A Pet's View / August 2006
Over, Under and
About the Hedgie
Potential pet owners looking for a unique, compact companion without a lot of demands might opt for a hedgehog.
Just 5-8 inches long, weighing from half a pound to almost two pounds, hedgies have a quiet, gentle disposition. They don’t bark, claw curtains, chew furniture or need walks. Naturally shy, hedgehogs can be sweet pets if they’re bred in captivity, handled as youngsters
and properly socialized.
Their backs are covered with rows of short prickly spines and their bellies covered
with soft fur. When threatened, they roll into a tight ball, spines poking out. When relaxed, their spines lay almost flat. Unrelated to the porcupine, hedgehogs are sometimes mistaken for them but hedgehog quills aren’t barbed or nearly as sharp and remain attached to the hedgehog. Unlike hamsters, guinea pigs or ferrets, hedgehogs don’t have any appreciable odor and most are easily litter trained. With proper care and diet, hedgehogs can live four to seven years. They don’t need immunizations and are very disease resistant.
They have distinct personalities and adorable little faces, like a baby raccoon, with pointed noses that twitch constantly. They keep their short, stubby tail tucked close to their bodies. They are surprisingly intelligent, easily entertained and have a tendency to be plump.
Although there are fourteen species of hedgehogs, Atelerix albiventris, the species most commonly known as the African, four-toed or white-bellied hedgehog is the only one legally sold as a pet in the US. Choosing a hedgehog six to eight weeks old, is the best way to make sure it will get used to being handled. A baby hedgehog, called a hoglet, that allows itself to be picked up or turned on its back without rolling into a ball may be more adaptable to handling. Males and females are equally good pets, but like to live alone. A cage with a minimum floor area of 24” x 36” will keep either happy and secure.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals that sleep most of the day and are awake at night. They should only be kept indoors at normal room temperature (65 to 80F). Domesticated hedgehogs aren’t equipped to hibernate and hibernation attempts can be life-threatening for them. They will play with tunnels, mazes and specially designed hedgehog wheels or even toilet paper tubes and don’t like loud noises.
Despite a solitary nature, hedgehogs can be very affectionate, but it may take a while for them to become accustomed to handling. A hedgehog owner must be patient, gentle, and willing to accept that hedgehogs work the night shift. Younger children may not understand the pet’s reticence. The shy creatures
don’t really crave human interaction and children can interpret that as “she doesn’t like me!”
Wild hedgehogs cover a couple of square miles hunting for food nightly, so exercise is an important part of hedgehog habitat. Multi-level ferret or rabbit cages make an excellent hedgehog home if mesh floors are lined with carpet or special material to avoid foot injuries. An exercise wheel is excellent. Any mesh or bar-lined wheel should be covered
with craft foam or something similar so the hedgehog’s feet won’t slip between the bars. Solid exercise wheels are also available.
In the wild, insects make up most of their natural diet. Some hedgehog owners feed their pet cat food or special hedgehog food. Both should be low in fat and iron and high in protein. Their staple diet can be supplemented by lean cooked chicken, fruit and vegetables, and no more than one or two mealworms, a favorite hedgehog treat, per day.
Only recently domesticated, and naturally
cautious, even the friendliest of hedgies sometimes raise their quills. Experienced owners promise, “If you own a hedgehog you WILL get poked!”
Sometime between two and six months, hoglets go through quilling, a period like teething, only hedgehogs replace their baby quills with adult quills. Even friendly hedgie babies become cranky when quilling, which can take from one to four months to complete.
Every hedgehog has its own special personality,
but almost all require patience to earn their trust. New owners should remember
hedgies don’t see all that well, and get a lot of their information about the world through their sense of smell. They tend to duck and snuffle when strange blurs come at them. If the strange blur smells familiar, it’s less threatening. Hedgies who initially huff up, roll into a ball and refuse to come out can often become snuggle bunnies once they realize no one is going to make them into dinner.
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