African pygmy hedgehogs are popular pets due to their small size. Hedgehogs are solitary animals in the wild, therefore they may be timid and frightened of humans. Hedgehogs are nocturnal, which means they spend their days sleeping and their nights busy. Most hedgehogs start active at night and rest in the morning.
A four-toed hedgehog’s body length ranges from 6″ to 9″ or 15.2-22.9 cm, its shoulder height is 2.6-4 inches or 6.6-10.2 cm, and its total weight is between 0.5 to 1.3 lb or 400 and 600 gram.When kept as pets in captivity, four-toed hedgehogs can live up to six to ten years, whereas in the wild, they typically live two to four years.When attacked,Hedgehog crawls into a ball to defend itself from the spines covering its oval body. It has four toes on each hindfoot.
Pet pygmy hedgehogs require a balanced diet that consists primarily of proteins and vegetables.Their minimum cage size is 24″ x 36″.Hedgehogs require both a hiding space and a place to sleep within their cage. A little wooden hedgehog cage would be ideal for this purpose. Hedgehogs prefer to sleep during the day, therefore they require a dark, quiet space.
According to experts,cold temperatures are intolerable to African pygmy hedgehogs, which are accustomed to hot desert environments. A temperature of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for their cage. A cage thermometer is helpful to help you in maintaining the proper temperature,and heating pads and heat lamps are both necessary and lighting also a factor because they need darkness at daytime because they are nocturnal.
