Owning a Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are small, cute, prickly animals. These animals have a soft, white undercoat but short, prickly spines on it's back. The spines are not barbed, like a porcupine's, but they do feel prickly. Domestically raised hedgehogs will bite infrequently. If the hedgehog does bite you, it will merely feel like a pinch, due to the hedgehogs short teeth. Almost all hedgehogs will bite or chew on leather. The hedgehog also has a unique feature, it rolls into a ball. This completely covers its face and feet. The animal does this when it feels threatened. A very odd feature of the hedgehog is self-anointing. This is when the hedgehog is presented with a new food, odor, or salt. This causes the hedgehog to salivate excessively, twist into an S shape, and spread the foamy saliva over its spines. This is believed to be the hedgehog's way of making it spines more effective by coating them with the irritating substance. Also, when you first begin handling your pet hedgehog, you may feel an itching or burning due to the saliva on the quills. Larger cages are recommended for hedgehogs, since their normal territory in the wild can be a large as 650-1,000 feet in diameter. You should NOT have wire flooring in your cage because this can be damaging to their small feet. You should have some sort of hiding or nest box, since most hedgehogs will not sleep in the open. Hedgehogs are very good climbers, so be sure your pet will not be able to escape their pen, cage, or aquarium. Since hedgehogs need exercise, bathtubs may be used. In the wild, hedgehogs are omnivores, which mean they eat both meat and vegetation. Many first-time hedgehog buyers are unaware of what their pet should eat, and this may result in obesity. A recommended diet of one-two tablespoons of cat food should be okay for your hedgehog, and water should be available at all times. But please, before you buy your hedgehog, get information from the experts, this may be much better than going to your local pet store.