Heritage Pets has been raising hedgehogs since 1989. Over the years we have learned a fair bit of caring for these cute little creatures. Currently we raise 21 colour morphs and through selective breeding we hope that other colours will start appearing in our breeding program.

The following is a quick breakdown of some things people need to think about before they purchase a new ‘hedgie’. For more detailed information please email us with your questions.

A native of Africa its’ range varies from the Steppes and the Savannah, to the Mediterranean coastal areas. They are a solitary animals who only come together to breed. In the wild they are considered nocturnal animals as they tend to be more active a night but in captivity they are actually becoming diurnal. Although they are still more active at night they do come out to eat and exercise throughout the day. These changes are likely happening because of their lack of fear from predation.

They are mainly insectivorous (insect eaters) but also will eat small rodents, bird’s eggs as well as a small amount of fruit and vegetable matter. Being that they are predominantly insectivorous their diet must consist of primarily, high animal protein. This is best achieved with a commercial cat food i.e. Royal Canin cat food supplemented by boiled chicken, egg, shrimp, beef heart or other cooked meats. Many breeders choose to feed live insects but this is not necessary as long as you are feeding a good high quality meat based diet. Also, there are several brands of commercially prepared hedgehog foods on the market but hedgehogs can be fussy and many hedgehogs refuse to eat these prepared foods. Small quantities of fruits and veggies help vary the diet, as do small amounts of low fat cheese yogurt and skim milk powder. Be careful not to over feed your hedgehogs as they have a tendency to become obese very quickly… they do love to eat!

Fresh Clean water is a must and it needs to be available at all times. It is best supplied in bottles as often hedgehogs will over turn water bowl during their never ending search for more food.

Hedgehogs are considered a relatively long-lived pocket pet. Don’t be misled by breeders telling you it is okay to keep them in things like Rubbermaid storage containers and such. Just because these storage boxes are less expensive or because that is what they keep their own hedgehogs in does not make it ideal for them. They are not cave dwellers! Imagine any animal living in a box for 5-6 years! Yikes…it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that storage boxes are for storage …not! animals!

Hedgehogs need open air well ventilated, clean, roomy cages and they also, need time out of their cages everyday so that they have room explore and roam. There are many commercially made cages and open-air (see through) plastic or glass terrariums which are suitable for housing a hedgehog. The larger the better! Be sure to have a tight fitting lid as hedgehogs do have a tendency to climb. They require a nest box or someplace to hide in while they are resting. A well-vented plastic hide box is suitable and they are the easiest to clean. Ideally the hide box should be around 8-10 inches square with an opening of around 4 inches square. For bedding use Aspen wood shavings and for nesting material use good quality clean hay as hedgehogs enjoy covering themselves while they are sleeping. Be sure your hedgehog gets lots of exercise by providing a solid exercise wheel in their cage and also allow them time out of their cage to roam, while supervised.

If you have heard that hedgehogs are hypoallergenic… it is false statement. Hedgehogs are not hypoallergenic. Just like anything else, a person can be allergic to hedgehogs. Like other animals, hedgehogs’ saliva does contain proteins that many people can react to. Although allergic reactions to hedgehogs are not considered a common allergy, a person also needs to consider the fact that hedgehogs are not a common pet. When choosing a pet hedgehog, be sure to spend a bit of time with the animal before you bring it home. If you do react to it negatively you may be allergic to it. Then if you still want to keep a hedgehog as a pet, there are a few ways to help you build up a tolerance and react less to them. Try bathing the animal regularly with an organic shampoo (that does not contain TEA TREE oil), which may help by removing the excess dander. Tea tree oil is believed to be toxic to hedgehogs

We at Heritage Pets are not anti Pet Store but in our opinion, Pet Stores are usually not a great place to by this type of pet. Often pet shop employees are not that familiar with or know very little about hedgehogs nor do they care enough about hedgehogs to offer any advice to prospective buyers. Many hedgehogs sold in pet stores do have a tendency to be unsociable, as they often do not get handled everyday. (Usually employees don’t have the time to play with them enough and some are even intimidated by their quills). Once a hedgehog is timid it can be worked with until it builds up a trust for a new owner but it can be a challenge and take patience to get them calm again. Normally, a social hedgehog, once it is familiar with a person scent, does not use its' quills, unless they are frightened or startled.

We at heritage-pets.com do not belong or endorse any organized hedgehog associations. We do not show our hedgehogs. Besides not wanting to expose our pets to other animals that we don’t know, most shows are held in the USA and it is very difficult and expensive to bring hedgehogs into the USA. We do not register our hedgehogs with any hedgehog clubs or associations, as we do not feel the need to waste our time or the money to do so to a club that we have no involvement with. Some clubs will send you a cute little registration certificate for free and you want that piece of paper we can help you through the process of registering your pet hedgehog. Although most of our hedgehogs are sold to pet homes, we do keep accurate health records and pedigrees on all of our breeding stock. If we agree to sell you a hedgehog with breeding rights we will provide pedigrees upon request, to breeders specializing in rarer colours, provided that we are asked to do so prior to or at the time of purchase. For the most part we have found that knowing the genetic colour coding usually does not matter to most pet owners and may not be worth the additional expense to someone keeping a pet hedgehog or two.

For a pet, you can expect to pay around 125.00 and up for a normal coloured male hedgehog, from a good breeder. Some of the newer and unusual colour morphs tend to be rarer and therefore more costly than a normal grey /brown hedgehog. Males usually are a bit less expensive and the females tend to be around 25 % higher priced than males. Although most Hedgehogs are still considered a reasonably priced pet… for nicely marked Pintos and other fancies you may pay 200.00 and up, depending on the pedigree of the animal.