# Thinkin' about gettin' a hedgehog



## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

Ok, so to be honest, I've only been researching these adorable little creatures for about a week. But I've wanted one for a while now. I most likely wont be getting one till next spring so i have a lot of time to prepare. I've already talked to the people i will most likely be gettin one from. Its a petstore  But only because I cant find any breeeders in Nevada  ( if anyone knows of a good reliable breeder in Nevada, that is close to vegas, I would greatly appreciate it) I think i pretty much have it all figured out though. Tell me if this sounds right 

Cage- I will be building a 6'x2'x18" enclosure. This will be placed on top of my Leopard gecko and bearded dragon enclosure. and since heat rises, it should keep him nice and warm. even though my room rarely drops below 70. With that size enclosure my hedgie should be gettin at least 12 square feet of floor space right? I'm still trying to decide wether or not i want to make another little platform raised a bit for it's food and water. Is this big enough? from what I've read this is sufficient space. And of course it'd be spending time out of the cage chillin in my room. or runnin around the house in a ball. LOL
The tank, since the top, back, and sides are going to be wood. will have a mesh front. Most likely 1/2" or 1/4" coated wire mesh.

Diet- I have cats also. I'm actually not sure of the brand of catfood we feed them. but its definitely not a bad brand. I will have to double check when i get home, but I plan on feeding that to my hedgehog along with roaches, mealworms and other bugs, and fresh veggies, I feed my beardies salad so i can probably feed those same kind of veggies to hedgehogs, correct? I breed bugs for my reptiles so its easy to get those. But I want to know if it is ok to feed roaches to hedgies? 

Water- I will most likely put in a bowl. 

Bedding- I will either be using aspen shavings or some sort of liner. 

Hides- Most likely use one of those rodent igloo things. or an overturned cat litter box like the ones i use for my Ball pythons. Easy to clean and easy to make. 

And then of course toys. lol. theres a lot of different things i can use for toys. way too many to list off haha. 

Thanks


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

The cage size you're planning on sounds wonderful, 12 square feet is a hedgie mansion  Just some ideas for when you're building it; Id make sure that you have a solid bottom for the cage cause the mesh wouldn't be good for their feet and I'd make sure to either use the corrugated plastic or place mats attached for about 6 inches up so that your hedgie can't get at the bars to climb. Bigs doors will help you get your wheel in and out to clean. You wouldn't really need a loft with all the room your hedgie would have but if you do want one just make sure the ramp has a solid bottom and is enclosed on all sides along with the loft so that they can't fall, they have poor eye sight. 

Your idea to use a bowl for water is good because I've heard bottles have a potential risk of chipping teeth and that it doesn't allow the hedgie to drink in a natural, comfortable position. When finding one I'd personally look for something that is heavier so that it can't be easily tipped. 

I've been using fleece liners with my set up and they have been working great for me if its something you'd like to use for yours. Liners are economical because you can wash and reuse, they are better for their respiratory system as well. 

Using a ball for your hedgehog isn't recommended but the choice is ultimately yours. The disadvantages/potential hazards is that there is poor air quality inside and since most hedgies use the bathroom in them while they run it is made even worse, it can get nasty in there when your hedgie uses the bathroom, your hedgie would end up being covered in it. There is slits in it that could catch a toe nail and some won't even want to run in them or be scared. Most do really love to use a wheel though so getting a nice large wheel with a solid bottom and no cross bars would be a huge advantage and fun activity for their exercise. 

The igloo you want to use sounds good, you can also use hedgie bags as an option or you can cut up scraps to put in to the igloo or little blankies. There is a lot of options with the igloo  

The only thing I'm not sure about is keeping it on top of the lizard enclosure. It has been a long time since I've owned a lizard but I remember my enclosure had to be kept very humid and with the hedgie cage being so close I don't know if it could cause Upper Respiratory Infections from it. It might be better to have the cage on its own with its own heating system. I'm not sure about this though so its just a guess, it could also be perfectly safe so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will give their opinion on this. 

Sounds like you are on the right track though with everything you have listed  Your hedgie will be a lucky boy or girl with such a good hedgie parent, I think its great you are researching before you get him/her


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

Lol. the bottom is solid wood. and yea. the only part that is mesh is the doors. For my reptiles i have the same cage design but the front is plexiglass. And the doors are going to be raised about 6" so that the bedding wont come out lol. just like i have it for my herps. And my leos and beardies are very low humidity reptiles, and there is no possible way for that to really effect the hedgies cage since there is wood between the tanks. They're kind of set up like this just to give you a bit of an idea http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/3x2.shtml , but the doors open outward like a cabinet instead of downward like it shows. and the dimensions are different. And different material. but that's the general idea. Thats what i have my reptiles in too. They're in 6'x2'x2'

In my room i wouldnt put em in a ball. but if they were to be running around the rest of the house they would have to be in some sort or ball or something other wise it would get lost reaaaallll fast. It would definitely have a wheel in its tank.


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

The doors will be like this http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/dcage11.shtml


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Cage - Wood wouldn't be a good idea unless you can seal it so that there's no possibility of it harboring mites, and so the urine won't soak into it. I don't think there'd be enough airflow in the cage if only the front is made of mesh, so you'll probably need to make either the sides or the top, or both, out of mesh, to make sure there's enough air flow.

Diet - Depending on what kind of food you feed your cats, you'll most likely want to buy other food for your hedgehog. Check out this list - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15 . If you're already using one of those foods, great. You'll also probably want to buy another food, so you have a mix of at least two foods for your hedgehog. It's not that expensive though, as they eat very little (between 1 and 2 tablespoons a night, I think). I'm not sure about roaches for hedgehogs, they might be too big. Be careful on which veggies you're planning to offer, since some pose a choking hazard if they're not cooked. Check out the fruit & veggie list here - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=60&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=fruit+and+veggie

Bedding - Either of those work fine, just keep in mind that they can get mites from wooden bedding. Many owners here end up choosing to use fleece liners, and you can find out lots of info about those by using the search feature. There's a LOT of benefits to using liners over shavings.

Another concern is that you shouldn't use a ball for him to explore in. Some people do use them, with close supervision, but it's very easy for a hedgehog to get a nail or toe caught in the ventilation slits and hurt themselves. It's also really hard to tell whether the hedgehog is enjoying running around in the ball or if they're trying to escape it. If you do decide to use one, however, it should only be used under very close supervision, to make sure other animals don't bat the ball around, and to make sure you can clean it as soon as the hedgehog pees or poops. With the disadvantages that come with a ball, and since you can't use it as a substitute for not having to watch the hedgehog while it's out, it's easier to not use one at all. The safest way to let them have exploration time is in a play pen, or to hedgie-proof a room.

The last thing I want to mention is that you'll have to make sure the hedgehog's cage stays at 74 degrees or above. You said your room doesn't get below 70, but that's still too cool for hedgehogs, and could send them into a hibernation attempt. You'll want a digital thermometer in the cage to keep track of the temperature and you may need to get a ceramic heat emitter (or two, with the size of your cage) to keep the cage at a steady, comfortable temperature.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

Beautiful cages, thanks for the link. In one of the pictures it appears to have linoleum on the bottom? You might want to consider that or some sort of liner to protect the wood from urine. I really prefer liners over shavings as I keep hearing about the risk of mites. I just really don't want to deal with that. 

I don't think you will need the extra level for food and water, with extra levels it is suggested to have small walls around it so they don't fall off, and walls along the ramp as well. You are already giving lots of run around room so I'm thinking the extra level would just be extra work. But! Some people don't mind it and like to get creative. Just wanted to mention the walls needed. 

I don't know about the roaches, sorry.

I like the litterbox idea, just smooth off the edges, I'm guessing you do that anyhow for the snakes. I did a similar thing with small plastic shoeboxes but neither used them. They just burrowed in their blankets. I now use them for storage of their clean liners instead. *shrug*

Sorry but I'm a bit concerned about airflow as well with that setup. Is it possible to screen the top? Instead of solid wood? Or more screen windows on the sides?


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

Yes there will also be ventilation on the sides. And the wood will be stained and sealed(with quite a few layers of non toxic water based sealant(like i use for my herps)) so no worries there. Since i breed roaches i have roaches of all sizes from newly hatched nymphs to full grown adults. so them being too big isnt an issue. they're way more nutritious than mealies. But i breed mealies and superworms too. Id probably do the extra level for fun. just because I, for some weird reason, enjoy making things harder for myself, LOL. And the Entire front is going to be screen except for the wooden frame of the doors. Ok, so no ball. and the veggies are cut up real well. and most of the things that beardies can eat are pretty healthy and don't need to be cooked. Just in case though, I fed them a mix of collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, peas. Along with various fruit for treats, like strawberry, papaya, mango, Squash, cranberries, rasberry, blackberry, blueberry, banana. I can change that up for the hedgies if that's completely off. add stuff and take stuff off. Thanks for the links, too. I definitely already planed to have a digital thermometer in there. My room rarely drops that low. but that's why i would have the enclosure above my beardie's and since my beardie has an average temp of 110-115 on the hotside and 80 on the cool side. that should provide a nice temp gradient for my hedgie. and if not then its UTH time. lol. 
And with the extra level it would be up against one side, so that two of the sides it wont be able to fall off then i'll make a little barrier on the ramp up to it and another little wall along the other edges. probably like 2-3 inches high? will probably make it either half the cage or 1/4 of the cage with an upper level. and put his/her food water and wheel up there. Lol 12 square feet is a lot of room, but why not give him more? I've got about 4 months to perfect the enclosure before i go and get a hedgehogs so all ideas are welcome. i'll probably start building in like a month and a half or so, all depends on how soon i can get enough cash. most likely i'll rake in enough over christmas haha and a couple of photo shoots.
*edit*
Forgot to add this. but its not going to be screening its going to be 1/4" wire mesh. Which allows wayyy more airflow then screen. there will be windows on each side and the entire front will be made with that.

Like this kind of stuff http://www.meshdirect.co.uk/Bird-Nettin ... r-436.html

*end edit*


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

if you do build the shelf..it has to be totally enclosed, right to the top..and same with the ramp, hedgies are notorious for falling.


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

ah, alright. then i'll just have like 3 inch barrier for the side against the door. and the rest will be enclosed all the way to the ceiling. It would probably only be like 6 inches off the floor of the cage. or is that not enough for a hedgehog to fit under? there would probably just be some toys and maybe another little hide thing there.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Looks like you take great care of your herps.  

As long as you are able to keep the cage a consistent 73-76* F (best if there is no fluctuation), seal the wood well, and ventilate it properly it sounds like it will be great. Fleece liners are the best bedding, and would be much easier for you to keep clean.

Any lofts would need to completely enclosed with an enclosed ramp down, as a few others have mentioned.

I give my boy hissing roach nymphs, he loves them. I highly recommend them for the nutritional content as well as the fact that they are less fatty than mealworms. (Superworms are safe to feed too, but it's best to cut off the heads prior to feeding - there has been a confirmed necropsy of a hedgie dying from bites to the esophagus, from a superworm)


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

So roaches are a yes? with feeding roaches and supers i don't have to feed mealies right? Is it ok if the temp is a bit higher than 76 and more like 80? or does it need to be in the high 70's


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

Oh and is the wellness catfood that comes in the purple and white bag a good cat food? The bag said 30 % protein and 8% fat. and the first ingredient was deboned chicken. I wasnt able to read further because i was in a rush.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I think Wellness is a recommended food and that I've heard of other members using it. It seems like an excellent food to me that I may adding to my own mix soon  I'm not sure about the temperature question though, I can only speak for mine and say that he likes 76


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

Lol. i think there's a couple different kinds? Anyone know whhich color bag? i thought the purple one looked best? 

and thanks everyone for the replies.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I think the Wellness Indoor is the option that is most often fed, it's the one in the yellow/white bag. That's one of the foods in my mix for Lily. Just be careful about using that as the only food, as it's very rich and causes some hedgies to have very smelly poop. You'll want to use it in a mix with a couple of other foods.


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## nvrstpsrfn950228 (Nov 29, 2009)

I'll probably get a bag of that for my hedgehog and mix it with the food we feed our cats... which i still dont know what it is... someone threw away the bag it comes in(if its not a good food for hedgehogs then i wont. but i'm pretty sure its one of those that are on the list)


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