questions

[bindithechinny]

Hi,
I work at a petstore that sells hedgehogs and i just wanted to learn some things about them so i could help customers looking to buy them make the right decision.

Should they be kept singly or is male&male or female&female pairs okay? do they prefer to be alone? Obviously we wouldn't recommend male/female pairs.

As far as food, I've heard high quality cat food works well. Any specific brands or would you recommend something else?

Cage requirements? How small is too small? What size wheel do they need?

and any other information you think would be needed for someone looking to buy a hedgehog.

 

[Kalandra]

Hedgehogs do extremely well as solitary animals. Male/Male pairings are not advisable. While I have heard of a few that have worked, more often males will fight and some have killed each other.

High quality, low fat cat foods are typically recommended as most hedgehog foods are, well crap. You can find a list of recommended foods in the diet section.

Caging, I tend to recommend a minimum of 6 square feet of single level space. These little guys do not tend to use levels and a cage should have a running wheel to give the hedgehog exercise and prevent boredom.

One of the absolute musts for any person considering a hedgehog is that they need to understand that hedgehogs require a minimum of 72F year round (some require it warmer). This can raise heat costs during the winter, but with anything lower you risk hibernation attempts, which can lead to the death of a hedgehog.