all my hoglets are handled daily from 3 weeks old by me and my children.i will give you all the info you will need before you take your hoglet home and after.Getting To Know Behaviour A hedgehog can communicate through its body movements as well as through the sounds it makes. Here are some typical hedgehog characteristics.SELF ANOINTING - If there are any unfamiliar scents a hedgehog may cover it
self in a substance, showing that something unknown, interesting or dangerous is being investigated. A hedgehog can self anoint if it has been near another hedgehog during mating for example. If it smells any unusual scents such as perfumes or to***co on you while it is being handled. It will begin to lick and chew whilst producing a white frothy saliva in its mouth. It will then use its tongue to spread this substance all over its body. During this self anointing it will hold its nose up high, open its mouth, curl its lip up and often fall over as it gets carried away! QUILLING - As a hedgehog grows it will go through a process of loosing spines and growing new ones usually in three stages. The first being newly born at approximately two weeks old, the second being up to five weeks old and the next being anytime after eight weeks old. The thin fragile spines will become loose and begin to drop off and new thick ones will appear. This normally takes place with no problems at all and you will not even notice it happening but sometimes it can become alittle iritating for the hedgehog causing it to feel uncomfortable and irritable. ROLLING UP - This is a defense move and happens when in fear. It will roll up into a tight very prickly ball to protect itself against anything coming near or touching it. ERECTING SPINES - This happens when it is suddenly shocked or if it distrusts you. It will erect the spines on its forehead forward over its eyes and it will erect the spines on its body upwards to protect itself and make it difficult to be touched. FLAT SPINES - When it is calm and relaxed the spines lay flat against the body. A tame and frequently held hedgehog will have learned to trust being picked up and handled and the spines will remain flat during contact allowing you time to play.
A good healthy hedgehog can live for 4-8yrs. Leave your new baby/babies to settle for a day or two, if it seems confident and happy then you can try to handle him/her. Your new hedgehog will have to live indoors, The perfect temperature for Hedgehogs 18-26c, which is the average house temperature, anything below 7.2c and it is very risky as they may go into hibernation which is dangerous for them, they can be bought out of hibernation but sadly it might be too late. Your new African Pygmy Hedgehogs will also need on average 12 hours per day of daylight, you can achieve this with either natural day light or using an artificial light. I personally keep my hogs at 20c plus, under 17c they became sluggish and not as active, if you cant maintain this temperature then purchase a heat pad. African Pygmy Hedgehogs can be kept on their own or two females together can work sometimes, never two males they will not get along and a male and female will obviously multiply, they are more than happy on their own. The best is to by two females that are from the same litter and are used to each other. The perfect housing for an adult African Pygmy Hedgehog is an indoor rabbit cage 36” by 12” as they need lots of exercise, being nocturnal they will be up all night. It has been said that African Pygmy Hedgehogs will use their play wheels during the night and some walk up to 10 miles in their wheel. Litter Training Your African Pygmy Hedgehog
You can litter train in their cage, if they keep making a mess outside of their litter try keep putting them back in they will pick it up, give them time and patience. You can fill their litter tray with clumping cat litter or sawdust, natural cat litter is the safest. A lot hogs will go to the toilet in their wheel, so maybe keep it near the wheel or restrict its use just for a few nights while you try to get him/her litter trained. Housing Materials For your African Pygmy Hedgehog
African Pygmy Hedgehog will need an igloo buy from pet shops , a water bowl , feeding bowl and dust free sawdust, if it isn’t dust free it can cause serious problems and clog their bladders, also make sure it is not made out of cedar (the fumes can be highly toxic). Diet There are three types of food that should be introduced into a hedgehogs diet. These are DRY FOODS, MOIST FOODS and LIVE FOODS. Complete dried cat buiscuits form the base of the diet and these should be provided every day but must be supplemented with a variety of other foods to ensure that the hedgehog gets a well balanced meal with different tastes and textures that is full of nutrients and vitamins. Here are some ideas of the different types of food given to hedgehogs. DRY FOOD
Various brands of complete dried cat buiscuits - meat flavours only. Ready made mixtures of dried ingredients - such as those made by Vitakraft, Rowena's mix, Rspca, Spikes Dinner hard and Spikes Dinner moist. Dried meal worms or Dried meal worms with honey and berries
MOIST FOOD
Various brands of tinned or packet cat food in jelly - meat flavours only. Moist meal - such as that made by Spikes Dinner. Skinless and lean cooked meats cut into small pieces - chicken, turkey, lamb and mince. Boiled or scrambled eggs. Fruit and vegetables. African Pygmy Hedgehogs Playtime
Toys, like children hedgehogs love to play with toys. The most important purchase you can make is their wheel, they will spend amazing amounts of time in the wheel and this in turn is fantastic exercise and will stop them becoming bored. The bigger the wheel the better. You can provide tunnels, noisy toys and balls etc, you can get hamster toys just make sure the tunnels are big enough, also give them a hiding area where they can sleep and go for peace! They love to be outside their cage for a wander and spend time with the family, as with all animals the more time you spend handling them the tamer they will be. If you can get them out for time in the evening their spines will go down so you and the family can stroke them like you would other pets. When you first handle your hoglet he/she may huff, do not be put off by this just ignore it and continue to handle your hoglet, remember they will be more huffy during the day as it is their sleep time. They are often much easier to handle at night when they are happier to be out and handled. African Pygmy Hedgehog Behaviour
Hedgehogs are seldom aggressive, in most cases they only ball up and huff because they are scared or tired. They rarely bite through aggression or fright, I have not been bitten yet! If they start licking your fingers there may be something tasty on them so licking is best stopped to avoid an accidental nip. Self anointing is a very common hedgehog behaviour and its very amusing to watch. When they taste something new like food or an object they build up a frothing lather in their mouth then doing the most amazing contortions they spread the lather on their backs. Grooming Sometimes a hedgehog may get some food debris stuck in its spines and will require a quick groom. You can use warm water and a soft brush or toothbrush to do this. Some hedgehogs actually like to bathe in a sink with a small amount of warm water in. After any contact with water it should be towel dried. Your hedgehog will also need its nails trimming down now and again and you can do this by holding it in your arms securely then take one foot at a time and hold whilst you carefully cut the length of the nail using clippers. Cleaning Although a hedgehog is a clean animal, it is vital that any soiled bedding is removed from the cage daily and replaced with clean bedding to prevent any germs. Once or twice a week a full bedding change will be needed, a scoop is a good idea for doing this, and the cage needs to be cleaned out with warm water and a very mild non - scented soap or animal cage disinfectant. Make sure that you also wipe down the house and any toys. After doing this you should follow good hand washing tecniques and could apply an alcohol gel for extra protection. They will be ready to go to new homes at about six weeks old and are sold to you with a certificate of UK registration
