Hedgehogs make special pets due to their distinct diet. Not only are they covered with tiny spikes that allow them to form balls when scared, but keeping one as a pet requires special consideration such as housing and feeding needs; continue reading to discover the best care regimen for a hedgehog pet!
Hedgehog Diet
In contrast to most pocket pets, hedgehogs are considered insectivores and enjoy feeding on insects that creep and crawl around them. Mealworms and crickets are most frequently fed, while store-bought special diet kibble is generally sufficient. Supplementing mealworms/crickets as well as veggies is recommended if your kibble doesn’t include insects already.
Owners and breeders still feed hedgehogs cat food, but this is not ideal since cat food does not contain blood meal and chitin for proper growth and wellbeing.
Hedgehogs Make Great Pets While African Pygmy Hedgehogs may be native to central and eastern Africa, most are actually hybrids between Four-toed and Algerian hedgehog species. As their names imply, African Pygmy hedgehogs live predominantly off insects such as insects, grubs snails spiders and small vertebrates found in nature – an diet you should strive to replicate while keeping one as an indoor pet.
Cages designed for guinea pigs and rabbits are suitable for keeping hedgehogs; however, wire-grate cage bottoms should be avoided since their delicate feet could become injured if they fall through these grates. Soft bedding such as recycled paper material or towels that can be changed out frequently provides optimal conditions for their sensitive feet. Padding inside their cage is important; wire bottoms or plastic grates can lead to callus formation that leads to pododermatitis–or you could try using fleece dog training potty pads over soft padding in certain areas for easy clean-up!
Your cage should contain a large enclosed running wheel to allow your hedgie to exercise safely, in addition to hiding boxes, food bowls and water bottles. Be sure to regularly clean out this running wheel to prevent build-up of fecal matter that could potentially cause foot infections in humans when handling them1.1
Hedgehogs are active at night and will run several miles on their wheel or enclosed play area each day, without proper exercise they could become depressed, overweight and develop foot sores if their physical needs aren’t fulfilled. Exercise and activity is critical to their wellbeing so potential owners must commit to providing their hedgehog with enough room for physical activities to continue at an acceptable level.