One pro to owning a hedgehog is they have no odor like most other small animals. And they are hypoallergenic.

Care and Management:

When you bring your new hedgehog home, place him in his new cage (minimum space of approximately 18 x 24 inches) and let him have absolute privacy for at least a day. It will probably be more like a week before he begins to feel at home. Baby hedgehogs need quite a bit of sleep the first month after they come home with you, so don't be too concerned if he sleeps a lot at first.

Cage Placement:

Place your hedgehog’s new home in a comfortable, warm, well lit area that is free of drafts and direct sunlight. They are most comfortable at temperatures of between 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit. (18-27 degrees Celsius) If the temperature is too low your hedgehog may go into hibernation, which will most likely kill it. The basic rule of thumb is, if you are comfortable without a sweater, they will do just fine.

Litter Box:

Your pet will use a litter box if you provide it with one. The small animal litter boxes (sold at most pet stores) with some cat litter (non-clumping cat litter is the safest choice) or small animal litter will do nicely.

 

Toys:

You can also add a few toys for your hedgehog to play with. An exercise wheel is an excellent addition and will help him to stay healthy and trim. Although a guinea pig wheel will suffice, there are now specially designed Hedgehog Wheels available from many pet suppliers. These are safer for your pet since they have a solid or mesh-covered running surface rather than the more common metal bars which they sometimes get their long legs caught in.

Feeding:
Although there are hedgehog foods available in stores, dry cat and kitten formulas are equally good choices. Whatever commercial food you choose should be supplemented by a variety of other foods such as vegetables, meal worms and crickets, cooked meats and fruit and vegetables. However none of these should be fed as anything more than a treat 3 or 4 times a week. The dry food should be the staple. While the dry food can be fed free choice to all but the more obese hedgehogs, the supplements should be offered for no more than 15 minutes and then removed.

 Introducing New Companions/ Supervised Play Sessions:

ns where the two hedgehogs have explored and played companionably should you try putting them in a cage together, and after doing so you should supervise closely for several days and remove promptly at the first signs of aggression. (Mild huffing is normal, but nothing beyond that). 2 females can usually live nicely together, but more than one male might be a problem.

With your new Hedgehog you can expect:
- Tohave to provide a regular source of appropriate, high quality food and clean water.

- To clean the cage once per week, sometimes a little more or less, and that it may or may not litter train.

-That it will need to stay warm (above about 70F), or else it may get sick and die.
- You will get poked. Even the best hedgehogs have off days.

- That there is a strong chance you will need to trim its toenails, even if it gets grumpy and doesn't want you to.

- That it will self-anoint (i.e., spread spit or other things on itself).

- That it will do better if handled daily, even for just a few minutes.

- That it will be happier if it has a wheel and a place to hide.

- That a hedgehog that is not friendly to begin with may never become friendly, although they do often show slow improvement over the years.

- That it may bite, though this is unlikely. Anything with teeth may bite.

- That two males probably will not enjoy one another’s company, although two females may.

- That its life expectancy is 3 to 6 years, with cancer being an extremely common cause of death in older hedgehogs.

- That it will enjoy toys that it can climb in or on, and items it can manipulate.

- That it may poop on you, especially if it is a baby. Babies don't seem to have much in the way of manners or bowel control.

- That most babies will go through a period of quilling (shed their baby quills and replace them with their adult quills).and will be very grumpy for a while. You will need to hold it anyway, if you want to keep it from learning that this is a good way to get people to leave it alone.

- That it may need at least one trip to the vet for mites in its lifetime. The little pests are not species-specific, and can come from such innocuous sources as the bedding or other animals.

- That your hedgehog may never actively seek you out for companionship. Some hedgehogs do, but most just think humans are cool terrain to climb on.



Baths & Nail clipping:
Keep the water level at 1"-2" or less for babies. Hedg

ehogs are not usually fond of baths and will try to escape. Most will poop in the water as well. Be prepared to change the water. Use baby tear free shampoo. TEA TREE OIL SHAMPOO IS TOXIC!!! DO NOT USE IT ON YOUR HEDGEHOG. Once he is clean rinse him well. You can add a few drops of olive oil to help prevent dry skin. Avoid shampoo in the eyes and nose. When the feet are dirty put a small amount of water in the sink and let it run through, the dirt will usually come off on its own.

 Your hedgehog will need to have it's nails clipped occasionally this is usually best done after it has had a bath as the warm water will soften the nail a bit. You can use regular nail clippers or cat nail clippers to do this however be very careful not to cut the quick.

Obesity:
Since a healthy hedgehog is a bit on the plump side naturally, determining the difference between a healthy animal's "chubby" condition and obesity can be somewhat difficult. Since there is such a wide variety of size in domestic stock these days, an obese hedgehog can be as little as
8 ounces to as much as 2 pounds in weight, so weight guidelines are of little use in identifying a fat hedgehog! 

Of far more use to you than a set of scales is a weekly or monthly visual inspection of your pet's front legs and chin. While a hedgehog in its normal trim will be a bit chubby in these two locations, an obese specimen will have a double chin and "ham-hocks" for legs and sometimes even rolls of fat under the arm-pits. Such animals will be so fat that they will even be incapable of rolling themselves into a ball!

If your pet should become this fat eliminate all treats from its diet but do not reduce the amount of dry food - the primary source of necessary proteins, vitamins and minerals. If after a month you see no evidence of weight loss, change the type of dry food that you are feeding to one that has a fat content of at least 20 percent. The theory is that the added fat will cause your pet to "bulk-up" and eat less and will actually help it to lose weight.