Apple Valley
HEDGEHOGS
Food & Water Dishes
I prefer to use dishes for both food and water, rather than a water bottle.
Water bottles can leak, hedgehogs sometimes chew on them in frustration if
they are not getting water fast enough. If using a water bottle, avoid spring loaded
tips.
Some hedgehogs like to stand on the edge of their dishes so having a heavy, wide
bowl is good to prevent tipping. I use the Living World Ergonomic Dish, size small.
These dishes are also smooth and curved inwards slightly so mealworms can’t
escape!
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Wheels
Hedgehogs can run miles every night so a wheel is a necessity. They tend to get very bored without one! Wheels should have a solid running surface. Hedgehogs can get their feet or toenails stuck in gaps in wire wheels. They are also a lot harder to keep clean! They should not have crossbars – they can cause injuries. They should be large enough so the hedgehog can run with it’s back flat, in a natural stance - 12 inches is ideal.
Bucket wheels are one of the most popular wheels for hedgehogs.
They are silent, extremely easy to clean, and last for years! They are
more expensive, but are definitely worth the investment. You can
make one yourself or buy one online, there are different vendors
on Etsy, and many instructional videos and tutorials.
- Honey Bee Lane: https://honeybeelanecreations.com/
There is a new hedgehog wheel available in Canada, the Enchanting
Pets Silent Wheel, which I would also highly recommend. It is quite
large and sturdy. This would be great for larger hogs.
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Kaytee Comfort Wheels are a commercially bought 'pet store' wheel that works for hedgehogs. The downside is they are quite noisy so I wouldn’t use one of you plan on keeping your hedgehog near your bedroom. They are also a lot more of a pain to clean than a bucket wheel, and have a narrow base so larger hogs may tip them over if they run too fast.
Full Cheeks Silent Exercise Wheels are my favorite wheel you can buy locally at Petsmart. These wheels are sturdy, easy to clean, and quiet! You need these in the 12 inch size.
Wheels with mesh, crossbars, enclosed spaces, and cracks are no good for hedgehogs as they can be hard to clean and harmful. Silent Spinner wheels have been known to come apart at the seams and tear toenails. Some people remedy this by gluing the seams together, but then urine can't drain off the wheel as well.
Hedgehogs need a hiding place to go to sleep in during the day. You can use a
piece of fleece for them to burrow in, a snuggle sack, or an igloo (or similar hide).
An igloo can sit over a snuggle sack, fleece, or have fleece strips inside to burrow
in. Different hedgehogs will prefer different sleeping arrangements!
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Hiding Place
Litter Box
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Hedgehogs can be taught to use a litter box, but this is generally
dependent on your hedgehog's personality, so it is not a must have
cage item. You should, however, have something underneath the
wheel to catch their droppings if using fleece liners. This can
be paper towel under the wheel, a cookie sheet, or another
small container with litter. The litter substrate can be
Carefresh bedding, Yesterday's News, Non-clumping cat litter,
paper towels, a pee pad, or reusable fabric pads. A lot of the
time hedgehogs will use this area near the wheel as their litter
area while in the cage, but you can add in a separate litter box if you’d like, a corner litter box for ferrets works well. To encourage the use of the litter you can move the poop inside the litter so the hedgehog knows where to go.
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Toys
Some hedgehogs will play with toys, some won’t. One thing they all seem to love is PVC pipes to tunnel through!
Safe toys:
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​Dig box - a box filled with fleece strips or pompoms (big enough to not be eaten by mistake) that you can hide treats in for your hedgehog to find
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Mint sticks
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Kongs
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Silk plants - silk plants are soft enough to not harm to eyes when foraged through
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Toilet paper tube - one side of the tube should be cut through so the hedgehog does not get it's head stuck
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PVC pipe - no smaller than 4"
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Fabric tunnels
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Stuffed toys
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Child safe toys such as trucks and cars
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Rubber bath toys
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Plastic Easter eggs (safely taped shut) - marbles can be put inside to make noises
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Cat balls with no holes - crinkle balls, rubber balls, any solid ball
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Fleece forest – fleece strips tied up to make a hanging ‘forest’ to forage through
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Snuffle mat
Unsafe toys​:
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Cat balls with large holes - jaws can get caught and injured in the holes
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Wooden toys - can splinter if chewed on
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Plastic plants – have sharp edges that could poke eyes
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Anything that makes loud noises or squeaks may scare your hedgehog, so use with supervision at first
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Extra large hamster balls – can be used with supervision but these can get very messy if they poop and pee inside, I personally wouldn’t bother with one