Who doesn’t like nurturing adorable pets like cats, dogs, or hedgehogs? Hedgehogs are unusual but excellent pets when cared for properly. They are cute insect-eating mammals, resembling a porcupine in appearance. With their spiked bodies and rolling-in-ball ability, petting them is easy and fun.
Hedgehogs are relatively easy to care for as pets compared to other mammal pets. They can easily play in a large hedgehog cage when you are doing your daily work. They are furry little inquisitive pets who like to sleep during the day and are active during dawn or in the evening. This makes it rewarding to care for them. There are as many as 17 breeds of hedgehogs in the natural environment, but caring for them requires specific considerations.
What Type Of Food Do They Eat?
When in the wild, hedgehogs usually search for small insects and consume them to satisfy their appetite. But when you pet them, you must follow a particular diet for these spiky babies. Their diet should be a combination of protein, good fats, and fiber, which keeps them nourished and healthy.
Your baby should always have unrestricted access to fresh, clean drinking water. They can also eat cat food, but it should not be the sole component of their diet, as per the experts. Once they get used to the regular diet, you can feed them minced meat with rice, served in a pretty bowl in their large hedgehog cage.
It is essential to restrict the diet of hedgehogs as they can quickly develop obesity as a health condition. Because they are nocturnal animals, you should feed them a proper meal in the evenings when they are wide awake to help with the digestion process.
Housing For Hedgehogs:
These animals expect a proper space to rest and feel comfortable, just like any other pet. If you consider petting the animal properly, you should invest in a large hedgehog cage. Ensuring that the cage has proper closure is necessary, as hedgehogs are notorious animals that can escape the cage if they don’t see you around.
Keep a small box covered with linen to facilitate their sleep during the day. It would help if you made all the necessary arrangements to complete their housing comfortably.
Learn About Hedgehog Diseases:
When they are out of their large hedgehog cage, there is a high chance that they can get infected with fleas. Try to note down the behavioral changes to understand their condition. In the case of fleas, you can use a cat flea deterrent on these animals. Hedgehogs can also catch pneumonia, diarrhea, and other viral infections. It would help if you took them to the vet whenever you felt they were sick.
Other diseases like dental infections, lice and mite infections, parasites, and tumors can also pose health hazards to hedgehogs. One common problem is obesity, which should be taken care of with a proper diet and limited meal portions.
Bottomline
The benefits of petting a hedgehog are that they are relatively small and easy to take care of. They have no intention of bothering you all the time, as these little animals enjoy their own sweet time, sleeping during the day and playing during the evenings.