Here are the 8 top facts about pet hedgehogs you probably didn’t know. If you’ve got a pet hedgehog, knowing these facts will help the two of you get along swimmingly!
1. Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight, but enjoy razor sharp hearing and a powerful sense of smell.
2. They’re very territorial animals, so you shouldn’t put two together in a cage. The chances of them getting along are very small, and they’ll probably fight.
3. Hedgehog pets can’t digest bread and milk, so don’t feed them that! Hedgehogs prefer small insects, and also enjoy high quality canned cat food, scrambled eggs, and bran. They need lots of fresh water, too, so make sure you’ve always got plenty set out for yours.
4. Between December and April, wild hedgehogs will go through short periods of hibernation. If you allow your pet African Pygmy Hedgehog to hibernate it could be fatal. To stop your pet hibernating make sure that its cage is heated to between 72 and 75° F.
5. Hedgehogs have pointy spines on their backs and sides and will roll up into a ball if they sense they are in danger. Males can have up to 500 spines on their back, while females tend to have fewer spines.
6. A baby hedgehog is called a hoglet, and 4 to 5 hoglets are common per mother.
7. In the wild, hedgehogs can travel 1 – 2 miles looking for food. They prefer to live near a food source, and areas with lots of dead leaves are very appealing for them, as they can burrow into the leaf mounds for shelter.
8. Pestecides of all kinds are harmful to these creatures, so keep your hedgehog pets away from any plants that have been sprayed with these kinds of chemicals.