A hedgehog is an amazing animal that, with its appearance, causes a smile. In children's tales, this is a wise and kind inhabitant of the forest, caring and generous. It is not surprising that many people dream of having a prickly charm at home. Before you do this, you need to think about the fact that the content of hedgehogs at home is different from the content of a dog, cat or parrot.
Meet the hedgehog
Who does not know these cute little animals that are found around the world! A hedgehog is an omnivorous animal, covered with about 10 thousand renewing spines, leading a nocturnal lifestyle. The growth of animals is 12-45 cm, hedgehogs weigh from 0.3 to 1.5 kg.
There are several types of hedgehogs suitable for keeping at home:
- Dwarf African . This species has a remarkable feature - animals do not hibernate and quickly get used to humans.
- The big-eared hedgehog is the smallest, its size does not exceed 20-22 cm. The main charm of this species is 5-centimeter ears, which funny stick out on both sides of the head.
- Most often, a home hedgehog is found as a favorite. Thanks to the selection, the hedgehog perfectly adapts to life in apartment conditions. Coloring options for wool and thorns are possible.
Forest hedgehog lives in the wild, looks larger than a domestic brother and does not take root in the apartment.
Where to get a hedgehog?
Not being fast runners (the speed of movement of hedgehogs does not exceed 3-4 km / h) and having met a person in a park, forest or garden, the hedgehogs do not run away, but curl up. Having tried, this tangle can be picked up. But is it possible to keep a forest hedgehog at home? For a number of objective reasons, this is not worth doing. Not only is a forest hedgehog dangerous to human health, as it is a carrier of various infections. A wild hedgehog can be sick with something serious and will die quickly. He is also not accustomed to living at home and is aggressive, biting and scratching.
You should not buy a hedgehog in the market from the hands of unknown persons. Most likely, the poor hedgehog got caught by chance or was caught because it was weakened due to illness or old age.
The best option to get a hedgehog is to buy at a pet store or from a breeder (there are some). A hedgehog born in captivity from domesticated parents is perfectly adapted to life in the house and quickly gets used to the new owner.
Daily price
The cost of hedgehogs depends on the availability of sellers in the region. But in general, in Russia, African dwarfs are the most expensive, the cheapest are ordinary hedgehogs. The price varies from 3,000 to 12,000 rubles.
Features of the life of a hedgehog at home
Getting a hedgehog as a pet , many people wonder how many hedgehogs live at home. If you carefully care for the hedgehog, then he will live 2 times longer than his forest counterparts - about 10 years.
Before purchasing an original pet, one must take into account that a hedgehog is a nocturnal animal that will walk, eat, make noise, move at night, and during the day it will be rather sluggish, in the winter it will probably go into hibernation for several days or even months.
It is impossible to transfer a hedgehog to a daily way of life.
A few tips on how to care for your hedgehog at home
Having decided to get a pretty prickly friend, you need to prepare for him:
- cage - a place of shelter, sleep, toilet and food;
- bowls;
- stock of hay and sawdust;
- feed.
How to care for a hedgehog at home? The main thing to remember is that the hedgehog is not a toy. It must be fed, bathed, walked, cleaned in a cage, regularly communicate with him so that he recognizes his owner.
How to feed a prickly handsome man at home
In children's tales, hedgehogs eat apples and mushrooms with appetite, but in real life they are not vegetarians. Most hedgehogs love to eat a variety of insects. Cockroaches, crickets, larvae, snails, worms - this is the main diet of a prickly animal in nature. But what do hedgehogs eat at home?
A caring owner will try to provide his pet with delicacies from insects, but they can be replaced with the following products:
- raw or boiled minced meat (chicken, beef);
- fish, you can fresh;
- raw eggs;
- boiled liver;
- Fresh fruits and vegetables.
The maintenance of hedgehogs at home implies that the animal will not receive salty, spicy, fried or sweet from the owner’s table, no matter how much you like to pamper your pet. As a treat, you can give bread soaked in milk or canned cat food.
The hedgehog should have 2 bowls: for food and water. Fresh water is poured daily.
Feed the hedgehogs, like other pets, twice a day to avoid the problem of obesity.
Hedgehog toilet
Is it possible to teach a hedgehog to use the toilet like cats, small dogs, and even rats and raccoons do? It is possible, although a lot of efforts will have to be made to achieve the result.
Accustom to the fact that the toilet tray is placed in a certain corner of the cage, you can only young hedgehogs. Old or wild animals will not understand what they want from them.
In nature, the hedgehog uses the places of his own choosing in the forest for the toilet. Therefore, at home, you need to carefully look at what place in the cage has chosen a pet for toilet needs. Then a tray with filler is placed in this place. It is better to use wood chips, rather than sand, which sticks to the needles. To make the hedgehog understand what they want from him, put his feces or a cloth dipped in urine into the tray.
For a prickly pet, a plastic tray suitable for large rodents is suitable.
The toilet should be cleaned no more than 1 time per week - a sterile, odorless tray will not be used for its intended purpose.
Bowls for food and water should not be placed near the tray.
Cleanliness is the key to health: hedgehog hygiene
Many domestic hedgehogs are carriers of ticks and fleas. Insects injure the skin of the animal and carry various infections, so you need to get rid of them. This can be done by washing the pet.
How to wash a hedgehog at home?
- Preparation. A flea shampoo for rodents is used to bathe a hedgehog. Any other shampoos are not suitable, because they can cause intoxication and extremely dry the skin of the animal. The water temperature is +36 0 . Detergents are not added to the water.
- Washing . Having wet the hedgehog spikes under running water or in a basin, a small amount of shampoo is taken and a barbed fur coat is processed using a toothbrush. A brush moistened with soapy water is quickly carried out from head to tail, acting especially carefully in the head area so that water or foam does not get into the ears. Can be carried out on needles with a soapy hand.
- Rinse . Under a stream of water or in a basin, the back is first rinsed, then the hedgehog must be carefully turned over and rinsed. Water can be applied by hand.
- Drying Do not use a hair dryer, this will cause the animal to overheat and stress. After washing, the hedgehog is wiped with a towel, not forgetting the stomach, then you can place the pet in a carrier or basket under the lamp until it dries completely, periodically passing through the thorns with your hand to provide air access. The hedgehog will become completely dry in 1-2 hours.
- Apply 1-2 drops of oil to the prickly fur coat and tail area to moisturize the skin .
Only after the hedgehog has completely dried up, can he be allowed to run around the house, otherwise he can get sick by catching a cold.
Since bathing for a hedgehog is stress, it is not worthwhile to carry out this procedure more often than once every 2-3 months. Therefore, if the needles are dusty or the paws get dirty, they can be wiped with a damp cloth.
How to make a cozy house?
Of course, you can let the hedgehog walk around the apartment, but in this case you need to be prepared for the wires to be cracked, the feces to be found in the most inappropriate places, and the hedgehog itself can get stuck or get hurt somewhere.
To make the hedgehog and its owner comfortable, it is better to keep a prickly friend in the aviary, regularly letting them run around the house.
To keep the hedgehog at home, a metal cage or a plywood box with air holes is perfect, you can also fence off part of the room (for example, a balcony). The aquarium cannot be used, because air stagnates in it.
For a full life, a hedgehog needs 1 m 2 of its own living space.
How to equip an aviary for a hedgehog:
- the enclosure should be placed where there is neither the scorching rays of the sun, nor heating appliances, nor a draft;
- it should have a toilet, a feeding trough, a drinking bowl;
- you can put a running wheel;
- the floor is covered with sawdust or grass.
It is convenient if the bottom extends in the cage - in this case, the cleaning process is greatly simplified. To avoid the smell in the apartment inherent in the forest inhabitants, the owners of a home hedgehog need to clean the feeding place , cage, toilet every day.
In the cage, you must definitely build a house, for the hedgehog, the ability to retire is important. A wooden house is lined with grass, moss, leaves or hay from the inside. In such a house-nest, the hedgehog will be happy to mess around and sleep.
Hibernation has not been canceled!
The maintenance of hedgehogs at home implies that for a couple of winter months the animal must be allowed to go into hibernation. If you force the pet to abandon the usual way of life, then the hedgehog will live much less than it could, be lethargic and painful.
The hibernation period of the animal falls at the end of October - beginning of November.
How to prepare a pet for this important stage in his life:
- With the advent of autumn, more high-calorie foods are introduced into the hedgehog's diet. So the hedgehog will accumulate fat deposits - energy reserve for sleeping time.
- In a calm cool place, where the air temperature does not exceed +5 0 - +7 0 , a shelter is equipped. The nest can be built from rags, hay, dry leaves, straw.
- Noticing that the hedgehog becomes lethargic, eats poorly, you need to take it to the nest and do not disturb. Usually hibernation continues until the end of February - beginning of March.
Hedgehog and other animals in the house
If you really want to get a hedgehog, but there are already other animals in the house (cats, dogs, hamsters or parrots), is there any hope to make friends with them? Experts give a definite answer: no, in real life there can be no friendship between animals.
In the best case, all the cloisters of the house will live, simply not noticing each other and communicating only with the owner. Neither a dog nor a cat will make friends with a hedgehog, since these animals perceive the world differently and do not contact each other.
You can not put a hedgehog in the same cage with hamsters, rats, chinchillas - this can end sadly for rodents.
How to name a pet?
And now the home hedgehog is acquired. He has a cage and pans. Now he needs a name. Each time, while feeding a prickly pet, it is necessary to pronounce the name out loud. Then, over time, the hedgehog may begin to resort to the call of the owner.
What names are suitable for these funny animals? Shurshunchik or Shurshun, Topotun, Thorn, Hedgehog, Chucha. The choice of a name depends on the imagination and preferences of the owner, the main thing is that it is not very long, and the sounds in the name are pronounced clearly.