# How big will my hedgie get?



## HipsterHedgie (Aug 18, 2015)

My hedgie was the runt of the litter..Any ideas of how big he will get? Size really doesnt matter to me, i'll love him no matter what..My family and I just wanted to know out of curiosity :grin: .. Has anybody ever had a runt of the litter before? I can already tell that he is alot bigger than when i first got him !


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## octopushedge (Apr 26, 2015)

It depends, it's always a toss-up with runts. I've seen some get unexpectedly big, whereas others stay small. My guy was likely a runt, at the very least the vet says she's the smallest she's ever seen at 263g. Most get closer to about 350-400g. Here is the image I posted to the hedgehog size/weight thread


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Impossible to really tell with hedgehogs as to how big a baby will grow to. I have very little baby experience as I primarly take in adults who need a new home. But I love to share the story of a pair of litter mates I had. Brother and sister. When I got them the female was much smaller than the male. Once they grew up, the female was a 750 gram hedgehog and the male 400 grams. Both were at healthy weight. She was just huge, where he wasn't.


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## octopushedge (Apr 26, 2015)

750g is massive! You could have used her as a brick.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

They don't call them hedgeHOGS for nothing.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I have a very good friend, rescuer, who has had hedgehogs who dwarfed her. If you ever get a chance to hold a 1 kg plus hedgehog, you will never forget it. There is no one handing those guys. 

For many years the average sized hedgehog who found their way to me tended to be larger hedgehogs. I used to tell people that the average size hedgehog was 450 grams, but in my house we averaged around 600 grams. In the last 5-6 years that trend seems to have gone down though. I've had more hedgehogs that were under 450 (a couple that were in the low 300s) than larger kids.

Now, granted, my observation pool is limited to the hedgehogs I take in, which never tops 4 permanent residents at a time. But it is something I've noticed and it makes me wonder if the breeders in the 90s and 2000s were picking larger kids to breed and now they are trending to smaller hedgehogs. Of course, there probably is nothing to that, and its mere coincidence, but it makes me wonder sometimes.

Anyway, I guess I took this thread OT. Carry on!


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I think the African pygmy hedgehog in the US tends to be smaller than it used to be, like Kalandra said. I see so many small hogs over there, but rarely larger ones (or at least that's how it seems to be). When looking at the size & weight thread most hedgehogs are pretty small, to me at least. 
Meanwhile, here in my country most hedgehogs are +400g. I've never had a hedgehog below 500g. I've often wondered if the Americans have been selecting smaller hogs (maybe unconsciously) while the larger bloodlines remained here. 

I have a +1kg hedgehog. Yes, incredibly hard to handle. APH are so much easier... trust me you really don't want such a big hedgehog!


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## octopushedge (Apr 26, 2015)

As much as I hate buzzfeed, this image taken at a hedgehog convention blew my mind. I have a really hard time believing the one on the right isn't obese.


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## honeywhistle (Mar 29, 2014)

My girl Mali (who's just under 500g) had a litter of six hoglets: 3 boys and 3 girls.

Whenever she would feed them, there was always this one that seemed to get squeezed out, and would have to wait for one of her brothers/sisters to finish before she could get in there and feed. After a few weeks, when they started eating kibble and it was clear that this girl was smaller than all her siblings, I started taking her aside and giving her some goats milk, which she drank (although not all that enthusiastically).

We made the decision to keep one of the six, and though there was a boy that we really wanted to keep, we decided on this little runty girl, because we were worried that she'd be small and sickly and need more care. She was very sweet though. We named her "Ruby."

Fast-forward 15 months...Ruby's now at 825 grams and I'm searching the forums for information on how to bring her weight down 

















She's a very dedicated eater.


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## honeywhistle (Mar 29, 2014)

Draenog said:


> I have a +1kg hedgehog. Yes, incredibly hard to handle. APH are so much easier... trust me you really don't want such a big hedgehog!


My boy is at 930g or something and I feel terrible about it. He doesn't run as much as he used to, and I think it's because of his weight. I'm in the process of searching for different food now.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one with a massive hedgehog!


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

My hedgehog is supposed to be that big. It's a different species. He's nearly 1.5kg. 
An African pygmy over 800g is most likely overweight, not counting the rare exception.



octopushedge said:


> As much as I hate buzzfeed, this image taken at a hedgehog convention blew my mind. I have a really hard time believing the one on the right isn't obese.


Yes that hedgehog was extremely obese. However, it was a medical condition. She gained weigh after she got spayed (to remover a cancerous mass, I believe). Some animals gain a lot of weight after a spay and it can be really hard, almost impossible to keep their weight down.


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## octopushedge (Apr 26, 2015)

Ah, sort of along the lines of hypothyroidism? That makes sense. Poor hedgie 

Do you have European hedgehogs? They look so much bigger in photos.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

No they are illegal to keep since they're wildlife (I have an Algerian) but yes, European hedgehogs are a lot bigger than APH.


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## honeywhistle (Mar 29, 2014)

Draenog said:


> My hedgehog is supposed to be that big. It's a different species. He's nearly 1.5kg.
> An African pygmy over 800g is most likely overweight, not counting the rare exception.


Ah, I understand now. Do you have a recent picture? I'd be interested to see what an Algerian hedgehog (and one that size) look like.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I think these show his size best




























(Sorry for hijacking this thread we're going a little off-topic :roll: )


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## honeywhistle (Mar 29, 2014)

Wow, he is big! And adorable... 

Yeah, sorry about the thread hijacking too...


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