*Please note- before picking up your hedgehog, a photo of your cage set-up is mandatory.*
Hedgehogs require a minimum of 4 square feet for an enclosure- our favorite to use here are the size large Hagen Living World habitats and Ferret Nation cages. Other popular choices include C&C cages and 110 qt or larger plastic totes (the Christmas tree storage size has loads of room). When you are shopping for a cage just multiply the length x the width and then divide by 144. If the answer is over 4, you are good. Over 6, even better! :) Bars should have spaces no more then 1". Some hedgehogs are climbers, which is dangerous for them as they could easily break something if they fell from the top of a cage. If you end up with a climber, you can purchase coroplast (corrugated plastic sheets) at most major hardware stores and easily cut it to fit around the perimeter around 6" high to solve the problem. Hedgehogs should not be housed in glass aquariums as they do not provide enough ventilation and could cause respiratory infections. Hedgehogs should not have multi-level cages unless you build walls for the "stairs" leading to the next level and around the perimeter of that level so they can not fall off.
Maintaining a consistent, proper temperature for your hedgehogs habitat is crucial. African Pygmy hedgehogs are not evolved in a way where they can hibernate (unlike their European relatives), so if they get too cold (anything 73 degrees or below can trigger it) they will go into hibernation and never come out of it. It is a death sentence for them unless caught early enough to bring them out of a hibernation attempt. Hedgehog cages should be 75-80 degrees at all times. This can be achieved through a heat lamp set up or via a space heater. Heat mats should never be used beneath a hedgehog cage because they can cause burns and they don't keep the ambient air temperature warm enough. Heat lamp set-ups include a domed heat lamp (like they sell for reptiles), a 100-150 watt ceramic heat emitter bulb that only produces heat (not light), a thermostat to plug your heat lamp into so that it can regulate the temperature at all times, and a thermometer inside the cage to make sure everything is working correctly. These are some links to products we use, but feel free to use other brands as well. These can serve as examples at least.
Heat lamp: www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Clamp-8-5-Inch-Ceramic-Dimmable/dp/B003H200QC/ref=pd_yo_rr_rp_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B003H200QC&pd_rd_r=b330617e-d43d-4a10-8869-1dc042aadb6b&pd_rd_w=HfM9d&pd_rd_wg=2psfm&pf_rd_p=c2c9c745-dd7c-4ae6-806b-b5c8ad060472&pf_rd_r=PP6C57SA033JF9CKRS45&psc=1&refRID=PP6C57SA033JF9CKRS45
Bulb and themometer set (this is for a 100W, there is a 150W available on Amazon for the same price if your hedgie is in a colder or draftier space): www.amazon.com/Zacro-Reptile-Thermometer-Infrared-Non-light/dp/B01MXUT5RH/ref=sr_1_15?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1545166370&sr=1-15-spons&keywords=che+bulb+100&psc=1
Thermostat: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I15S6OM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For bedding we prefer fleece, but there are other options as well. I have an awesome local friend Cristalle that sews all of our fleece cage liners for us that I highly recommend- you can PM her here: www.facebook.com/cristalle.turner . She does a decorative fleece layer on top, an absorbant middle layer and then a waterproof material backing. They launder easy peasy in the washing machine. For our cages, we spot clean any loose poo daily (usually ours go in their litter boxes, but not always) and then we wash our liners once a week. We have two liners per cage so that we can just swap them out when we are removing the soiled one. Other options include paper bedding like CareFresh, or aspen or kiln dried pine bedding (never cedar because it is toxic to hedgehogs and other small animals). With wood or paper based bedding, it is recommended that they be put in the freezer for a day or so before use as sometimes they carry teeny tiny mites, which will then mean a vet visit to have your hedgie treated.
Wheels are 100% necessary in hedgehog cages- most hedgies run hours every night in their wheels. It keeps them healthy and boredom free. Without a wheel hedgehogs will become extremely restless and almost always overweight. It is important to have the right size of wheels so as to not hurt a hedgehogs spine- they should be around 12" in diameter. Hedgehogs should never have wire wheels, their little feet will get stuck and injured. Wheels are readily available at all major pet stores and online, but the wheels we use exclusively for all of our hedgehogs are the Carolina Storm bucket wheels because it is virtually silent when in use (in comparison to some really noisy store bought ones that could cause you to lose your mind in the wee hours of the morning, lol). I keep Carolina Storm wheels in stock and will sell them at retail to anyone that purchases one of our hedgehog babies- they sell for $25.49 on Etsy with a litter pan (more on that in a bit), but if you order them yourself, you also have to pay nearly $10 extra dollars in shipping costs. I order them at a bulk rate so that I can eliminate the shipping costs to you and sell them without making a profit- that's how much I love these wheels!
Litter pans are great to have (not required, but recommended), particularly underneath a wheel, since hedgehogs have a strong tendency to eliminate their bowels while running every night. We put paper pellets in ours (available in the cat litter section in most major stores) and it works great for us! Do not use traditional cat litter at all as it can be harmful to hedgies. Here is a link to the brand we use, anything similar will work fine. Some people even just use folded paper towels in the litter box and that's fine too. www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-Natural-Paper-Pellets-Cat-Litter-Unscented-12-lb/564329086 If you are purchasing a Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel from us, a litter pan is included.
Food and water bowls are requirements of course. They should be heavy enough not to tip over (small ceramic bowls made for other critters work great for hedgies). Water bottles are not really recommended for hedgehogs- first of all, they don't seem to take to them in most cases. Plus there have been several recorded instances where a hedgehogs tongue has gotten caught in the roller ball mechanism, so best just to use a water bowl. :)
A hide is also necessary so that your hedgehog has somewhere to go where it feels safe and secure. This can be as simple as a makeshift box, any number of hides made for guinea pigs and such at pet stores, fleece tents or snuggle sacks (also made here locally by my awesome friend Cristalle), or plastic bins turned over with a hedgehog sized hole to crawl into. Clear, see-thru hides should not be used as they don't offer any privacy for your hedgehog.
Those are the cage requirements for housing your hedgehog. We do require a photo of your cage set-up prior to picking up your new little pet so that we can ensure that at least the base size, heat and other needs are met. If you need ideas, we are happy to help or you can also type in "hedgehog cage" in Google, select "images" and then spend hours looking at other peoples enclosures, lol.
Other fun enrichment items for your hedgehog are things like PVC or felt tunnels, dig boxes (basically a low lying container filled with things like big pom poms, felt strips, etc in it), and some hedgehogs like playing with cat balls and such.
Here are the Critter and Ferret Nation cages that we use for our breeding herd. Ferret Nation cages are preferred out of the two because the bars run vertically so they aren't as climbable.
Hedgehogs require a minimum of 4 square feet for an enclosure- our favorite to use here are the size large Hagen Living World habitats and Ferret Nation cages. Other popular choices include C&C cages and 110 qt or larger plastic totes (the Christmas tree storage size has loads of room). When you are shopping for a cage just multiply the length x the width and then divide by 144. If the answer is over 4, you are good. Over 6, even better! :) Bars should have spaces no more then 1". Some hedgehogs are climbers, which is dangerous for them as they could easily break something if they fell from the top of a cage. If you end up with a climber, you can purchase coroplast (corrugated plastic sheets) at most major hardware stores and easily cut it to fit around the perimeter around 6" high to solve the problem. Hedgehogs should not be housed in glass aquariums as they do not provide enough ventilation and could cause respiratory infections. Hedgehogs should not have multi-level cages unless you build walls for the "stairs" leading to the next level and around the perimeter of that level so they can not fall off.
Maintaining a consistent, proper temperature for your hedgehogs habitat is crucial. African Pygmy hedgehogs are not evolved in a way where they can hibernate (unlike their European relatives), so if they get too cold (anything 73 degrees or below can trigger it) they will go into hibernation and never come out of it. It is a death sentence for them unless caught early enough to bring them out of a hibernation attempt. Hedgehog cages should be 75-80 degrees at all times. This can be achieved through a heat lamp set up or via a space heater. Heat mats should never be used beneath a hedgehog cage because they can cause burns and they don't keep the ambient air temperature warm enough. Heat lamp set-ups include a domed heat lamp (like they sell for reptiles), a 100-150 watt ceramic heat emitter bulb that only produces heat (not light), a thermostat to plug your heat lamp into so that it can regulate the temperature at all times, and a thermometer inside the cage to make sure everything is working correctly. These are some links to products we use, but feel free to use other brands as well. These can serve as examples at least.
Heat lamp: www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Clamp-8-5-Inch-Ceramic-Dimmable/dp/B003H200QC/ref=pd_yo_rr_rp_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B003H200QC&pd_rd_r=b330617e-d43d-4a10-8869-1dc042aadb6b&pd_rd_w=HfM9d&pd_rd_wg=2psfm&pf_rd_p=c2c9c745-dd7c-4ae6-806b-b5c8ad060472&pf_rd_r=PP6C57SA033JF9CKRS45&psc=1&refRID=PP6C57SA033JF9CKRS45
Bulb and themometer set (this is for a 100W, there is a 150W available on Amazon for the same price if your hedgie is in a colder or draftier space): www.amazon.com/Zacro-Reptile-Thermometer-Infrared-Non-light/dp/B01MXUT5RH/ref=sr_1_15?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1545166370&sr=1-15-spons&keywords=che+bulb+100&psc=1
Thermostat: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I15S6OM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For bedding we prefer fleece, but there are other options as well. I have an awesome local friend Cristalle that sews all of our fleece cage liners for us that I highly recommend- you can PM her here: www.facebook.com/cristalle.turner . She does a decorative fleece layer on top, an absorbant middle layer and then a waterproof material backing. They launder easy peasy in the washing machine. For our cages, we spot clean any loose poo daily (usually ours go in their litter boxes, but not always) and then we wash our liners once a week. We have two liners per cage so that we can just swap them out when we are removing the soiled one. Other options include paper bedding like CareFresh, or aspen or kiln dried pine bedding (never cedar because it is toxic to hedgehogs and other small animals). With wood or paper based bedding, it is recommended that they be put in the freezer for a day or so before use as sometimes they carry teeny tiny mites, which will then mean a vet visit to have your hedgie treated.
Wheels are 100% necessary in hedgehog cages- most hedgies run hours every night in their wheels. It keeps them healthy and boredom free. Without a wheel hedgehogs will become extremely restless and almost always overweight. It is important to have the right size of wheels so as to not hurt a hedgehogs spine- they should be around 12" in diameter. Hedgehogs should never have wire wheels, their little feet will get stuck and injured. Wheels are readily available at all major pet stores and online, but the wheels we use exclusively for all of our hedgehogs are the Carolina Storm bucket wheels because it is virtually silent when in use (in comparison to some really noisy store bought ones that could cause you to lose your mind in the wee hours of the morning, lol). I keep Carolina Storm wheels in stock and will sell them at retail to anyone that purchases one of our hedgehog babies- they sell for $25.49 on Etsy with a litter pan (more on that in a bit), but if you order them yourself, you also have to pay nearly $10 extra dollars in shipping costs. I order them at a bulk rate so that I can eliminate the shipping costs to you and sell them without making a profit- that's how much I love these wheels!
Litter pans are great to have (not required, but recommended), particularly underneath a wheel, since hedgehogs have a strong tendency to eliminate their bowels while running every night. We put paper pellets in ours (available in the cat litter section in most major stores) and it works great for us! Do not use traditional cat litter at all as it can be harmful to hedgies. Here is a link to the brand we use, anything similar will work fine. Some people even just use folded paper towels in the litter box and that's fine too. www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-Natural-Paper-Pellets-Cat-Litter-Unscented-12-lb/564329086 If you are purchasing a Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel from us, a litter pan is included.
Food and water bowls are requirements of course. They should be heavy enough not to tip over (small ceramic bowls made for other critters work great for hedgies). Water bottles are not really recommended for hedgehogs- first of all, they don't seem to take to them in most cases. Plus there have been several recorded instances where a hedgehogs tongue has gotten caught in the roller ball mechanism, so best just to use a water bowl. :)
A hide is also necessary so that your hedgehog has somewhere to go where it feels safe and secure. This can be as simple as a makeshift box, any number of hides made for guinea pigs and such at pet stores, fleece tents or snuggle sacks (also made here locally by my awesome friend Cristalle), or plastic bins turned over with a hedgehog sized hole to crawl into. Clear, see-thru hides should not be used as they don't offer any privacy for your hedgehog.
Those are the cage requirements for housing your hedgehog. We do require a photo of your cage set-up prior to picking up your new little pet so that we can ensure that at least the base size, heat and other needs are met. If you need ideas, we are happy to help or you can also type in "hedgehog cage" in Google, select "images" and then spend hours looking at other peoples enclosures, lol.
Other fun enrichment items for your hedgehog are things like PVC or felt tunnels, dig boxes (basically a low lying container filled with things like big pom poms, felt strips, etc in it), and some hedgehogs like playing with cat balls and such.
Here are the Critter and Ferret Nation cages that we use for our breeding herd. Ferret Nation cages are preferred out of the two because the bars run vertically so they aren't as climbable.
