If you are buying bedding for your hedgehog house, look for something as close to their natural nesting materials as possible. Hay comes out tops for hedgehog bedding in this category, and there are plenty of options to choose from.
Acceptable bedding materials include shredded paper, newspaper, recycled pelleted/absorbable material, and wood shavings, such as aspen or untreated pine. Avoid corncob bedding as it tends to grow mold when wet.
Multi-Buy Savings. This mix of hay and straw has been formulated especially for hedgehog houses. It is ideal for encouraging a prickly visitor to the house, providing a good cover for bedding and insulation from the cold during hibernation.
You can put soft hay or dried grass in as bedding, but do also try and leave some fallen leaves around for the hedgehog, not only add to options for bedding but are good places for hedgehogs to find insects and beetles which make up the bulk of their diet.
Durability: Good quality hedgehog houses are typically built from water or weatherproof materials such as Eco-Plate and should ensure your hedgehog house has longevity. Treat those built from solid wood with varnish to improve durability.
Only solid bottom cages are suitable for hedgehogs, any wire bottom cages could trap their legs or rip off toenails. Provide a soft bedding free of dust, such as recycled paper pellets or if you use wood shavings use only kiln dried pine or aspen. Do not use cedar shavings as they could irritate your hedgehog's lungs.
There are two reasons to choose a hedgehog house with a solid floor. The first is predator proofing. Foxes and cats have been known to tip up houses with not floor, to get at the hog inside. Second is warmth, dryness and weatherproofing.
Many hedgehogs will sleep under their shelter as opposed to inside it. Providing 12x12 squares of fleece also make good sleeping material. Hedgehogs will bury themselves inside the blankets. Cloth cage liners are great for hedgehogs as long as they are made with safe material.
A few owners have used hay as a nesting option for their hedgehogs. As long as the hay is packaged from a pet store it should be fine. Hay used for large livestock hasn't been treated for anything and that could make your hedgehog very sick. Hay is generally NOT recommended as the main cage bedding.
You can encourage hedgehogs into your garden by providing food and fresh water. Tips for leaving out food and water: Leave out foods like tinned dog or cat food and crushed cat or dog biscuits. Supply good quality, meaty hedgehog food from wildlife food suppliers.
If you should change the bedding weekly depends on how much bedding you use in the cage and how accurately you do the daily spot cleaning. So for some, it would be ok to change after about 10 days, while others have to do it after 7 days. For the change itself, it is important that you remove all the old bedding.
It's not unusual to see hedgie parents using wood shavings as litter for their hedgehog. Pine and aspen are the two most common types of wood shavings used. It is easily found and cost effective. Pine has better odor control than aspen, but they're both about equally absorbent.
Fleece Flippers or Cages Liners from Guinea Pig Market give you soft, absorbent bedding which is easy to clean and maintain. Fleece is the bedding of choice for hedgehog owners!
Transporting hedgie home
Hedgehogs are burrowing animals, so a fleece blanket will help make your carrier comfortable and warm. Hedgehogs feel safest in small confined spaces, so a small animal carrier or a small cat carrier is best. If your enclosure is bigger, put a larger blanket in it so your hedgehog can hide.
Their nests may be quite large, usually made of mosses, grass, leaves and other garden debris. They can be found at the base of thick hedges, under thick bramble bushes, garden sheds or piles of rubbish.
If you own a pet hedgehog, you should ensure that the lighting in and around their enclosure imitates natural lighting. At night owners should dim the lights or set the lighting on a timer. Owners should also avoid exposing their pet hedgehog's enclosure to excessive light, as too much light makes them uncomfortable.
The best place to put a hedgehog house out is a quiet, shaded position in your garden (ideally facing east to south), where the entrance hole will be shielded from bad weather.
Consider using a sand bath inside of their cage to promote them to become self cleaning hedgies. Also, give brushing their teeth a try!
When awake, they are very active and it's fun to watch them dig, go through tubes, push toys around and run on their exercise wheel. They should get at least an hour every evening out of their cage to explore. Because hedgehogs are a little prickly, they are best for older children and adults.
As mentioned earlier, the addition of hard-shelled live insects such as crickets and mealworms or dry insect food to provide chitin fiber should also be a part of your hedgehog's rations. Live insects can be fed three to four times per week.
They are nocturnal animals and they come out to play at night. They must get complete darkness as they are sensitive to the light, however, they do need light during the day for about 12 hours. If they are not getting enough light in their cage, an additional light source on a timer should be set up.
Hedgehogs will make their own nests from materials in the surrounding environment so the best thing to do is ensure there are plenty of leaves near to the box. You can also put bedding inside the box to give them a head start, such as leaves, straw or hay.
A hedgehog's go-to vocal is huffing and puffing, but he's not trying to blow the house down. This sniffing is a normal vocalization he makes while going about his business of exploring. An unhappy hedgehog, on the other hand, will show his disdain with a hiss or a clicking sound.
Mid Spring is a great time to clean out hedgehog hibernation boxes ready for the Summer nesting period. You can also check and make any repairs at the same time. The best time to clean your hedgehog boxes is normally in April. This is usually after hibernation but before the nesting period begins.
Hedgie often likes playing with cardboard boxes. You can make lots of suitable toys out of cardboard boxes or tubes.