Top Document: Hedgehog FAQ [4/7] - Hedgehogs as pets Previous Document: <5.1> What will I need to take care of my new hedgehog? Next Document: <5.3> The pet store uses wood shavings as bedding. Should I? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge This is largely a matter of choice, yours and theirs. Some hedgehog owners wouldn't dream of caging their prickly little friends, while some breeders use large cat carriers to keep their hoards in (one hedgehog, one carrier). I personally use large wire cages that were intended for medium to large dogs as homes for my hedgehogs. These cages measure about 2' wide x 3' deep x 2.5' high (frankly I wouldn't put a dog bigger than a Chihuahua in something this size, but the labels claim they were designed for collies and similar sized dogs!). I should point out that organizations, such as VEZ [2.7], recommend ``one square meter (approximately 1 sq. yard) of floorspace for [each] hedgehog.'' This is a good rule of thumb, since hedgies are not as small as hamsters or gerbils, and do need space to roam in. The alternative is to give them a good play time, each night, to roam about a larger area under supervision. You should be careful to make sure the grating in the cage you use leaves narrow enough holes that your hedgehog can't get out, or even get his head wedged in between the wires. Chicken wire is probably not a very safe choice. Hedgehogs will often attempt to escape with an astounding amount of vigor and can be quite single minded about doing so. Younger hedgehogs can easily get out of cages with openings between the wires as small as 1/2'' (1.5 cm) -- trust me on this, Sprocket earned the middle name Houdini for just this achievement, while Pocus would gleefully climb to the top of the cage looking for even the smallest niche to squeeze through. Probably the most cost effective cage system I'm aware of is to use the large clear plastic bins (with lids) that look like giant Tupperware containers, and are available inexpensively from most hardware and department stores these days. Drill plenty of holes in the top (small enough that a hedgehog won't fit through, but large enough to provide lots of air), or even along the sides, towards the top, and you have a very easy to clean cage, that is also easy to get at to get your hedgie out. The best part of the plastic bin idea is that, if you find ones that are not big enough, just use two, or three, or create a whole complex of them. Using inexpensive plastic plumbing pipes and fittings, you can create a hedgehog palace in a short time. Just beware to make sure tunnels slope at an angle that hedgehogs can manage comfortably. Skewer lives in one such plastic bin that was far too low to give clearance for his wheel. Since leaving the top off was a guaranteed escape in the making, we solved the problem by cutting out a section of the lid, and putting another small, but deep, plastic bin over it, glued to the larger lid. This dome roof covers his wheel nicely, and ensures he only wanders (escapes from the cage) when it's intended (i.e., gets out for playtime). Bedding, such as aspen shavings [5.3], is recommended in any cage, and most importantly, some sort of place to hide is needed. Alternately, you can use astroturf, or something like non-clumping cat litter [5.4] (make sure it's not dusty), or even epoxy coated aquarium stones (some sort of soft bed area is recommended, though). Do watch out for the pieces of litter or bedding getting caught in sensitive places as mentioned in sections [5.4] and [9.1]. The most frequently recommended den is a section of 4'' (or 6'' for larger hedgehogs) diameter PVC (plastic) plumbing pipe. You can get this at almost any hardware or plumbing store for a couple of dollars. For a home, or den, I have used a variety of items. For Velcro I used two wicker bread baskets (about 4'' x 6'' and 2-3'' deep) tied securely together with a door cut towards one end (about 3'' x 3''). Velcro preferred this over either the PVC pipe home, or a hollow log, however, Popeye, who inherited Velcro's cage and den won't have anything to do with it, preferring to sleep under a hedgebag (a cloth bag with no seams). Pocus, however, preferred the PVC pipe or especially a hollow log, and wouldn't have anything to do with the basket (except as a toy -- Pocus tossed it like a seal with a ball). Hedgehogs *can* be fickle! For Quibble, Quiver and Pepper, who live together, we use a stackable plastic bin, turned upside down, which provides (almost) enough space for three plump hedgebutts to snuggle together at naptime. A word of caution about using old socks or cloth with a loose weave to it: Don't use anything fabric for them to hide in. I did have an old sock... Koosh liked to climb inside it, but the vet told me of an instance where a hedgehog got his leg caught in a thread, tried to get out, only made it worse, and the thread ended up slicing through her flesh to the bone. He said he was able to save the leg, though. -- Kathleen Close If you're going to use an aquarium, I would not recommend anything less that a 20 gallon size, and preferably larger, as a basic home for a hedgehog -- they are much too active for anything less, and small enclosures will quickly lead to an overweight and unhealthy hedgehog. Cages at the large end of being suitable for Guinea pigs or rabbits are likely fine. Keep in mind that hedgehogs like to explore, and they are great escape artists. They can climb anything they can get their claws hooked into, and by rolling into a ball and leaning forward, they can manage to get down quite safely from virtually any height that didn't need a long ladder to get them up to. Tammy Baer sent in the following, interesting twist on the pet carrier home. I think this has some real merit for people who currently use a carrier, and want to give their little friends a better quantity of space to live in. Each hedgie has a large dog kennel as a cage, but not in the traditional way. I took the cage apart and placed the top upside down and face to face with the bottom. That way the top half of the entrance meets the bottom and they have twice the room to roam. I use two clamps on either side to keep the halves together, and they overlap just enough that there's no gap for little feet between halves. They still have their exercise room at night, but if I ever have to leave them for a couple of days I know they're just fine. One of the great advantage to using the kennels is cleaning is a snap as bedding and even messes just wipe out. The sides are smooth and not easy to climb keeping adventurous hedgies inside. This only works if you have nothing for them to climb that is close to the edge. I found Zoe was fond of making what seemed like impossible jumps to get out. The cage is also very open and low enough to give excellent ventilation for good breathing. -- Tammy Baer The point about not having climbable items in this kind of cage (in fact, any open topped cage, needs some stressing. Hedgehogs are very adept at escaping, and they are quite able to pile things against the side of a cage to get out. I've seen it done, and I've heard more stories on this than I care to admit. ;-) If you are not certain the place you are trying to keep your hedgehog in is warm enough to keep him from going into hibernation [7.3], you might want to consider placing a heating pad (on its LOWEST setting) under the part of the pen where your hedgehog sleeps. Make sure your hedgehog is not going to come directly into contact with the heating pad, and that he has the ability to get to an area away from it, should it be too warm for him. If your hedgehog gets too cool, you risk a number of problems, including pneumonia. Pneumonia can be especially bad, since you may not know he has it and even if it clears up, the effects of scarring on the lungs can result in death sometime later, when things otherwise appear perfectly fine. Other suggestions from Katherine Long are to use heating elements intended for lizards, or those for keeping germinating seeds warm. Ambergris much prefers to sleep under a thick towel rather than in her pipe. Actually the towel is draped over a half hollow log and the pipe on top of the pad that is on top of the lizard warmer pad. She crawls between the towel and the pad cover, in preference to anywhere else. -- Katherine Long I have also received suggestions of caution from Kirby J. Kerr, about using heat rocks as designed for lizards as they are quite prone to overheating, and generally erratic behavior. In other words, do be careful when using these products. Another idea for keeping hedgies warm is: There are ceramic reptile heaters that are similar to light bulbs (but give off no light). They screw into a regular light socket and can be positioned to radiate heat into the cage. They run about $25 mail-order, $40 retail, and come in various wattages. If you want to add a thermostat, it gets pricier. -- Christine Porter NOTE: When using these ``heat bulbs'' you must only use them in a ceramic light socket. My thanks to Ron Adrezin for this caution, and the following: The company that makes the heat bulbs also sells ceramic sockets with a clip at the bottom so that it may be attached to the cage. I also use baggie ties on the clip to make absolutely sure that it cannot fall over and start a fire. -- Ron Adrezin Here are some other ideas that show just how imaginative people can be when it comes to dealing with hedgehogs. This next idea was actually something created for keeping a too-small European hedgehog warm enough to avoid hibernation, until he could pack on enough weight to survive the ordeal, but it would work equally well for pets. [I created a] warmer - it was a biscuit tin inside which were 2 x 15 watt pygmy bulbs, in series. (In series to reduce the heat output and lengthen the life). It was just detectably warm to the touch after an hour on the kitchen table. Another way, this time using less electrical engineering, would be to use one of those electric germination trays that you get in garden shops, they are typically about 10 watts (i.e. close to what I get with my 2 bulbs in series) and of course they are built to be waterproof and are readily available. If you worry about water-logging from rain or urine, it would do just as well upside-down, heat (or rather, hot air) rises. -- Michael Bell If your room temperature doesn't get too cool, you may be able to make do with an idea like this: My daughter has come up with a neat idea to keep our heggies pretty warm. She has made them sleeping bags out of fleece and lined it with thin thermal material. -- Mary Novak Just beware that there aren't any loose threads (or hairs) that can get caught around busy hedgie legs. Feel free to be inventive when it comes to keeping your hedgehog warm during the cooler months of the year. As long as there is a warm area where your hedgehog's den is, and you haven't created a fire hazard or some other impending disaster, you can pretty much use your imagination when it comes to impromptu heaters. It's imperative that your pet hedgehogs stay warm during the winter. Hedgehogs will go into hibernation [7.3] if not kept warm, and if they don't receive enough hours of light, and this can have disasterous consequences. User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:Top Document: Hedgehog FAQ [4/7] - Hedgehogs as pets Previous Document: <5.1> What will I need to take care of my new hedgehog? Next Document: <5.3> The pet store uses wood shavings as bedding. Should I? Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: macnamara@bastet.hedgehoghollow.com (Brian MacNamara)
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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