Care Sheet from Hog Wild Hedgehogs

Care Sheet from Hog Wild Hedgehogs

BEDDING:

Acceptable materials that can be used for bedding include wood chips such as kiln dried pine and aspen, newspaper, shredded papers, and pet store bedding such as Carefresh or paper crinkles. Cedar can never be used as it is toxic to small animals. Pine can only be used if it is “kiln dried” to kill bacteria and mites. If you use Carefresh or wood chips, be careful to keep it out of their food and water bowl as it can be consumed and hurt their insides. If you notice your hog has a tendency to try to eat the bedding, switch to a new kind until you find the right one. Fleece or other fabrics can be used as bedding but will be messy and tedious to clean if the hog isn’t litter trained yet. Fabric can only be used if it has no strings along the edges to keep their nails from getting caught, which is why fleece is the best choice. If litter training, use unscented puppy pads and cut them into small pieces.

WHEELS:

Exercise wheels are an absolute necessity for a hedgehog. They must be solid and not made of wire or a substance with any holes that a hedgehog’s nails can get caught in, and you should never use a wheel with sandpaper on it. We start off with a large sized Superpet comfort wheel and when their back touches the center we move them up to a giant sized Superpet comfort wheel. Carolina Storm bucket wheels are a great choice as well.

ADJUSTING:

Keep your hog’s cage at 70 degrees or higher at all times. Don’t be alarmed if your hedgehog is bending back and spraying itself with foamy spit (which can sometimes be colored). That’s self-anointing and it is perfectly natural. It’s especially common when they are first brought into a new place. It’s also common for them to be sneezing a lot in their first few days at your home. If it’s difficult to handle your hedgehog at first, use layers of fleece to pick them up and give them a little time on your lap to relax and come out. They quill on and off for the first few months and some get more nervous when they are in pain. Continue socializing them anyway. Biting usually only occurs when you smell like something yummy, so always wash your hands before handling your hedgie.

BATHS:

Hedgehogs require little bathing and should only be bathed as needed as their skin dries out if it is done too often. They can be bathed with baby shampoo and a toothbrush in warm water. If you are bathing them in a sink be sure to lay something down on the bottom so they won’t slip and fall under. They can swim but they can also drown so do not ever leave them unsupervised in water and try to keep the water shallow for them. Often all they will need is a foot bath when they step in their own poop.

SOCIALIZATION:

Remember that hedgehogs have poor eyesight and only recognize you from your scent and voice. Talking to your hedgehogs is a great idea to get them used to you, as is sleeping in an old shirt for a few nights and putting it in their cage when it has your scent on it. They will learn to associate your scent with safely through that. Try to handle your hog at least once a day. Some hedgehogs really enjoy sleeping on you so we recommend allowing your hog to sit in your lap wrapped in fleece or fabric whenever you are sitting in one place for an extended period of time (if you are watching a movie, on your computer, etc). Having a play area outside the cage is a good idea but be sure to have a barrier like a rodent play pen around them. Using baby pools as play pens is also a very good idea. You may notice that they are much more playful at night, because they are nocturnal.

FOOD:

Hedgehog owners rarely agree on what the best food is to feed them. They are insectivores so they need a diet that’s high in protein (at least 20%) and low in fat. Most owners prefer a high protein kitten/cat food over the commercial pet store Hedgehog foods. We switch foods occasionally as we are always looking to approve the quality of what we feed our hogs.

When it comes to cat or kitten food, you want a formula that isn’t primarily fish products as that makes their poop a little looser and yucky, and you don’t want anything that says “Hairball Control” on it. You preferably want it to be grain free and have a protein source, such as chicken or turkey, as one of the first few ingredients. Some of the high-quality cat food brands we like to use are Blue Wilderness, Core Wellness, and Simply Nourish. Those foods are extremely high in protein though, so if you want to lower the protein a bit and save yourself some money, you can mix it with a medium-quality cat food such as Purena or Authority.

We prefer filtered water for any exotic pet. Using the bottle or dish is up to you, but we find bottles more sanitary.

TREATS:

Hedgehogs can have lots of different treats, but there are also lots of foods that can make them sick. Make sure you double check before feeding them new foods. Treats are a great way of getting your hedgie to come out, but always use tongs or tweezers to feed them as they have bad sight and might bite you by accident. Variety is the key so change it up, don’t feed your hedgehog the same treat every day. They can have live food if you are comfortable with that. Butterworms, Phoenixworms, and Silkworms are all great. Only give your hedgehog Superworms if you squeeze the head with tweezers first (they have teeth and can bite your hedgehog from the inside). Mealworms and Crickets are acceptable treats but don’t have a lot of nutrients compared to the other worms. You can also feed your hedgehog eggs, chicken, turkey, salmon, duck, lamb, beef, and other meat products, but only if it is thoroughly cooked and not spiced or seasoned. Some owners also like feeding their hogs baby food, preferably Gerber Stage Two or any other brand of baby food that only has water, cornstarch, and veggies/meat products as their ingredients. Remember hogs are all different and have different likes and dislikes.

Some examples of safe treats:

Apples / Strawberries / Mango / Cucumbers
Greenbeans / Asparagus / Carrots (only cooked!) / Zucchini
Bananas / Blueberries / Green peppers / Peas
Corn (in small amounts) / Blackberries / Cherries / Sweet potatoes (cooked!)
Cranberries / Peach / Pumpkin / Squash
Cantaloupe / Raspberries / Papaya / Radishes
Pear / Plum / Kiwi / Sprouts
Watermelon (no seeds!) / Honeydew / Bell Peppers / Turnips

Treats to avoid:

Dried fruit (i.e raisins) / All Citrus fruits / Onions / Chives
Chocolate / Salt/Pepper/Spices / Garlic / Nuts
Seeds / Avocado / Rhubarb / Pits
Stringy food (i.e celery) / Grapes / Tomatoes / Pomegranate
Fried or Greasy foods / Spicy foods / Any raw meat/eggs / Human junk food

Hog Wild Hedgehogs • 856 630 7563 •