The 6 Best Hedgehog Cages of 2023

Perlick shares that while hedgehogs love to climb and are excellent climbers, most  multi level cages are not safe for them. Since their eyesight is quite poor, they can easily misjudge distances and fall off upper levels in multi-level cages. However, she adds, if levels aren’t too steep or the cage comes equipped with barriers along the edges of the upper levels, it might be okay. 

While there is some disagreement about the ideal size of a hedgehog cage, the minimum acceptable size is four square feet, according to Perlick. However, she adds, hedgehogs don’t like a lot of open, empty space. Make sure you provide plenty of toys or other interesting things in their cage to help them stay occupied. 

First things first: Hedgehogs need fresh water and food daily. This means you’ll need to get the proper food and water dishes or dispensers. Specifically regarding water, Perlick advises that, “Water should be in a dish or special water bottle made for chickens called a chicken or poultry nipple drinker.” She also warns that dispensers made for rabbits or guinea pigs aren’t safe for hedgehogs, and they will probably have trouble using them. 

• Heat source: Hedgehogs also need a heat source. If not kept warm, hedgehogs can hibernate and die (cages should ideally be kept at temperatures between 75 degrees and 85 degrees Fahrenheit — definitely no lower than 72 degrees Fahrenheit). Perlick recommends a safe heating system, such as a Ceramic Heat Emitter (or CHE) for hedgehog cages. It should ideally be a 150-watt system with a thermostat so that you can set it to turn on and off by itself.
  
  Heat pads are often inappropriate for hedgehogs because they can burn the hedgehogs’ skin and sometimes they don’t get hot enough, resulting in the hedgehogs hibernating.
  
  
• Bedding: Your hedgehog will need some type of bedding. There are numerous kinds to choose from, such as recycled paper, towels, wood shavings, corn cob bedding, newspaper, and fleece, a favorite among hedgehog enthusiasts due to its softness for the hedgehog’s feet, and ease of cleaning. (Some even cut the fleece into strips for their hedgehogs to drag around, hide under, and play with.)
  
  If you choose a reusable type of bedding, select whatever you find is most absorbent and durable, as it will need to be washed frequently. Plus, be sure to get enough of it. You’ll need plenty, especially if your hedgehog isn’t litter trained — in which case it should be changed out every day.
  
  
• Floor of the cage: Similar to bedding, the cage floor needs some type of padding to prevent injury to the hedgehogs’ tender feet. Fleece is an ideal fabric to spread across the hedgehog’s floor, as long as you keep it clean and change it out regularly. You may choose fleece to cover the floor and use a different type of bedding in dig boxes or other parts of the cage for variation.
  
  
• Litter pan with litter and scoop: This one is pretty self-explanatory. If your hedgehog is litter trained, you’ll want a litter pan with litter and a scoop for cleaning it out. It’s best to set up their litter pan on the opposite side of the cage from their food and water. If they are litter trained, you can usually change out the litter pan once a week or so, (scooping daily), depending on how much litter is in it and how much it’s been used. 
  
  If they’re not litter trained, cleaning the bedding and/or floor coverings out daily — or at least spot cleaning (or scooping) — is called for. To fill the litter pan, wood or paper pellets are better than cat litter, but if you prefer to use cat litter, make sure it’s unscented and non-clumping.
  
  
• Exercise wheel: Perlick says that hedgehogs are very active nocturnally and run five to seven miles every night. That’s right, five to seven ACTUAL miles. She explains that, “If you don’t give them a wheel, they wind up running in circles which is a sign of neurosis. They may also become obese or get sores on their feet. A large solid wheel, twelve inches across or larger, is ideal, and it must be kept clean as they (defecate) while they run.” To avoid a buildup of hedgie excrement which can cause health issues, the wheel must absolutely be cleaned daily. 
  
  
• Hideout: Hedgies need a place with areas to hide that are dark, so the cage’s walls are preferably not transparent unless you provide at least one or two hideouts inside the cage (some people buy see-through princess-style small pet houses that are not appropriate for hedgehogs; Perlick advises to steer clear of these). Hedgehogs like to hide out when they’re tired and they also enjoy digging in “dig boxes” which you can find at many pet supply stores and online (you can easily make these yourself in a pinch with a little creativity!)
  
  
• Toys: If you were to find a wild hedgehog, you would likely observe their tendency to dig and burrow into thick piles of leaves and brush. To recreate this in their cage, you can make or buy dig boxes, pom pom pits (a shallow container filled with hedgie-sized fleece pom poms), or similar toys. Perlick shares that some hedgehogs also like cat toys or little duckies (like children’s bath toys) that squeak.
  
  Many of them also enjoying playing with simple household objects like empty toilet paper rolls (cut a slit into them lengthwise on each end to make sure their little hedgie heads don’t get stuck if they try to burrow in), four-inch PVC pipes, strips of cut up fleece attached to a box to make a miniature “car wash” for them to run through, and small blankets to drag around and hide under. Perlick says they also like the smell of peppermint, so if you can find a mint-scented toy or a mint stick (found on Chewy and other sites), they’ll likely love it! (but please don’t give them mints or peppermint oil)
  

According to Perlick, hedgehogs generally prefer to be solitary animals. They do not need other hedgehog friends. Males and females should not be housed together unless breeding, as males will eat any babies born, promptly impregnate the females again, and eat the babies again when born. Two males together will also fight as they are very territorial. They can fight sometimes even to the death.

Some people have success with housing two female hedgehogs together, especially if they’ve been raised together since birth, but you must double up on everything (two exercise wheels, two food dishes, double the space, etc.) if you’re going to try this. 

But truthfully, Perlick emphasizes that there is usually no good reason to house two females together, even if it works.