Hedgehog Care taking

African Pygmy Hedgehog Care taking. Short Overview

At Awesome Krimpvarkies we had tried, and tested many ways over the years, and we keep coming back to our trusted ways.  Here is a very short version of what we recommend, ensuring that your hedgehog lives a happy life. In this section you can also find our Guides in pdf format to download. Before you get a hedgehog, first obtain the cage and everything you need, as that is normally the most expensive part. Our care taking involved routines. We start putting out food, bonding and outings on normal days from 4pm until 7pm. The hogs at Awesome Krimpvarkies are used to these times and routines. On weekends we change our routines a bit for cage cleaning, bathing and outdoor outings. With a large number of hedgehogs, we are required to start earlier in the day. 

Cage setup: 

Cages must at least be 1 meter in length, if you can go bigger, then it is better. Our cages are 1 meter in length, 60 cm wide and 50 cm high. One hedgehog per cage. Never keep two hedgehogs in one cage. That is a terrible practice conducted by terrible owners. Fish tanks are not suitable for hedgehogs, as the glass does not allow for an airflow at the bottom of the cage where it is needed. Ammoniac buildup takes place at the bottom of the cage where your hedgehog lives and breathes. We use wooden cages made from laminated pressed wood with welded mesh that covers the doors. Cages can be self-built or bought from a pet shop.  Make sure if you use a secondhand cage that it was not the home of a snake or bearded dragon once. They leave a chemical compound behind that causes respiratory issues for hedgehogs. 

Raw untreated wood can be problematic as once water and urine spillages soaked into the wood; it will become smelly. Paint the wood with a low odor, lead free paint or varnish, wood sealer to protect the cage. 

Floor covering: We use fleece cage liners and eco litter in our litter boxes. Eco litter is compressed wood pellets, that almost look like rabbit food. The eco litter can be used to cover the whole bottom of the cage or partially if you have a very messy hedgehog. Traditional cat litter can be used for females as well. Some owners did experience that the traditional cat litter can be problem with males, as it can get stuck in their penis shafts. 

We will never approve of wood shavings or natural grass as floor covering or substance in your hedgehog cage. Wood shavings are a breeding place for mites, and very often you carry mites into your home and cage with the wood shavings. Natural grass is a high risk for eye injuries and eye infections. 

Sleeping hide: You will need a safe, warm dark sleeping hide for your hedgehog. This can be a DIY item, or a fancy house bought. DIY sleeping hides varies from a shoebox with a hole cut into it, with blanky`s on the inside. Plastic container with a entrance hole in it. There are many fleece sleeping dens available everywhere, from pet shops, online shopping or even from us! 

Wheel: Your hedgehog must have a wheel for exercise and entertainment. Solid base wheel, size in diameter 28-30 cm. Too small wheels can cause spine injuries and arthritis. The solid base part is to prevent injuries from hedgehogs hanging themselves or breaking legs on wheels that have bars. 

Heat Source: African Pygmy hedgehogs must be kept warm during the cold seasons to prevent hibernation attempts. Hibernation attempts can cause their death. We mostly recommend Heat emitter lamps or plastic heat pads. Heat emitter lamps are the best as they warm up the whole cage, where the heat pad only warms up a small section of the cage. Mostly at the sleeping hide as this is where you must install it. Ensure that your heat pad is covered and cannot burn your hedgehog. Heat emitter lamps must also be installed at least 30cm above the cage floor. Keep a thermometer in your cage to monitor cage temperature. And if you can, install a temperature regulator with your heat emitter lamp. The average cage temperature of 25 degrees will keep your hedgehog warm and comfy. 

Food and water bowls: Shallow dishes are best, like cat feeding bowls. If you do want to use a water bottle, make sure it is the ball valve type and not the spring-loaded ones. 

Toys: Hedgehogs love soft cat toys, little balls with bells in. Miniature teddies that they can carry around. Just make sure you buy cat toys that do not contain catnip. Rather give them toys that are mint flavored, if you want to offer a flavored toy. Tunnels must be large enough for the hedgehog to pass through with ease and not at risk of Pop-Off Syndrome if they crawl through a too small space. See the Diseases section for more info on Pop-Off Syndrome. 

Food: At Awesome Krimpvarkies all our hedgehogs get Montego Kitten Chicken Flavored cat food as staple diet. They don’t get any insect’s as commercial raised insects are too high in phosphoric acid and poses a high risk for Metabolic Bone Disease (See Diseases section for more info on this). As treats we give our hedgehogs every second day a variety of other food such as scrambled eggs, cooked chicken, wet-food pouches, cooked vegetables such as pumpkin, sweet potatoes, peas, etc. (See our Food lists under our Educational Material Section.)

Bathing Routines: We only bathe our hedgehogs and trim nails when needed. But if you would like to keep a time frame, every second week is enough. Too much bathing can dry out their skin. The products we use are Johnsons Baby Shampoo (yellow bottle) with linseed oil mixed in. The linseed oil must be the pharmaceutical ones you buy at a chemist. Rinse your baby off in clean lukewarm water afterwards to wash off any excess oils. (See our Video section for tutorial videos) 

Supplements: Extra supplements we add to our hedgehogs’ diets are vitamins and probiotics. Every second week we give our hogs for 7 days Brunel vitamins added to their drinking water and Protexin over the food. Brunel can be bought at Checkers, Dischem and is an off-the-shelf product. Protexin can be bought at a vet or pet shop. (See our medicine list under the Educational Section for guidance) 

Keep your care taking simple, maintain clean cages, and daily inspect your hedgehogs, stick to good food, buy a decently bred hedgehog and you should be okey. 

Happy Hedgehog = Happy Life! 

 Supplements / Medicine Kit List.