to do things such as clean their cage or take them to the vets. Try to handle your hedgehogs when they wake on their own accord rather than waking them up yourself as they could |
| be quite grumpy and they will huff and puff. A way to encourage bonding is to 'bribe' your hedgehogs, by giving them treats. Hedgehogs will then learn to associate handling with treats and they should become more receptive. To pick up your hedgehog, place your open palms at either side of the hedgehog and gently lift them onto your open palms, they may curl up but are more likely to uncurl quickly if you pick them up carefully and gently. Hedgehogs will be very disgruntled when they first arrive to your home, the journey may make them nervous and they may show this by 'huffing' in a ball, We would recommend you let the hedgehog settle in for a day before attempting to handle them. |
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