How long do hedgehogs usually live

Pet hedgehogs, as a result, typically live for 3 to 6 years on average. Many who get lucky and have good genes on their side have been known to live to 8, 9, or even 10 years old at the extremes. The exact age or life span of your pet hedgehog will of course vary.

For example, in the wild, hedgehogs cover several miles every night as they hunt and forage for food. This provides them with a lot of exercise. Like in humans, obesity in hedgehogs can lead to a host of health problems and premature death. But, in general, pet hedgehogs who also happen to be on the smaller side in terms of overall hedgehog size tend to live much longer than their wild counterparts, and, if well cared for, can keep their owners company for many years.

The best way to ensure that your pet hedgie lives as long a life as possible is to make sure you care for them properly. All of the advice and articles on our site are a great first step to learning everything you need to know to take care of your pet hedgie.

Then you have to put it into practice. Getting your hedgie from a reputable breeder, ensuring they have everything they need in their cage, giving them regular attention, feeding them a proper diet, getting regular vet checkups, and so on all contribute to the overall health and wellness of your pet hedgie.

And, paying attention and getting to know when something is wrong with your hedgie, so that you can take them to the vet and hopefully get it sorted out, is another way to ensure that any issues that do arise are dealt with. While some hedgies will still develop a problem that may not be easily cured, and may not live as long a life as their owners would like, this is no different than people or any other kind of pet.

In the wild, these small insect-eating animals seldom live beyond the age of 3 years. Although you shouldn't bring a baby hedgehog home before he reaches the age of 6 weeks, a young hedgehog is more likely to bond with his owner than an older animal.

You can expect your little pet to keep you company for the next four to seven years. In order for him to reach that average life span, you'll need to provide him with a proper diet, housing and care. Thank you for being a loyal and supportive reader here at Heavenly Hedgies. There have been many cage accidents that have abruptly ended a hedgehog's lifespan, or reduced it due to injury. While some may be safe for extended use, it is entirely dependent on the chemical composition of the plastic used.

We also do not recommend PVC pipes for tunnels. Most plastics cause health issues that reduce the lifespan of not only hedgehogs, but humans too. Birth defects and cancer are the results of some plastics. We strongly encourage you to read that article so you can make an informed decision.

At night, when hedgehogs are typically active, they need to have stimulating things to do. Sedentary hedgehogs gain weight and their health suffers as a result.

A running wheel provides them with healthy exercise, plus they get mental stimulation. Mental stimulation is an integral part of a long life for hedgies. Other activities that can stimulate them and give them greater longevity are things that encourage their natural burrowing and foraging instincts. A dig box with insect treats hidden within is perfect for this. There are also a variety of treat puzzles that can provide additional stimulating experiences.

If they do not have activities to enrich them, their lives will likely be shorter. A hedgehog's diet probably has the largest impact on their lifespan. Their food is important for dietary nutrients. The amount they eat impacts their weight, the ingredients contribute to overall health, and even the texture plays a role in their dental health.

Many hedgehog owners don't understand that the ingredients within the food that they are giving their hedgehog can cause detriment. There are articles on our site that discuss what food a hedgehog should eat.

We also have talked about the treats that can be offered and the ones that should be avoided. Even insects have nutritional information associated with them, although it can vary depending on what the insects were fed. We encourage you to read the articles in our Health and Nutrition section so you can learn how to maximize your hedgie's lifespan by feeding them a proper diet. You want them to enjoy a potentially long and healthy life.

It is a huge problem mainly because it makes teeth unhealthy as it sits on the gum line. You can easily brush off softer plaque, but calculus and tartar may prove a challenge as they are hard to completely brush off without professional cleaning. Hedgehogs also occasionally experience dental abscesses and tooth fractures. A tooth root abscess is when the root of the tooth, has a pocket of pus and blood traces surrounding it.

You cannot see the root without x-rays on a healthy tooth. An abscess can occur mostly due to infection. It can cause a bump under the eye on the side of the face where the affected tooth is. The bump may look like a zit and may pop up on its own within days. Early intervention can by way of extracting the bad tooth is usually the only way out for the hedgehog.

The urinary tract of a hedgehog is a muscular, hollow digestible organ. It serves a reservoir for urine storage and periodic release. Urine coming off the tract must be clear or yellow in color. Sometimes though, hedgehogs develop urinary tract infections or cystitis. These two conditions are life threatening if left untreated. Their symptoms manifest in change of urine color from clear or yellow to bloody or brown.

Uriothiasis bladder stones is also known to cause hematuria bloody urine. The condition makes it hard for a hedgehog to urinate. In severe cases, it causes death. Radiographs, urinalysis, bladder ultrasound and radiographs can all aid in diagnosing urinary tract diseases that affect hedgehogs. The disease is caused by eating foods that are too low in calcium and too high in phosphorous. It may not look like a serious disease at first, but it eventually kills.

To prevent it, avoid feeding your hedgehog with sunflower hearts, oats, peanuts and mealworms. Eating the above mentioned foods will force your hedgehog to make up for lack of calcium by simply taking it directly from its bones. The bones will then become weak with time as the hedgehog grows thin. Note that the disease comes along with extreme pain and discomfort. Soft tissues will eventually swell as the pain becomes unbearable.

At this point, it may be too late to treat the hedgehog. Hedgehogs can also get blood infections caused by a myriad of unsolved infections inside their bodies. It is important to note that blood infections in hedgehogs come quickly and can be fatal. Vital organs could be affected depending on the type of infection a hedgie has.

Infections like pneumonia for instance, have been known to cause other serious blood infections in hedgehogs. There are several signs you may need to be on the lookout for anytime you suspect your hedgehog is suffering from a blood infection.

Immobility, high breathing rate, lethargy and odd behavior all stand out as symptoms of a blood infection in hedgehogs. Early intervention with prescribed antibiotics is recommended when it comes to treating blood infections in hedgehogs. Note that blood infections in hedgehogs are often fatal if left untreated. Hedgehogs are known to carry many different parasites including fleas, mites and ticks.

They can also carry myasis which are parasites that brought about by flies laying eggs around open wounds. Parasites that feed off hedgehogs can be either internal or external.

Hedgehogs have an uncanny reputation for carrying fleas and passing them on to dogs. Interestingly, hedgehog fleas Archaeopsylla erinacei , Xenopsylla , Nosopsyllus , Ctenocephalides and Hystrichopsylla talpae are host-specific. In simple words, they can only breed and complete their life cycles on hedgehogs.

It is also interesting to note that for a long time, hedgehogs have been thought to be flea prone. Such misconceptions stem from the fact that hedgehogs cannot groom their spines.

There is also no truth whatsoever from the common misconception that removing fleas from a hedgehog can kill it. A hedgehog can actually contort its body to groom its spine. Ticks Ixodes hexagonus and mites are also common external hedgehog parasites.