Today it is no longer strange to share our home with very diverse and varied animals, such as snakes, exotic birds, ferrets… and even rats. Because the scope of pets has expanded considerably, it is not strange that we talk about the hedgehog as a pet.
The hedgehogs that we welcome in our home are usually ground hedgehogs, among which we can distinguish multiple species, although it is also true that although the species are different, the basic care they require is very similar.
In this article we talk about the basic care of a hedgehog, information that you should keep in mind if you are considering fostering to an animal of these characteristics in your home.
What space should we offer the hedgehog?
The longevity of a hedgehog is approximately 5 years and during all this time we must ensure that our pet has a adequate environment to so you can enjoy an optimal quality of life.
The hedgehog is a nocturnal animal, which does not imply that it is a calm animal, since its nature is truly very active, therefore, it must have a cage with enough space, At a minimum, the hedgehog must have one square meter to move around.
To provide the best space for your hedgehog, you should also take into account the following considerations:
- The bars of the cage should not be too far apart, with a separation of 1.5 centimeters, a baby hedgehog can escape from the cage, therefore the separation should be less
- The drinker must be a bottle type, in order to keep it in optimal hygienic conditions, and the feeders must be made of aluminum or anchored to the cage to prevent them from tipping over
- As a substrate we will use untreated wood chips
- The hedgehog must find enough stimuli for its activity, therefore in its cage we must include a wheel so that it can exercise, a container with sand for it to dig and some toy suitable for it
- It must have a shelter inside the cage so that it can hide, it can be a small wooden, plastic or cardboard box, but it is important that it has a wide hole for entry and exit
The hedgehog's cage should be placed in a place with poor lighting and where the ambient temperature is between 20 and 32 degrees Celsius.
The feeding of our hedgehog
Food is a basic pillar of he alth, not only for humans, but also for animals, so it is important to have enough information about the hedgehog's diet.
If we have decided to welcome a hedgehog into our home, the most balanced thing for him and the easiest for us would be to be able to provide him with a specific feed for hedgehogs, or a more generic feed intended for feeding insectivorous mammals.
In the event that it is not possible to acquire a feed of these characteristics, we must prepare our hedgehog's diet following the guidelines that we expose you below:
- We will use high-end feed intended for elderly dogs or cats, this feed is of higher quality than the usual feed, since the latter has too many proteins and fats, on the other hand, it hardly provides fiber
- We will complement the feed intake with fruit, eggs and chicken
- It is also important to offer live food, in this case we will opt for crickets, mealworms and earthworms
- During lactation and pregnancy, we must supplement live food with vitamins and calcium, in this case, the veterinarian will indicate the most suitable product
Obviously the hedgehog must always have fresh, clean water, and we must fill the feeder once a day, preferably at dusk, removing leftover food the next morning.
Hedgehog management and hygiene
The hedgehog must get used to human contact and this adaptation is progressive. This animal has a typical defense mechanism which consists of curling up to fully protect itself with its quills, for this reason, it is important that we carry out the first manipulationswearing gloves
We must allow it to sniff us widely so that it comes to recognize us through the smell and when this happens we will be able to manipulate our hedgehog without major complications.
When the hedgehog has become accustomed to our presence and to its new home, it is very important that at least once a week we let it run freely in some room of our home, since this complete freedom is absolutely necessary.
If we keep the hedgehog's environment in optimal conditions our pet hardly needs cleaning, so we should only bathe it when it is very dirty, and in this case we will use warm water. We will only trim your nails if they are long.
Caring for the he alth of our hedgehog
A hedgehog does not require specific veterinary care, however, we must take certain measures to keep our pet in optimal he alth:
- The hedgehog should not be exposed to cold temperatures or draughts
- If we live with other animals, it is important that the hedgehog does not maintain contact with them, since they could transmit a tick
- The hedgehog can suffer from diarrhea and this generally happens due to overfeeding, so simply reduce the daily food ration
It is very important that our hedgehog eats daily, if he loses his appetite, this should be reason enough to go to the vet.
