How to Keep a Hedgehog? The Care Guide for Everyone's Favorite Little Hedgehog
The hedgehog is a cute small animal. It generally has a plump, short build, sharp claws, small eyes, a relatively long and pointed snout, and sharp teeth. Its whole body is covered with short, dense spines, while its head, tail and belly have short, soft fur. Hedgehogs are widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, and are also widely found in northern China and the Yangtze River basin. The most common hedgehog species in China is the Amur hedgehog. Hedgehogs are generally active at night and have highly developed senses of smell and touch. Their main food is wild insects and worms, and their favorite foods are ants and termites. When threatened, a hedgehog curls its body into a ball with its spines pointing outward to protect itself. Because hedgehogs are heterothermic animals and cannot regulate their own body temperature, they are sensitive to heat and sometimes hibernate. So how should we keep a hedgehog?
How to Keep a Hedgehog
1. The hedgehog is a rather solitary, timid and sensitive animal with a gentle temperament. We should try to give the hedgehog a quiet environment and keep it from being startled too often, so as to accommodate its living habits. You can spread straw in the hedgehog's little nest; the flexibility and comfort of straw suit a hedgehog's life well. The hedgehog's little nest should be as large as possible, and its height can also be appropriately higher, which suits the hedgehog's growth.
2. Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. They generally sleep during the day and only come out to be active at night, and hedgehogs are quite sleepy. Generally, whenever we see a hedgehog during the day, it is sleeping, so during the day we should try not to disturb the little hedgehog. Once the hedgehog wakes up and becomes active at night, we can play with it. Because it is a nocturnal animal, the little hedgehog is also rather afraid of sunlight, so the hedgehog's little nest is generally placed in a place without sunlight.
3. Hedgehogs are omnivorous animals. A pet hedgehog being kept cannot directly eat the food we eat ourselves, because human cooking contains a lot of salt and seasonings, and taking in these ingredients will affect the hedgehog's health. Hedgehogs should eat special pet food, and we can also prepare feed ourselves, mainly meat, grains and vegetables. At the same time, we can feed some caterpillars, snails and other small invertebrate animals and small insects, and fruit can also be used as an ingredient. It is worth noting that hedgehogs are very sensitive to lactose, so dairy products must not be fed to them.
4. Hedgehogs cannot be rinsed directly with water; in serious cases this practice may cause the hedgehog's death. Also, a hedgehog had best drink cooled boiled water and cannot directly drink tap water, which would affect the hedgehog's health.
5. Because hedgehogs are heterothermic animals and cannot regulate their own body temperature, hedgehogs need cooling in summer and warmth in winter. Hedgehogs have few diseases and no infectious diseases, so it is enough to keep a clean and hygienic environment.
The above is how to keep a hedgehog brought to you by the Tuliu.com editor. We hope it can be of some help to everyone.