Unpopular Opinion: I do not recommend Hedgehogs as pets for children.
I don’t think a hedgehog is a good pet for kids. When friends ask me, I honestly do not recommend hedgehogs as pets for children.
The hedgehogs you see on social media aren’t typical
Hedgehogs are totally adorable in photos on Instagram or Facebook. There are even SOME who are Ninja Warriors or jet-setters. The videos of tiny hedgehog birthday parties are hard to resist. But these are only snippets of life with a hedgehog – carefully curated moments captured and filtered from the thousands of grumpy photos and sleeping videos.
What you see on social media is not TYPICAL of the hedgehogs I have experienced. I have had 2, pet sit for another one, and talked with lots of other hedgehog moms & dads. Hedgies are just not always like that.
Hedgehogs are not always “fun”
Hedgehogs are not “fun” pets, like a puppies or a kitties, dogs or cats, rats or ferrets. They don’t snuggle really, and most hedgehogs don’t “play” with you like other kinds of pets do.
Most hedgehogs are pretty antisocial, so you always deal with huffing and rolling in a ball – and they really are poky. When a hedgehog rolls up in a ball, they aren’t fun for little hands to handle.
Additionally, most children get frustrated with them because hedgehogs are spiky and grumpy and nocturnal (or diurnal at best, where they run early in the morning and late at night, and sleep the rest of the time). They don’t want to be handled during the day, and they run all night. A child trying to sleep in the same room where the cage is kept will often be bothered by the running hedgehog, because even the “Silent Spinners” aren’t really silent.
When some hedgehogs are bothered too much, they may also charge, bite, and scratch, and they certainly will ball up and not unroll while you are handling them. That’s just no fun at all for a child or for the hedgehog.
It can also take a hedgehog weeks or months to get used to their handlers. That’s a long time for a child to wait for the reward of an occasional hedgehog napping on their lap or snuggling in their hand.
Hedgehogs aren’t high maintenance, but they have specific care needs
Hedgehogs don’t need a lot of maintenance (they are kind of easy that way). They pee and poop, without needing to be taken out. They eat and run and sleep on their own in their cages without your assistance, as long as you keep their food topped up and their water clean.
However, hedgies must also be kept at a fairly constant higher room temp (72-75°F) or they will hibernate and die. Monitoring and maintaining temperature can be a big task for kids to keep up with.
Don’t disappoint your child with a hedgehog pet
You may have a mature child who you think would be a very responsible caregiver. Even so, I would hate for them to be really disappointed with a hard pet. Really.
We have a friend who had this exact situation happen. The child was frustrated and disappointed, and the hedgehog had to be re-homed. It was sad for everyone.
My honest recommendation is that children not get a Hedgehog for a pet. Teens might do better with a hedgehog pet.
If your child still MUST have a Hedgehog, here’s a little info:
If, even after all the cautions, your child must have a hedgehog for a pet, there’s a lot of stuff you need to know. Do your research! Hedgehogs are exotic pets, not allowed by all municipalities or regions, and they have special care needs.
I would recommend buying directly from a breeder, and not from a pet store. Hoglets (baby hedgehogs) will run about $150-$200CDN (in our area, anyway). I would personally get a female hedgehog rather than male, only because the boys have a stronger scent, and the girls seem to care a little more about actually using their litter box.
Cage and accessories can cost about as much as the hedgehog, too. A guinea pig cage with solid bottom is my recommendation, with an igloo (or some kind of house/shelter), and a good hedgehog running wheel. You want to make a good selection when picking a wheel. The wheel needs to be good quality so the hedgehog doesn’t get their toes / toenails caught.
Hedgehogs also need:
- good quality cat food suitable for hedgehogs or high-end hedgehog food (not off-the-shelf hedgehog food from most pet stores),
- a litter box & special unscented non-clumping litter for changing weekly,
- constant access to clean water in a bowl rather than a bottle,
- a heat source to maintain consistent warm cage temperature,
- some kind of dust-free bedding material, either paper or fleece, but not dirt or wood shavings.
Hedgehogs’ nails must regularly trimmed, and they need to receive semi-regular baths (depending on how messy they are, as often as 2x per week). These are tough tasks for kids.
Heck, they aren’t easy tasks for me as an adult, even.
A Hedgehog is not a good pet for kids
Hedgehogs are sweet little creatures who seem to make for great photo shoots and social media posts. In reality, most hedgehogs tend toward the anti-social side of things, and would rather not be messed with. They like to sleep during the day, and run at night. For these reasons, they can be a difficult pet for children.
Everyone seems to love hedgehogs, and they look so cute in photos and videos. I totally get it. My teens even get bored with my hedgies. They can be fun to visit, but hedgehogs aren’t fun 95% of the time.
I don’t mean to be a spoil sport. But I would just rather be honest, than for your child and the hedgehog to have a bad experience.
I don’t recommend hedgehogs as a pet for kids, and definitely not for their first experience as a caregiver.
~ A loving hogmom, concerned for kids and hedgehogs everywhere
