• Cage
  • Heat Source
  • Bedding
  • Litter Box
  • House/Hide/Igloo
  • Exercise
  • Toys
  • Water Bottle 
  • Cage
  • Heat Source
  • Bedding
  • Litter Box
  • House/Hide/Igloo
  • Exercise
  • Toys
  • Water Bottle 

Scroll Down to see information on the appropriate habitat:

Habitat

Cages
Cages with a 30 in. x 18 in. base is acceptable if your hedgehog gets daily out of the cage time. This is the MINIMUM and MAXIMUM size cage. Anything smaller, the accessories will not fit in the cage. Anything larger than 36 inches will not be accepted. You will stress out your hedgehog in larger spaces.

Modified plastic storage bins contain harmful chemicals and are not meant to house animals! Plastics, especially those that are inexpensive and made to store things like blankets and Christmas ornaments contain toxic chemicals like Polycarbonate, bisphenol A BPA, Polystyrene, Polypropylene, low density polyethylene (LDPE), nonylphenol, lead, phthalates, mercury, dioxins and cadmium. When heated, these chemicals leach out from the plastic and cause cancer, diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorders, harm lungs, liver, and negatively affect the immune system. Should you choose to use this type of housing we will not sell you a hedgehog. Storage bins also do not allow enough airflow. If you are in the Northwest/Pacific Northwest there is WAY too much humidity for bins to be used long term as it creates a tropical environment for your desert hedgehog.

Solid surface enclosures such as aquariums, storage bins, or wooden boxes cannot be used here in the Northwest. We have too much humidity that will condense with the heat emitter on, which will make your habitat a tropical environment and put your hedgehog at risk for a respiratory infection.

Storage cube or C & C cages are not a good choice for housing a hedgehog. We will not allow this type of housing for our babies. The large space is stressful for smooth brained hedgehogs. Smooth brain animals react to their environment and the large space will cause your hedgehog to fear predators. Hedgehogs are not rodents and won't utilize the space.

Cages with a pitched or domed roof make it difficult to position your ceramic heat emitter towards your hedgehog. The shape of the roof will angle your heat everywhere but down on your hedgehog. NEVER place the ceramic heat emitter INSIDE the cage! Your hedgehog will get burned. The ceramic Heater only heats about 16 inches away. These types of cages put the heat source too far away to keep your hedgehog at the proper temperature.

No ramps and levels. Hedgehogs are ground dwelling animals with terrible eyesight. They have no depth perception and will walk off levels and get hurt.

NOTE: A baby will not go home unless the cage requirement is met. Later use of an inappropriate cage will VOID the health guarantee.

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Heat Source

A hedgehog MUST be kept at 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Hedgehogs will hibernate in nature when the temperature drops, this is often fatal. Signs that a hedgehog is too cold and on the verge of hibernation are staggered "drunk-like" walking and appetite loss. If a hedgehog exhibits these symptoms, warm its surroundings gradually, and consult a veterinarian.

We recommend a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter (CHE) with an 8.5 in lamp (ceramic socket WITHOUT a dimmer switch).


In the Northwest, the Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) helps dry out our humid air if used in an appropriate wire top cage. Hedgehogs come from the desert and heat + Humidity creates a more tropical environment.

A HEDGEHOG BABY WILL NOT BE SENT HOME WITHOUT PROOF OF A HEAT SOURCE.


NOTE: A hedgehog will not go home if there is not an appropriate heat source. NOT using a heat source ON THE CAGE or an inappropriate heat source will also void the health guarantee.

Heating pads are not an appropriate heat source for a hedgehog. They are not meant to be on for more than 2 hours at a time without being a fire safety issue (the law requires a 2 hour auto shutoff). Like the reptile heat pad, they also don't heat the ambient temperature of the cage.

Heating the room does not guarantee an accurate ambient temperature in the cage. If you heat the entire room to 80 degrees, the hedgehog will not have a cool side of the cage to escape to if it gets too hot. The temperature in which a hedgehog is comfortable is too warm for human.

Under the tank reptile heat pads are not an appropriate heat source for a hedgehog. They are too hot and do not heat the ambient temperature of the cage. Heat pads also do not help dry out our Northwest air for our desert dwelling hedgehogs.

You CANNOT use anything that
emits light! Hedgehogs are nocturnal but need heat 24 hours a day. If your heat source emits light, your hedgehog may not come out to eat. Hedgehogs do NOT see in color, so it does not matter if your light is red, green, blue, etc. NO LIGHT.

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Bedding
Carefresh (recycled Paper Bedding) is good but virgin paper is the preferred bedding. Avoid cedar and pine shavings. Cedar is TOXIC to Hedgies. Pine shavings are also a poor choice due to the abietic acid that burns their respiratory tract. We would highly recommend just sticking with the carefresh or virgin paper bedding.


Some people also use fleece or fabric liners to line the cage, this is NOT an acceptable bedding. Hedgehogs are diggers, burrowers and love to tunnel through their bedding. Some hedgehogs enjoy building a nest with their shavings! Don't take away their innate joy by putting them on fleece liners. According to our exotic vet, it is CRUEL to use fabric for bedding.

NOTE: The use of cedar, pine (except for litter pellets which they wont burrow in), aspen, fleece, or fabric inside the cage will VOID the health guarantee.

We will not sell a hedgehog to anyone who intends on using fabric in their habitat. Use of fabric in a habitat will VOID the health guarantee. 

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Litter box
A ferret sized litter box (7x10x13 in) with wood pellet bedding like dry den or Nature's Bedding should be provided for your hedgehogs primary bathroom area. Nature's bedding or Dry Den is a wood pellet used in horse stalls to soak up urine. It is available at your local feed or farm and ranch store. It may be sold under another brand name, but if you describe its original use to the clerk they will be able to assist you.


Do NOT use recycled paper pellets. The ink dyes their quills and it takes hours to scrub off. It is also a choking hazard. 


DO NOT use clumping cat litter! Cat litter has a very small granule and gets stuck in the urogenital tract. Clay can also be ingested and cause bowel obstruction.


NOTE: We will not sell a hedgehog to someone using clay litter in the litter box. The use of cat or clay litter in your litter box after you purchase the hedgehog will VOID the health guarantee.

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House/Igloo/Hide:
A Kaytee Igloo (not smaller than 12" x 10.5" x 6.25") , faux tortoise shell, or some other enclosed hiding place should be provided as a secure haven for your hedgehog. A hide that is large enough to put the food dish in and can be sanitized is necessary.


NOTE: We will not sell a hedgehog to someone who uses fabric inside the cage. Using fabric in the cage after you purchase the hedgehog will VOID the health guarantee. Fleece "sleeping bags" should never be used in the cage. Hedgies dig and burrow in them all night. The microfibers in the fleece can knit around their toes and cut off circulation. It only takes 6 hours to successfully kill the toes which will fall off.

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Exercise

Hedgehogs most certainly need exercise to stay healthy. However, they should not be using exercise wheels designed for rodents. Hedgehogs do not have a flexible spine like a rodent and can injure their back on the 180 degree surface. Many people use the wheel and will argue that they are an acceptable source of exercise. We strongly disagree and feel that people who prefer the wheel probably don't have x-rays of their hedgehog's spine.

Hedgehog on a flat surface.

1. Natural curvature of the spine.2. Neck is in the proper position.3. Legs are tucked and in proper position.

Hedgehog on the wheel.

1. Spine is flattened out stressing the back and pelvis.
2. Neck is in an upward position causing stress on the cervical vertebrae.
3. Not indicated by the taxidermy, however if this were a living hedgehog on a wheel, the front legs would be extended in an outward position. The extension is not the natural way a hedgehog walks. Muscles in the back are formed that are not natural for the hedgehog to develop.

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Hedgehogs do NOT have flexible spines like rodents and should NOT be placed into these balls. Hedgehogs don't have depth perception and therefore often panic inside these exercise balls.

NOTE: We will not sell a hedgehog to someone who uses any wheel/ball. Using a wheel or a ball will VOID the health guarantee.

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Toys

Hedgehogs like to discover things in their cage. Toys should be included in their enclosures for cage enrichment. Hedgehogs won't play with toys like a cat but they are curious about new items and like to check them out. Rotating a toy every couple of days can keep it interesting for them. Cat toys, ping Pong balls, and hard plastic Easter eggs are good toy choices. Toys that can easily be chewed up into little pieces and ingested should be avoided.

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Water Bottle
Your hedgehog was raised on an Oasis BIRD water bottle and is not trained to use anything else. The unique sipper tube functions like a water fountain rather than a metal ball that spins to distribute water. These bottles are extremely hard to find and as of March 2024 they are no longer available through our pet supply distributer. You can look at places like Amazon and Chewy for your own or you can buy one from us for $14 while supplies last.

Please do not use a water bowl for your hedgehog. Their little paws harbor a lot of bacteria. Not to mention, the bowl quickly fills up with shaving s from rooting around.