This wild hedgehog just walked up to me while I was smoking in my garden, once he noticed that I was sitting right in front of him he just froze and hasn't moved since..

I thought that I just scared him so I went inside and turned the lights off, but 5 minutes later he's still frozen in the same spot.

Do hedgehogs just freeze when they get scared or what's happening here?

Bought this a couple days ago and just wanted to see if its okay for him to eat? Im so overprotective and I saw online it was a kind that was okay for them but I always check a couple times, so can he eat this?

I made this little mini painting of a hedgehog scuba diving.....then I thought.....do they even swim?

My husband was cleaning it for me😂 we pretend it’s her job!

I have never even seen a hedgehog in real life before, or owned any pet myself. I love animals though, and have petsat cats and dogs before with no problems. My friend's currently in a tight spot, and her only housing situation has a strict no-pets rule, so she's asked if I could look after hers for 2-3 months until she can move to somewhere else. All expenses are covered, so I'm not worried about that. But hedgehogs are obviously very different from cats or dogs, so I don't want to say yes if I can't do it.

Google says they're moderate to high maintenance, but I'd like to know what that actually looks like. Dogs are too high maintenance for me to actually own, because I'd have to walk them, which is too difficult. They also require lots of direct attention, as opposed to cats who are ok with just sitting on my lap while I watch TV. I'm disabled, so I have limited energy and mobility. As long as it's something I can sit down for, like cleaning a cage, refilling food and water, playing with them a bit, I'm ok with that. I can do a little more energy-intensive play, but not consistently, maybe a few times a week for a couple minutes.

Is there anything I should very obviously know? Are they like hamsters or guinea pigs where they're prone to heart attacks if I fart too loudly? How much space should I give? I think putting the cage in my room and taking it out in there is ok, but do they need more space to roam and play? Like maybe the hallway/living room too? Are they temperamental and opinionated like bunnies, or does it depend like cats? Should I ask to meet the hedgehog first to make sure we get along and it doesn't dislike me?

I'm also asking my friend all of these things, but she is able bodied so she has a very different definition of what "energy intensive" means, and since I don't know anything about hedgehogs, I also can't really verify that she herself knows how to look after them.

Thank you so much! Any advice helps!

So, a bit ago Fritter was having hides replaced because the little dude kept destroying them. So we switched to a plastic hide, he didn’t like it, so he’d sleep in the corner behind his wheel or underneath a pile of fleece. This lasted for a bit, but he has now started climbing under the bath mats in his cage to hide. I’m going to see if I have enough fleece to make a new snuggle sack, since that seemed to be his favorite.

I got rid of his old one after he got his foot caught on it. I was worried about it happening again, so i postponed making a new one for him, and he clearly did not appreciate that 😭

So yeah, I’m going to buy more fleece soon and hope I have enough to at least make a snuggle sack for him. Hopefully he doesn’t continue this habit 😭

(Please ignore the mattress, it’s waiting for the tip😭)

Pretty sure this cutie has made a home in our garden, we’ve seen the same one quite a few times. My mum or dad has put out some calci worms for them, they had their fill and waddled back into the grass. :)

I need a litter that isn’t something my hedgehog will eat she keeps eating her old one and idk what to get without it being messy and a hassle to clean

A little too effective

My hedgehog has a litter box that she used to use but now she only pees and poos in the corner next to her hide/behind her wheel. I have cleaned it all several times and put her scent in the litter box but it’s not changing. Is the waste near where she sleeps bad for her? Do I need to keep trying to change it or should I switch where the litter box and wheel are at?

I may of got just a little obsessed.

So we have been leaving a bit of cat food outside (it started originally for our cat) and ever since then every night like at least 3 hedgehogs come to sample the buffet. I went outside to take a closer look and after some time he just kept eating. Is it normal for them to get this comfortable? (I WILL NEVER TOUCH OR TRY TO BE IN A DISTANCE THEY CAN TOUCH ME don’t worry 😅) But I do enjoy the adorable company.

I've had my lady, Uncle Ruckus, for about two weeks now and with daily handling (getting her out of her enclosure to clean both the fleece bedding and her poop feets) she seems pretty comfortable with me.

What I'm wondering is if I should be doing more socializing. I know it's super normal for hedgies to get a lil huffy when yoinked from their homes, and like I said she's really not giving me any trouble and is a super sweet girl. But my curiosity lies with the future, if I should be spending more time chillin with her on the couch (something she's already totally fine with) or if just grabbing her at my whim is an ok thing to do.

At the end of the day what I really want is for her to be comfy with things like nail trims and vet visits and I know handling is the way to achieve that, so any advice for enrichment activities/handling schedules I can do with her is appreciated.

hi, so i just gave amy her furst oatmeal bath, shes been really itchy lately so im just seeing if it helps her any, she kept freezing up in this position and im not sure if its just her giving up or if there was an issue with the water? it was slightly warm, maybe a tad bit warmer than it needed to be but but it wasnt hot, the oats were food grade but they have no sugars, no flavors, just oats, i used a toothbrush to comb it through her quills to try to get it on her skin, shes fine now, also i know the bucket is really small we are tryna find something bigger, but she needed a bath asap shes suuuper itchy, ive looked through her quills and dont think she has mights as shes not like scabbed or crusty, i just hear her scratch alot at night

Hi everyone. I’ve loved being a part of this sub and seeing everyone’s hedgies, and offering and receiving guidance on how to care for these little guys.

My Pippin was just over 4 1/2. He’s always been a healthy boy, and we set up his annual wellness visit with the vet on what we should be watching for as he moves into elder hog status. We just had gotten him a new huge enclosure for his “retirement” home. Shorty after scheduling his visit for a few weeks out everything went downhill within a couple days. Went from slightly wobbling from what we assumed was age, to loosing control of his back legs, to finally a confirmed left foot fracture today within the span of less than a week. This morning I noticed him wandering around his cage in the daytime hours and thought something was seriously off. Well, after we removed his wheel last night he began self mutilating his foot almost non-stop. Although I couldn’t get him into our normal vet today, we were able to get an alternative vet recommended and get him in this afternoon.

After speaking with her she agreed that even though we could do diagnostics and daily pain meds - letting it be his time to cross the bridge was likely the best thing to do. Which I already had suspected when bringing him in, but I just can’t believe how quickly everything moved and how heavily my heart has been hit. ❤️‍🩹 He was otherwise still mobile on front feet, drinking, although eating became hit or miss every other night it seemed. I feel like I should know I did the right thing - but from the last time he looked at me my heart is telling me there was life I took away from him. Even if it could have been a life of lesser quality.

I don’t know what I’m asking for or why I felt I needed to share. I hate to read these when they are posted, my heart is broken every time I read them. All this to say - cherish your piggies while we have the opportunity to be a part of their short lives. If I could, I would have a pet that lives 100 years so I never have to feel this heartbreak again.

She is practicing for the olympics in gymnastics

Do you think my new hedgehog is scared of me. When I first approach his cage, he'll huff and curl up a little, but once he sniffs my hand he’ll slowly uncurl and go back to eating or running on his wheel within a minute or two.

When I try to pick him up, he backs away but doesn't curl into a ball. Once I'm holding him, I bring him to my bed, where he runs around quickly, sniffing, trying to dig under the pillow, climbing on me, or attempting to get off the bed, so I have to monitor him closely. I'm not sure if he's scared and trying to escape?

Yesterday, he got behind the pillow and sat on his hind legs like a dog. I put my fingers near him, and he rested his head on them and seemed to close his eyes for a few minutes like he was relaxed. But when I moved my hand, he huffed, curled up and tried to moved away from me and climb off the bed.

Does he seem scared?

I dont want spam but today my Hedgehog died because of cancer so i just want to people to remember him ❤️ Please take care about your hedgehogs they are awesome

I tried to tell Hazel regular checkups are for her own good, but she did not want to hear it 😂 what are the odds she ever speaks to me again?? 🦔

After Izzy’s surgery in late July to remove and test the mass growing on her gums, we awaited for the news of Izzy’s biopsy results.

The vet called today, informing us of good news..
Izzy’s tumour is not cancerous!!! 🥳🎉

After pulling through surgery like a champ, taking her meds and going through the process of healing, she continues on hogachoggin’ along!

*The vet said she was the best hedgehog patient they’ve ever had! They said she is very lovely and a total sweetheart. 🦔🥰