Getting a hedgie or two maybe :)

Question
Hi, I am hoping to get my first hedgehog or two for Christmas, and was hoping you could help me out with a few things...

Firstly I do want to breeder hedgies in the future but can only afford one at a time... does it matter if the male or female is a few months older then the other when they are bred? if you don't know that please try to anwser my other questions,

I was told a 2 foot square cage is needed is this right?

Do they accutly use wheels? which kind is best?

what toys can I make for my hedgies?

how offen should my hedge be handled to tame & keep tame & lastly what do you reccomend feeding? what do you feed yours?

thank you for any help in advance, look forward to hearing from you, thanks ~Tara

Answer
It doesn't matter about the age as long as they are old enough to breed. I believe you should wait until the female is at least 6 months. Breeding ends at near 2 years of age, but you should know that after being one year old the success of breeding drops. With hedgehogs, the larger the cage the better. There are many strategies on breeding, so I suggest you do some research and maybe contact other breeders. Usually the female is put in the males cage since the females tend to be more territorial. Each hedgehog will need its own cage.

Just so you know, breeding hedgehogs is difficult and will take time. Be sure that your male and female are not related as this will cause birth defects. It is also difficult to tell if a hedgehog is pregnant so you have to wait 40 days after the last contact with a male to try again. It is also possible the female just may not like the male you provide, so you may have to offer another male. Also, first time moms, tend to abandon or eat their babies. If you are doing this to make money, you should know that you need a license from the USDA. You need the license to sell or even give away the babies. You also need to be prepared to house the babies if you cannot sell or give them away in a timely manner. Hedgehogs can breed as early as 8 weeks, so males should be seperated from females (they won;t leave mom until about 6 weeks). Also agressive hedgies need to be seperated from the group, so you may need many cages. 2-3 weeks after birth you may start handeling the babies, and it needs to be done daily to socialize them.

Do not breed hedgies that have an attitude problem.


Hedgehogs love wheels, and I personally believ the Wodent brand wheels are the best. They were the first wheel specifically made for hedgehogs, and now they make smaller versions for hamster and rats. Wodent wheels are the only store bought wheels i would suggest. You can also make your own, but it is easier to just buy.

Hedgehogs should be handled as often as possible. It just tempends on the hedgehog. I had one that took over a month to get tame, and it would only uncurl if i sat with it for hours watching tv. I have also had some that are tame right away. I suggest daily interaction.

I feed mine high quality cat food. Never feed kitten food as it is too high in fat. Also canned insects as treats should be offered.


I hope that helps some. That is just a little of what you need to know for breeding, and you will need to do a lot of research.

Crystal