A 5-year-old hedgehog is about 76 in people years, so if your hedgehog lives 5-7 years it has lived a full life but five years is longer than the national average.
A 5-year-old hedgehog is about 76 in human years, so if your hedgehog lives 5-7 years it has lived a full life, but five years is longer than the national average.
A pet hedgehog's life span is typically between four and seven years, however, some have lived up to ten. The African Pygmy Hedgehog is the most popular type of hedgehog kept as a pet (Atelerix albiventris). The usual lifespan of the African pygmy hedgehog is between four and six years.
The average lifespan for African pygmy hedgehogs in captivity runs from 4-6 years, with some living as long as 8 years.
Hedgehogs are solitary in the wild and do not need hedgehog companions in captivity. Like all animals, they have their own personalities and can be quite different. Hedgehogs typically do not bite but their quills are very sharp potentially making it a challenging pet for a young child.
But still, 70 was seen as a good age, 70 was OLD. So let's start by looking at what's old for a hedgehog. Though the average lifespan for a hedgehog is 2-3 years, hedgehogs certainly aren't old at 2 or 3.
Key findings: The oldest hedgehog in the sample was 16 years old - the oldest scientifically documented European hedgehog ever found. Two other individuals lived for 13 and 11 years respectively. The previous record holder lived for 9 years.
Pet hedgehogs have an average life span of four to six years and weigh about a pound. Most owners will feed them a low-fat dry cat food supplemented with vegetables, mealworms, and crickets, and keep them in a large, flat-bottomed cage.
It is best to select a hedgehog that is between 6-12 weeks old. Young hedgehogs usually adapt to a new environment more easily than older animals. Older animals may still make good pets with extra precautions. All hedgehogs should be easy to handle at the time of purchase.
Wild hedgehogs have a completely different way of life than their domesticated cousins. Day after day, they face dietary, predatory, and environmental challenges that decrease their chances of living to a ripe old age.
While we know hedgehogs can survive in the wild with missing limbs we do not see them thrive. We have captive hedgehogs in several vegetable patches. We see sores and calluses appear on areas where limbs have been removed and they often become infected.
Hedgehogs can be fun pets for your kid. If handled while young, hedgehogs can learn to be social with your child. They are more prone to health problems than some other pets, but they have a lifespan of about five to seven years.
Possibly the rarest of all hedgehogs, the Algerian Black Hedgehog is the trickiest to identify and purchase.
In the wild, hedgehogs are solitary creatures. They hunt alone and don't form lifelong bonds with other hedgehogs. Once a male and female have mated, the male (the boar) leaves the female (the sow) to raise the young hoglets alone.
Silvacola acares, a tiny hedgehog, lived roughly 13 million years after an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs and left the mammals as the dominant land animals.
It is quite common for most hedgehogs to be sleeping between 18 to 20 hours a day. For the little ones, they are able to sleep for more than 20 hours a day, hence it is important to wake your baby hedgehogs up for playtime if it has been sleeping for most of the time.
Hedgehogs can be a fun and low-maintenance pet for your household, but they do need some special care. They have sharp quills that can make handling difficult. Consistent and proper daily handling will help them relax and feel comfortable with you.
Hedgehogs are not rodents.
They also have a different diet and a different lifestyle. Hedgehogs also have a much smaller range across the world than rodents do.
Avoid surprising a hedgehog, approach him slowly and quietly. It is best to pick him up gently with two cupped hands from underneath where his fur is soft. They sometimes roll into a ball when picked up, but if you hold him and are patient, he will unroll and sniff around.
We recommend handling your hedgehog for at least half an hour a day. The easiest way to accomplish this task is 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. Some hedgehog owners suggest that you wait for a few days to handle your new hedgehog, so that it has a chance to get accustomed to its cage.
Every hedgehog has a unique personality, but most aren't interested in human affection. Caretakers note that it takes a lot of time and effort to get a hedgehog to tolerate being held. Like porcupines, hedgehogs have sharp, prickly quills that they use to fend off predators.