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Hedgehog FAQ [4/7] - Hedgehogs as pets
Section - <6.1> How can I best hedgehogproof my home?

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See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Simple, make sure there's nothing to climb onto, off of, into, or out of,
nothing that can fall, and finally no kryptonite.  A little too much to ask,
you say?  Oh well, let's try for a more realistic approach based on what
hedgehogs will try to do if allowed to run free.

Seriously, ``hedgehogproofing'' is a lot like ``childproofing,'' and the most
that you can ever really hope to achieve is to ``hedgehog-resist'' your home.
Hence, the stress on supervising your prickly kids, below.

A free roaming hedgehog will climb anything it can get its claws hooked into.
African pigmy hedgehogs in particular (as opposed to Egyptian hedgehogs) are
notorious climbers, and escape artists.  They are also not afraid of jumping
off household cliffs (we call these precipices counters and tables) by simply
rolling into a ball and leaning forward, using the quills as springs for
landing.  That pretty much means your hedgehog needs run of the floor, and if
you have stairs, you will either have to block them or keep him on the lowest
floor.

Next, hedgehogs will get under just about anything they can.  This includes
any piece of furniture that has any more than about a 1'' gap between it and
the floor.  The problem here isn't so much the hedgehog getting under there,
but that there may be dust or other things accumulated there that are not
good for your hedgehog.

The best guide is probably to get down to the hedgehog's level and try to
imagine any place your frisky little friend might even consider trying to get
into, and what it would be like.

Beyond keeping these activities in mind, make sure your hedgehog has a warm
place that's easily accessible for a den, as well as access to water and
food.  Hedgehogs will usually prefer to leave their droppings on wood
shavings or a similar bedding, if, that is, you are as successful (or rather
unsuccessful) as I have been in the litter box training department (at least
as I was with Velcro).

    Although Ambergris has sawdust that she uses 1/2 the time, she also 
    has chosen 2 other spots in her room for droppings.  I put paper 
    towels there.  So far that is working great and she is not tracking 
    saw dust everywhere.  
    -- Katherine Long

User Contributions:

1
Rio
Hi, my hedgehog started running around her cage squealing so I took her out to see what was wrong. Her genital area was inflamed and she had open sores all around that area. I gave her a bath, but I'm really worried about her. Do you have any idea what this could be?
Thank you!

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Top Document: Hedgehog FAQ [4/7] - Hedgehogs as pets
Previous Document: <5.8> Any suggestions on toys?
Next Document: <6.2> What should I feed my hedgehog?

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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM