Hedgehogs

[AngelAmes]

Hey
I have recently been doing a lot of research on hedgehogs as pets. I really really want to get one but it isn't really practical at the moment because I am a student and cannot gaurentee that the temperature will be kept at above 25 degrees.

I am so excited about getting a hedgehog in the future though.

Does anyone here own a hedgehog? I would love to see pictures or hear of your experiences

thank you
Ames

[Arraminta]

Hi AngelAmes, love the mini hedgehogs... You can by heating for cages to maintain temperatures..

Minty x

[Lil Miss]

i have 3 african pygmy hogs.
which type of hoog is it your looking to get? i would love a long eared hedgie in the future, and a tenrec, althought they are actually lesser hedgehogs and are actually very different from hoggies

25C is a bit warm tbh normally 18C - 20C is fine, although it varies on hog to hog, 2 of my boys are fine at 18C but jack is a wuss and likes to be toasty so he is kept at 22C
you only need to go up to 25C if you have a prolific hibernater, which jack is, but 22 is just right for him

i would strongly recomend contacting homeless hogs when you are ready to get a hedgie
Home - Homeless Hogs

[AngelAmes]

Hi Lil Miss

I was looking at african pygmy hedgehogs. I still have alot of research to do though Ok so the temperature is not as hot as I thought

I was looking at making my own cage as well out of grids and using fleece on the floor.

I would love to give a homeless hog a home

[Lil Miss]

not a good idea, you should not have a bar/wire cage s hedgies can climb up it and will fall and break their legs
you would also find it harder to keep an "open" cage at temperature

i use Zoozone 2s for my hogs, but i know others who use vivariums and large plastic storage tubs

have a look at this forum
Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum

[AngelAmes]

Oh I would put plastic up the sides to stop that. I know they are not allowed to climb
Ok I will take a look at the zoo zone, I was just thinking about making something a bit bigger to give them more room but I guess that would mean it was harder to heat :-/
I like the look of the vivariums as well.

Thanks for the help

Ames

[bizziedogs]

Hi my sister has a pygmy hedgehog that she rescued. They can be qquite good pets, my advice though is too make sure you get him/her from a good source. my sisters one tiggy has deformed back feet, my sister rescued him after hearing someone had had enough of him and was going to release him into the wild, he wouldnt have survived. he is very tempermental and isnt very cuddly, with patience i can now hold him without him trying to jab me with his spines or growling. i would just make sure you do alot of reasearch, they live for quite a while too. my sister keeps him at 18-20C and he has never tried to hibernate. he loves his wheel too you want to have the biggest cage possible with a big wheel, definately not wire floor they can get bumble foot and other problems. a big plastic cage is good just make sure good ventilation as they can have breathing problems. also make sure you have a vet lined up as quite a few of the normal vets have no idea how to deal with them. they also like to forage and tiggy prefers to have some food scattered as its more natural for him and gives him something to do. If you want a really tame one make sure you handle her him alot. they will always naturally curl up when scared though as this is a natural defense mechanism. please let me know if you have anu questions i can always ask my sister

[Lil Miss]

Originally Posted by bizziedogs

Hi my sister has a pygmy hedgehog that she rescued. They can be qquite good pets, my advice though is too make sure you get him/her from a good source. my sisters one tiggy has deformed back feet, my sister rescued him after hearing someone had had enough of him and was going to release him into the wild, he wouldnt have survived. he is very tempermental and isnt very cuddly, with patience i can now hold him without him trying to jab me with his spines or growling. i would just make sure you do alot of reasearch, they live for quite a while too. my sister keeps him at 18-20C and he has never tried to hibernate. he loves his wheel too you want to have the biggest cage possible with a big wheel, definately not wire floor they can get bumble foot and other problems. a big plastic cage is good just make sure good ventilation as they can have breathing problems. also make sure you have a vet lined up as quite a few of the normal vets have no idea how to deal with them. they also like to forage and tiggy prefers to have some food scattered as its more natural for him and gives him something to do. If you want a really tame one make sure you handle her him alot. they will always naturally curl up when scared though as this is a natural defense mechanism. please let me know if you have anu questions i can always ask my sister

out of interest is he a snowflake pattern? there seems to be much more genetic abnormalities in the snowflakes in my opinion

one of my algerian grey snowflakes was born with a missing eye and the other was born with missing back feet

all 3 of my hogs are rescues, jack is from homeless hogs, harry was from some one who apparently took his grumpyness personally and wanted nothing more to do with him, and pong was origanally bought from a pet store by some one with no idea, who let him get into a right mess, who was then passed to one of my friends who asked me to take him, his injuries were so bad we almost lost him, luckily it was just a leg we lost

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

Aww I really want a hedgy but I think I would struggle with them being quite high maintenance (and very expensive) they are so cute though and I am jealous of you!

which type of hoog is it your looking to get? i would love a long eared hedgie in the future,

These are actually the 'common garden hedgehog' in Cyprus, we used to see them all the time as we lived in the rural areas where it was mostly dust and dried brown grass. They are very sweet and their ears are gorgeous! They are considered to be vermin/pests over there though as most of the country is one big building site and their nests are constantly being disturbed so you end up with tons of them living on building sites and being taken home and eaten by the builders like cats are

[bizziedogs]

[QUOTE=Lil Miss;369321]out of interest is he a snowflake pattern? there seems to be much more genetic abnormalities in the snowflakes in my opinion Quote]


Hi im not 100% sure i will try and attach a photo of him, he is white but not an albino will try and attacha picture, not quite sure how you do it! thats very interesting though poor guys. its so sad how many rescued hedgehogs are out there


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