Always keep a thermometer near your hedgehogs cage to monitor the temperature daily. The temperature of the room should stay between 72 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. With 74 - 78 degrees is the ideal temperature for a pet hedgehog. We have found that our hedgehogs breed much better when we keep the room they are in between 75 - 80 degrees....We use portable heaters with built-in thermometers to maintain this temperature. We also have several digital thermometers in our hedgehog room that display the highest and lowest temperatures for a 24 hour period.
If a hedgehog is too cold they will not be as active and will be more grumpy and huffy when handled. Below 70 degrees they will start to go into a false hibernation, but since the African Pygmy Hedgehog is from a warm climate in the wild, they do not have the ability to actually hibernate, unlike their cousins, the European Hedgehog. So letting them become too cold will eventually cause internal organs to shut down, respiratory problems, or sudden death. The signs that your hedgehog is too cold are if it is very lethargic, much huffier/grumpier than usual, slow to respond to being woken up, has a cold belly or feet, or is even wobbling. Immediately begin to warm him up, but do so gradually.
In the same way, heat can cause death as well. Never keep your hedgehog outside unattended, especially in a glass aquarium or enclosed cage. And never leave them in a hot car for even a minute. If somehow your hedgehog does become too hot and you find him sprawled out with his back legs behind him, sluggish, breathing heavy, and even wobbling when he walks, then get him to a cooler room immediately...And provide him something to drink, but do not try to force him to drink since it could cause a respiratory problem. If within 10 minutes of getting him in a cooler room he does not start to perk up and want to drink, get him to the nearest vet ASAP...Heat stroke kills faster than cold!
74 degree Fahrenheit = 23.3333333 degree Celsius
78 degree Fahrenheit = 25.5555556 degree Celsius
Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:32 am
