Welcome to I Love Hedgehogs!

Dear readers,

Welcome to my hedgehog blog. I've always thought of starting a blog dedicated to my hedgehogs, Cactus and Quills, and perhaps spreading the love to other people.

Hopefully this blog will go on for years to come, and have everything needed for someone who wish to own a hedgehog.


Regards,
livingmonolith

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Housing

It is best to keep hedgehogs in non-wired cages with at least 2 feet in height, to prevent them from escaping. In Malaysia, Zoozones (~RM150.00) are a good option but for budget owners, usually 4sqft storage containers (~RM40.00) are adequate. Just make sure that the containers have enough space for the hedgehog to move around and exercise, and preferably, able to fit a wheel.

Rabbit and dog cages are not recommended. The wired-flooring can do much damage to the hedgehogs if they get their legs stuck.

Although water bottles are usually recommended, it is important to note that the tip of the bottle’s opening should be lowered to a level where the hedgehog does not require climbing on wall to drink. Hedgehogs are not like hamsters or white mice, where they can stand on two hind legs, and hedgehogs being lowsy climbers, there’s every opportunity that the hedgehog may chip their tooth drinking from the metal tip of the bottle. Waterbowl (heavy bottom) is another good choice, with the only problem is spilling caused by the hedgehog pushing the bowl around.

It is advised to provide your hedgehog with a hiding box; it often turns out to be the place where your hedgehog tends to spend most of its time in. This is the ‘safe’ place for your hedgehog when it wants to sleep, or hide when it feels stress or threatened. There are hedgebags readily available in stores, although these will usually need more attention on cleaning. Normal hideboxes will be ice-cream boxes, with an opening cut open and some little holes for air ventilation. For females with hoglets, a bigger hidebox is recommended to allow more space for the mother and youngs, for example a shoebox. However, these should not be used as permanent hideboxes as it is impossible to be kept clean.

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