Alright, so as someone who owns and cares for a hedgehog, it gets really frustrating to see all the articles or posts about how 'easy' a hedgehog is to care for. It leads people on to believe that hedgehogs are easy pets when in reality, they aren't that easy. If you're looking for an easy pet get a fish.

So first lets go over a couple things that have been said are easy to do. The one I see a lot is how they're easy to care for, such as bedding, cage, and things like that. Well, a hedgehog needs a lot of room to move around in as well as toys, a wheel to run on, and places to hide. Space wise, they're pen should be about 3-4 square feet, so pretty roomy for a small animal, but it will also need a good source of heat because the temperature needs to stay between 72-80 degrees Fahrenheit. If it's below that, the hedgehog could try to hibernate, and that is not a good situation even sometimes when people have a lot of experience. As for bedding, it's really good to either use a liner, such as fleece, or a paper based substrate like CareFresh. You could also use aspen shavings or kiln-dried pine, but do not ever use cedar shavings!

Now, toys and the wheel. The wheel is a MUST HAVE. Even if the cage is big hedgehogs still love to run their little hearts out. However, you need to make sure it's a steady, comfortable wheel, such as a plastic one that isn't going to tear up their feet. You also might have to clean said wheel everyday because some hedgehogs don't get off the wheel to go to the bathroom. Yes, that also means said hedgies feet are probably a little covered and they'll need a foot bath, but they're animals whose ancestors lived in the wild and they didn't care about those things. Toys are a GREAT thing to have, not necessarily necessary, because hedgehogs don't like a lot of open space. So getting them a couple toys to help cover up some of the smaller empty areas are great!

Food wise they do eat cat food, but it's important to look at how much protein and fat is in the food. High protein, 30-35%, and low fat, under 15%. A lot of hedgehog owners will actually take two or more different brands and blend them together for what they think is the best diet for their hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are omnivores, so they do eat some vegetables and fruits, but make sure to find a safe list of what they can and cannot have because certain things could make your hedgehog VERY sick.

There are a lot of other things that you have to take into consideration when you have a hedgehog as well. How much time are you spending with it every day? Are you constantly checking their food, water, and cleaning their cage on a regular basis? Baths on a regular basis? Make sure to use a detergent when washing certain hedgehog items that it isn't scented. The cleaners you use when cleaning the cage need to be scent-free and animal safe. The most important thing to me is that you're spending time with the animal everyday, keeping your bond strong and keeping the animal socialized. They are very social animals and LOVE attention. So make sure to love that baby up!!

The biggest thing that I want to get across, as a hedgehog owner and lover, is that they are not easy, carefree pets. They really take time, care, and love. They aren't a goldfish and they aren't a hamster or guinea pig. If you get a hedgehog, make sure to do your research, join groups that can help you if something happens. These groups are here to help give you advice from experienced owners who have had the time to find out what works the best. Make sure to take the advice into account, and always make sure to look out for that hedgehog.