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All about Hedgies........ |
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Personality |
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Hedgies make great pets are pretty easy to take care of. He is cute as pie and since he has gotten to know us, he hardly ever raises his quills to us. He is pretty mellow unlike hamsters and chincillas. He likes to cuddle and will fall asleep in your lap or hand. Since Louie is young he isn't very active. It is very rewarding getting your hedgie to trust you since they are distrustful by nature. When he is scared or nervous he will raise his quills. When he is really scared he will curl up into a ball. |
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When we first brought him home, he was pretty freaked out and spent most of the night curled up in a ball! |
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Food |
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Right now he is eating kitten food but we will be switching him to regular hedgie food soon. Hedgie food is just pellets specially designed for them. For treats we give him fruit, cooked chicken & mealworms. They can only have very little of these treats as they have a tendency to be obese. |
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Behavior |
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Hedgies need a lot of exercise to stop boredom and also so they don't become obese. They love to run on a wheel but you have to have a wheel designed for a hedgie. Hamster wheels don't work because hedgies feet are too small and will get caught between the wire. They also love their toys. Louie has a bunch of toys but so far his favorite is a toilet paper tube! He also likes to run around in the lawn - of course we have to be there to watch him or he might disappear! They are burrowers by nature so they love to find hiding spots. In his cage he likes to sleep in a "hedgie bag" which is a mini sleeping bag made out of fleece. They are nocturnal animals and he gets up at about 7:00 at night. |
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Louie in his hedgie bag |
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Louie investigating my hand |
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Cages |
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Pet stores carry cages you can use for hedgies but a homemade one works just as well. We use a homemede glass house. It is easy to pick him up from the cage and it is also easy to clean. The floor is covered with a fleece blanket. He has a heating pad in one corner. Click here to see pictures of his cage. |
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Litter Box Training |
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Hedgies can be litter box trained in about a week. It is much easier to clean up that way especially since they poop a lot! |
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