The Bedroom

The bedroom is the area where your hedgehog will be sleeping during most of the day.

The first thing that you should do when you are creating the bedroom space is to create an area where the hedgehog can hide. If the wild, African Pygmy Hedgehogs prefer to sleep under leaves, in rock crevices or in a burrow. They love to be hidden away where they will be safe from predators.

Hedgehogs in captivity are no different and it is important to set up a place where your hedgehog can burrow under. The easiest solution to a house for your hedgehog is to purchase a tunnel/pet house that is designed for other larger rodents. You want to make sure there is enough room for an adult hedgehog, but usually a house built for a guinea pig is large enough.

Make sure that the opening in your hedgehog home is large enough for the hedgehog to turn around in. The main reason for this is because hedgehogs prefer to exit and enter their burrows head first. If the burrow is too narrow, the hedgehog will not feel comfortable using his home.

BEDDING

In addition to the proper home, hedgehogs require soft bedding to line their homes with. Most hedgehogs will bring the bedding into their burrows on their own; however, you will need to place it in the cage, close to the burrow so they will use it.

Some examples of bedding are as follows:-

Cloth - Fabric bedding is one of the best choices that you can make for your hedgehog. Fleece, flannel and corduroy are the best choice. When you use cloth, make sure that there are no loose strings and avoid using a felt or anything that can be chewed apart easily.

Aspen Shavings - If you want to use shaving, use a chip aspen shaving. This is an excellent choice for use with a hedgehog that has a skin allergy. It is very messy so be prepared for shavings outside the cage.

Paper Bedding - There are many different paper beddings available and they are usually very safe for your hedgehog, although some brands can present a choking hazard if chewed. They are usually very easy to replace, however, it is important that you are aware that this is not usually a very comfortable bedding for your hedgehog.

Great post x

Padfoot kept sleeping under his wheel, so I took the wooden hide out and just left the snuggle pouch - he ran straight into it, fussy! xx

Hi Helen, thanks for that v. helpful. Is paper wool bedding an un-comfy option? I'd love to use fleece but at the moment we aren't having much luck with the litter tray for that to happen

x

Not at all - babies can take a little longer to get it right - you could always try some cut up fleece pieces in the nest box.

you could use cut up fleece .. and change them daily x

That's a great idea. I will do that to begin with. xx

Dotty will come around hedgehogs are naturally clean x

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