After thinking about it for months I welcomed my baby hedgehog in June 2014.
I was feeling lonely in my dorm room while I was studying 7 hours from home in Matane and wanted a small pet to keep me compagny. At first, I looked into rats and gerbills but I wasn’t sure but one day (I don’t remember how) I came with this crazy idea to have a pet hedgehog. I wanted one so bad I watched hundreds on videos on Youtube on how to take care of them. I even created a board on Pinterest called Miro the Hedgehog (Yes I was so crazy I even chose his name before having him) When I came home to my parent’s house in June I couldn’t stop talking about it. One of my Facebook friend’s liked a page and it appeared in my feed; Spike House, a hedgehog breeder in Montreal. I went on the page and saw they just had new babies for sale. It was destiny! I immediatly wrote them a message and got an appointement to see the babies and hopefully pick one. The owners were so helpefull, they explained everything I needed to know about hedgehogs (I already knew a lot) and answered all my questions. All of the hedgehog looked cute and healthy but I asked him for the most sociable of his male. He handed me this 4 weeks ball of spikes and just by looking at him a knew this was the one, it was Miro! The babies had to stay with their mom another week so I picked him up a week later and it was the beggining of a love story!
What kind of pets to they make?
Hedgehogs tend to be nervous and shy if they are not socialized early in their life. Most hedgehogs don’t like being pickep up and they curl into a ball at every occasion. Luckily not all hedgehogs are like this. Miro for example is a lovely, cuddling and curious hedgie. He love to lick and smell things, he loves to climb, being rub and sleeping on my lap. To keep a strong bond with your hedgehog you need to spend time with him at least 30 minutes a day. Their life span is approximately 4 to 6 years so it’s not a big engagement like a dog or a cat but remember, when you adopt a pet you adopt it for life.
You can learn more here!
How much do they cost?
They tend to cost around 150$ and 200$. Some might find that very expensive but you want to make sure you buy them from a safe and responsible breeder like Spike House, where they bond with each hedgehog everyday and they give you a Pedigree and an assurance that your hedgehog won’t have wobbly (A common hedgehog disease).
What do you need before bringing a hedgehog home?
- A big plastic storage bin for the cage.
- A wheel that is big enough and safe for their little feets. I highly recommend Carolina Storm Bucket Wheels.
- A water bottle
- A food bowl
- Royal Canin adult cat food
- Baby shampoo and a toothbrush to wash them
- Some kind of heating device to keep the cage warm (higher than 19 degrees, otherwise they can fall into hibernation and it is fatal for hedgehogs)
- Paper bedding (I buy Critter Care’s bedding at Walmart)
Checkout Spike House’s list for more details.
My cage setup:
