Taking your new hedgehog home
Your new hedgehog will need time to get used to you and its new
surroundings, this can take a few weeks. When you take it home put it into its cage with an old, worn t-shirt (this will help it get used to your smell quicker, as hedgehogs rely heavily on their sense of smell because their eyesight is not so good). Hedgehogs make great pets and rarely, if ever, bite. However they do have very sharp prickles and when they are frightened they will ball up and make a huffing sound.

If you find that your hedgehog is very nervous and doing this a lot then you should sit with a blanket on your lap and the hedgehog underneath it and let it come out and explore when its ready. I offer a treat or two when they come out as this helps them to look forward to ‘playtime’.

Your hedgehog will probably poop the first few times that you get them out but this will soon stop. It is a good time to start litter training - pick up the poop and put it into the litter tray and leave it overnight. Soon your hedgehog will be using the litter tray properly.


Housing & Toys
Your hedgehog needs plenty of space to exercise. I recommend using a large indoor rabbit cage ( like a Zoozone 2) minimum size 3’ by 2’. I use shredded newspaper for bedding but you can use any small animal bedding or blankets if you have litter trained your hedgehog. Bedding needs changing regularly and water/ food bowls need washing daily. Sturdy, non-tippable bowls should be used.

Your hedgehog also likes to play so a large running wheel (solid plastic so their feet don’t get caught, 10-12 inches in diameter) is a must. Toilet roll tubes (cut down the side so their heads don’t get stuck), large cardboard tunnels, kitten balls and cork bark make great toys. Your hedgie is nocturnal so will not get up to eat or play until after dark. They can run up to 5 miles a night. Your hedgehog is not native to our country and cannot tolerate our winters so they need to be kept in a warm room. They cannot be kept outside, in sheds or garages. They do not hibernate like our English hedgehogs, if they get too cold they try to hibernate and will then die.


Handling
Most new owners are nervous about picking up their hedgehogs- they can pick up on this and then become nervous themselves, balling up and huffing.

The best way to pick up your hedgehog is to put your hands either side of its stomach, spread out your fingers and scoop it up. If you find that your hedgie is a bit nervous in the begininng you can use a blanket and then gently roll it out and your hedgehog will unroll with like nothing has happened. Do not use gloves as hedgehogs rely on their sense of smell and they will not be able to smell you through the gloves and may become nervous.

You will soon get used to each other and then your hedgehogs spikes will lay flat on its back and not feel so sharp.

You should aim to handle your hedgehog for at least an hour each evening.

Diet & Feeding
If your hedgehog eats or smells something new it will start foaming at the mouth and contorting itself to spread the foam on its back, this is called self annointing. It is a perfectly normal behaviour and is quite funny to watch.


Good foods
- Good quality cat biscuit (low fat, high protein)
A bowl to be kept in the cage at all times
- Unseasoned, cooked meat ( cut up small to prevent choking)
- Good quality cat meat (chicken, turkey, lamb, beef or rabbit flavour)
- Unseasoned, cooked meat (cut up small to prevent choking)
- Boiled eggs
- Low-fat yoghurt
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- Banana, melon, apple, pear, strawberries
- Cooked vegetables
- Crickets, mealworms, waxworms -Live or dried
( fed only as a treat due to high fat content )

Feed a varied diet from the list above daily, fresh water should be available at all times. Your hedgehog has been using a water bowl but you can slowly change it to a water bottle if you prefer by putting both in the cage until the bottle is accepted.


Do NOT feed
- Chocolate (Toxic)
- Bird seed
- Nuts (choking hazard)
- Slugs or snails
- Garden worms
- Fish (Allergic)
- Milk (lactose intolerant)
- Grapes


You can download this care sheet here