Many fans of animals decide to get to themselves a hedgehog. Someone buys the pet privately, someone – from special nurseries, and just finds some in the forest and bring home. Most often in houses it is possible to meet an ordinary, belobryukhy or big-eared hedgehog. Externally they, of course, differ, but the principles of food and contents at them are similar.
Instruction
1. Hedgehogs are twilight and night animals. They hunt at night, and in the afternoon quietly sleep in the holes. That your pet left to you and in the afternoon, begin to feed him during daylight hours. After a while its biological clock will change, and the hedgehog will please you with night silence and activity in the afternoon.
2. Hedgehogs are small animals single. Therefore to keep many individuals in one cage it is inadmissible. A heap they can live only in the most early age about mother and during those periods when they copulate. In an adult state several animals will fight, quarrel; to be at war for food, a drinking bowl and a nest. Together they will have no rest. They can bite the owner and to become absolutely aggressive. Hedgehogs alone quickly get used to the owner, love delicacies and caress.
3. It is better to support hedgehogs in a cage, the open-air cage or on the balcony. You should not leave unguarded a hedgehog in the room. It is connected with the fact that they like to gnaw wires, furniture, and also to carry away to itself in a nest of a part of your carpets or covers as material for a nest. The cage of a hedgehog has to be big and spacious; it is desirable with metal rods. Such cage will look esthetically, it is easy to wash and clean it, it passes a lot of air and light. In a cage or in the open-air cage constantly there has to be a drinking bowl with clear water. Also it is worth equipping a certain hole where he will be able to take cover from public eyes for a hedgehog and to have a rest.
4. When cleaning a cage you should not throw out all material from there. Cleaning of the territory for an animal – a big stress. Therefore recommend to wash a cage of times a week, and a hole – every three months. Instead of a laying it is possible to use hay, straw or corn filler. After cleaning in a cage enclose a moss or dry foliage that will serve as material for a hedgehog nest. He will build the vacation spot. Several times a month it is worth disinfecting a feeding trough, a pallet and a drinking bowl hot water that parasites did not get divorced. Between a pallet and a bottom of a cage it will be useful to lay a dry camomile, it frightens off harmful insects (louses, fleas).
5. Food of hedgehogs in many respects various. They eat everything, but a basis of their diet is animal food. The hedgehog can offer frogs, lizards, mice, it is a little fish, cockroaches, worms, crickets. Insects especially well fill a hedgehog organism with nutrients. These animals eat vegetables and fruit too, but you should not abuse them. Sometimes it is possible to indulge the pet eggs - both chicken, and quail. In the habitat the hedgehogs often ruin bird's nests. For the favourite it is possible to prepare meat balls in food quality. For this purpose meat needs to be processed in forcemeat and to mix with grain (rice or buckwheat). Sometimes it is possible to offer the pet milk, fermented baked milk, kefir or cottage cheese.
6. In the habitat the hedgehogs for the winter fall into hibernation. In house contents if in the room temperature constantly warm, they can not make it. But the lack of hibernation badly influences an animal organism: the hedgehog becomes more sluggish, gets sick and can die. Therefore it is worth preparing him for hibernation. For this purpose he has to gain weight and weigh before a long dream not less than 800 grams. If the weight of a hedgehog is less during hibernation, he can die. It is in that case better to wake the pet. To wake, it is necessary to wrap a hedgehog in a towel and to put nearby a bottle with hot water. It is necessary for good hibernation that temperature in the room was lowered up to 12 °, and the hedgehog hole – is warmed by hay. For this purpose the animal can be moved on a balcony.