Maybe adopting a Hedgie-Help...

Well a friend of mines sister has to get rid of her hedgie because she can not take him back to school with her & we are thinking about taking him in. His name is Charlie and he is approx 1.5 years old. We have 4 chinchillas but NO Experience with hedgies. I was wondering if someone could give me the basics...(I am going to ask her what she does but I know that the people on here always give the best advice!)
-I know she feeds him cat food and hamburger (not sure what kind)... but what is the best food for them??
-What kind of treats do they like (and how often can they have them)?
-What temperature is best for them ( I know that our chins have to be below 70)?
-What do they like in their cages??
-Do they need a certain amount of exercise?? ( I know she has a wheel for him that was too small but I have a large wheel that we bought for the chins that they refuse to use)
Thanks in advance for the info!!

I am brand new to hedgies myself, but here is what I know so far (hopefully I've got it right, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong):

Hedgehogs eat either a high protein, low fat cat food or a food specifically made for hedgehogs (there is a list of recommended cat foods in the hedgie diet and nutrition section)

They can have a variety of treats including mealworms, waxworms, cooked chicken or beef, cottage cheese, diced veggies (though I am not exactly sure which ones), cooked egg, or various flavors of baby food like chicken and rice. Treats should be given in moderation and introduced slowly to make sure nothing irritates their digestive system

They are comfortable at higher temperatures (no lower than 72 degrees). My hedgie is in my chinchilla room which is usually between 68-70 degrees. I enclosed his cage with plexiglass and added a heat emitter, that keeps his enclosure around 76 degrees.

They like to burrow when they sleep, so providing a small blanket or piece of cloth for them is good. They also like some cat toys, like the little plastic balls with bells in them. I gave mine a curved section of PVC pipe to crawl through, and a little stuffed animal he drags around.

A wheel is recommended, but it must be a solid surface, as wheels with spokes or mesh can catch their feet and injure them, and it should be at least 11" in diameter. My wheel is a plastic saucer wheel I got at Petsmart. So far it works great, and it's easy to clean (which is important since they poop when they run on the wheel).

Thanks for the great info!! Can you get a heat lamp at any petstore?? I was thinking of keeping him in the chins room and just adding a lamp, as you did.Do you use bedding or fabric liners? I did read that liners are easier and that some bedding may irritate them or get mites?? I am going to check out the other sections on the site to get some more insight. Hopefully everything will work out and we can get him!!

Hedgehogs are illegal in PA and if found will be confiscated and possibly euthanized.

Oh yes! Thank you Nancy, I didn't even think about that. Just about everything is allowed in VA lol

As far as the heat emitter, yes you can get it at the pet store. You need the heat lamp and then a heat emitter bulb, mine is 100 watts.

I have been using fleece liners for bedding and it has been working beautifully. I read that wood chips can carry mites, and with males, sometimes small shards opf wood can get caught in the sheath of the penis. So, I opted for fleece. My little guy seems to like it a lot. The only wood chips are in his litter pan. It took me a few days to get him to learn not to sleep in there, and to go in his igloo instead.

You also need a thermostat to control the heat output of the ceramic heat emitter. An emitter produces heat with no light. You can't use ones that produce light. It is also not safe to use an emitter without a thermostat as it can get too hot.

Also, something I forgot. I have one that keeps the temp at 75-76 degrees, shuts off if it gets too warm and turns on if it gets too cold.

Thank you all very much for the great info! I am going to talk to the current owner tomorrow. She lives in PA but is out of state for school for most of the year. I do not want to put him in any danger by having him so I am going to do some research on the issue of having him. My boyfriend is a cop so he is going to look into it at work also.

I've been thinking about getting a hedgehog also. Too bad it's illegal where I live... :tantrum: lol I've been reading about hedgies lately, but I don't know too much about them yet. What they can eat is high quality dry cat food, special hedgie food, mink and ferret food, cooked poultry, and cooked eggs. For snacks/treats you can give them insects or fruit. I'm not sure how often though. They are also lactose intolerant, so feed them dairy in small amounts or not at all. As for temp, the min is 72o, but they should really be kept between 74 - 76o. You could either turn the temp in the house up, or you could use a heat lamp. You can't let it be too cold or too hot because ur little hedgie can get sick and die. So you should really keep a thermometer in the cage. Speaking of the cage, the bottom of the cage should be smooth; not mesh or barred. The same goes for the wheel. Other things that could be put in the cage for toys or just some other things that they might like are pipe, toilet/towel paper rolls, a wheel, small stuffed animals, etc. Every hedgie, like people, have different personalities, so they might like different things. Just pay attention to what they like and try different things. When it comes to exercise, they tend to take care of that on their own with their weel. They also tend to "circle" which is where they walk in circles or figure 8's. It doesn't mean that they are pacing out of boredom or that their cage is too small, just that they feel like it. =] Another thing to think about with the cage is that it needs to be at least 16 - 24in big. If you don't want to put your pet in a cage, you could let it roam the house, but personally I would be afraid that something would happen to it. What I think I'll do when I get one is I'll clear an entire room and put plugs in the outlets and other precautionary measures and let it roam in there. In case you didn't know, they can also be litter box trained, so don't forget to give ur little hedgie a box. Make sure to clean the cage often and pay much attention to ur pet. Some people say that hedgehogs are only active between sundown and sunrise and are grumpy if woken up. Although this is usually true, if you start paying attention to it and playing with it during the day, it's schedule will adapt. That's one thing about hedgies that is really quite good, because no matter what you're schedule is, they can conform to it. Also, another tip (not sure if you know this); if it starts foaming at the mouth, don't be alarmed. It's just (self) anointing, which is where they smell something strange and take it in their mouth and mix it with saliva. Then they put the foamy saliva on their back. I still don't really understand that, but I think it's just for defense. Also, if you get pricked by a quill, it's not a deadly ordeal, but it is said to hurt more and longer than you would expect. The last thing I want to mention is that hedgehogs can swim usually and will adapt to water quite well if given the opportunity, but their feet must be able to touch the bottom. And whatever you do, don't leave ur pet alone in the water, because they could get caught on their side or back and drown, but like to float and swim anyway. Just watch ur little hedgie. Well, that about all I know about hedgies. gl with ur new pet!!! (sry for writing too much, but I hope this helps!)