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Of course, I’m happy to help! And I wrote a lot, so sorry this amount of words got a little out of hand. 😂 It’s late for me too but I wanted to get this together and send this out! They should have a temperature of 72F-80F. Here is a list of tips for keeping them cool from one of my hedgehog Facebook groups (Hedgehog Snoots, posted by Kat Berckelaers):
“How to keep your hedgehog cool: tips for making sure your hedgehog doesn’t overheat during the summer.
While being too cold is a hazard for hedgehogs, being too hot is a hazard too! I’ve researched and wrote down some tips to make sure your hedgehog is not too hedgehot (get it?) during the summer.
- The ceramic tile
Just putting a ceramic tile in the enclosure gives your spikey friend the possibility to go to a cooler spot if they so desire, make sure there are no sharp edges or anything though! - Air conditioning
Making sure the room your hedgehog in has air conditioning can be enough, but air conditioning can be pricey and not everyone has this. - Fan and ice
You can put a fan in the room and put a bowl of cold water with ice in front of the fan to make sure you have cool air flowing in the room, of course you have to make sure the fan is not blowing directly into the enclosure but rather near it. - Bottle of ice
A water bottle with frozen water inside can be used by just putting the bottle on top of the enclosure in which case it doesn’t need to be covered or put into the enclosure but then it has to be wrapped in fleece or so. - Fresh water.
Making sure your hedgehog has fresh water available is a must during these times, all of your pets should have access to this during the summer.
Don’t put ice cubes into the water bowl though! - Turn your CHE’s off!
If the temperature is high enough you can turn your CHE’s off as they will only heat up the enclosure, if the nights are still too cold you can always turn them on again after the sun goes down but make sure that they’re not on during a really hot day.
NOTES
A hedgehog’s environment still needs to be approx 72F to 80F.
Number 4 should only be done if temp is over approx 82F and needs to have a way to be kept from dripping water into cage when thawing.
Only turn CHE totally off if the temp stays above 72F consistently.
A thermostat will not turn on if it isn’t needed.
I hope these tips help and enjoy your summer!”
Hedgehogs are super tiny when they are born and reach around full size (unless they get overweight) at about a year old. Their faces are usually much smaller when young and from the picture (I compared it to my two hedges) he seems about the size of a (russet) potato about 5-7 inches long, but I could be wrong from the pictures. I am pretty sure that he is at the very least 6 months for that size. But that size can vary when they are curled into a ball or stretched out when running or relaxing. Wilbur is around a year and he is a similar size to that. Here is a link about their size growth and age:
https://www.dimensions.com/element/four-toed-hedgehog-african-pygmy-hedgehog
In my hedgehog groups, people seem to really like https://shop.hedgehogprecision.com/ but only that hedgehog specific food. It is a little pricey (+ shipping) so I use IAMS Healthy Adult Chicken cat food (orange bag) but you can find a variety of people using different cat foods on those Facebook groups based on how much fat and different ingredients there are in the food. But most owners from what I’ve read that I’ve seen favor kibble over wet food.
My two hedgies Wilbur and Hazel both eat differently. Wilbur is around 1 year and Hazel is 2 years. Wilbur gobbles down all of his food quickly while Hazel eats every now and then. I have to refill Wilbur’s food bowl every 1-2 days and I refill Hazel’s every 2-3 days. Their appetites can be very different from hedgehog to hedgehog!
As far as how much room they should have, according to my groups they should have about 6 feet of space in their cages. I recently bought some C&A grids made of plastic (not wire, they like to climb and escape 😂) from Amazon. They like to run around as much as possible and as far as possible so a bigger cage is recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/AHOME-Storage-Organizer-Bookcase-Translucent/dp/B07SF5QKX8
With my cages, I have two layers of sewn fleece from Walmart that I’m going to line the cages with to lessen the waste of using paper bedding which I preferred a lot more over wood bedding (it doesn’t seem comfortable for them.)
For wheels, almost every hedgehog owner I know LOVES the Carolina Storm Wheel from “Henry’s Hedgehog Haven” on Etsy. There are also other sellers that make a similar wheel depending on your shipping costs. For hedgehogs, people are very wary of getting their hedgehogs nails stuck in something like grids, or gaps in wheels so it should be a solid full circle. Another possibility is DIYing it with a big bucket of some sort (you can find tutorials through Google.) But they should be at least 11 inches across.
And as far as smell… They poop, a lot. 😂 Hazel has become neater as she gets older and only poops by and on her wheel. Wilbur just poops all over the cage (including wheel). Keep them in a room with windows and a fan which might help with the heat and smell.
For houses: any guinea pig hideaway of some sort should work just fine. I used a plastic medium sized hamster castle and will soon add in some fleece for them to burrow in when I move them to the bigger cage.
On days I’m just sitting around or watching a movie, I put one of them in a snuggle sack (also from Etsy) and just sit with them on my lap for them to get used to my scent, feel more comfortable around me, etc. I bought a few hedgehog monthly box from https://www.pocketpetpouch.com (@pocketpetpouch on Instagram) they come with a snuggle sack every time and some little accessories based on a monthly theme. I love to spoil these little hedgies.
A water dish has worked fine for me, but with the paper shavings Wilbur likes to kick them into his bowls which requires constant cleaning. The hedgehog water bottles from SonoranDesertHedgies seems to be recommended and they also sell a wheel.
I hope I’ve helped and I highly encourage you to get in touch with some hedgehog groups on Facebook so you can get multiple opinions and advice! Everything from above is from my personal experience and opinions, the hedgehog groups I listed and from those links I attached. So sorry I threw so many words at you, I am just so happy to help someone, and I love hedgehogs a lot haha. You are a great person for seeking help with your new little friend! Good luck! 🤗
