Care Sheet for Exotic AnimalsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.00 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 12/03/2005 |
Main Category: | Non-Reptile/Amphibian |
Sub Category: | Exotic Animals |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Scarfie |
Years Experience: | 3 to 5 Years |
Species: | Hedgehog |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | N/A |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Cedar and Pine bedding should be avoided as these can cause resperitory problems, I prefer carefresh for mine however there are lots of other options available, such as aspen, soft-sorbant, hemp, yesterdays news, and several others.
Water should be offered in a water bottle instead of a dish because the dishes will quickly get dirty and filled with bedding. Bottled water is best because it does not have all the chlorines and chemicals that tap water has. |
Lighting and UVB: | Regular household lighting is fine. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Room temperature is fine. Avoid drafts, direct sunlight, and sudden changes in temperature. |
Heating and Equipment: | No special heating is required as long as your house stays close to room temperature.
Equipment needed
Cage
Bedding
Toys
Wheel
two food dishes
Water bottle
Hides |
Caging Provided: | I provide a 75 gallon aquarium with carefresth bedding, toys, one igloo hide, water bottle two dishes one for dry food and one for wet and a wheel |
Diet: | Omnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Hedgehog diet has not been researched alot so it is difficult to find much info on it but after talking to my vet this is what I have found. Most commercially available hedgehog food is inadequate, the first few ingrediants should be meat preferablly chicken and not byproducts. A good staple should be a high quality light cat food (not meow mix or kitten chow) such as Nutro, Eukanuba, or royal canin (these should be available at your local pet store) this should be available at all times, for the rest of the diet I offer in the evening moist light cat food, eggs (scrambled usually but anyway as long as it is cooked is fine) veggies (usually offered in the form of baby food because mine eats it better that way) and 5-6 freeze dried mealworms or crickets. Then while mine is out running during playtime I put live mealworms down for him to chase he loves it. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | No supplements should be provided unless your vet reccomends it. |
Maintenance: | Cage should be cleaned at least once a week. When the cage is cleaned everything in the cage should be cleaned as well. The wet food dish should be cleaned every day. Hedgehogs should be allowed at least 30 minutes of out of cage time nightly. And more if they are still balling up constantly. Toys that most hedgehogs seem to enjoy include hanging parrot toys with bells, wheels make sure that they are solid and large enough (mine uses a 13 1/2" wheel) and anything they can push around like cat balls with bells in them, large plastic toy dump trucks, etc.
Hedgehogs require vet checkups by a qualified exotic vet at least once every six month at this time they should recieve a full checkup usually they will have to be put under for this. |
Some Words on this Species: | Hedgehogs can be very entertaining but before you get one be sure that you can commit to providing such a varied diet every day. |
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